-One of many former DuPont family estates in the Wilmington area, Bellevue Hall became a Delaware State Park in 1976. The mansion (now used as a wedding venue), guard house, horse stables and track, and several other remnants of the former grandeur of the place still stand. While the property is no longer maintained to an immaculate standard, it is still a perfectly nice recreation area.

-The 18-hole disc golf course follows a counterclockwise loop around the horse track. The front nine is park style, with scattered mid-size trees requiring low-ceiling drives and rollers. The back nine is much tighter and shorter. Most of the layout is well-spaced from other park activities, including the practice area.

-Each hole has two baskets or two tees, but not both. The long baskets are always red Discatchers. Both layouts are appropriate for a range of skill levels.

-Something for everyone: Bellevue State Park offers hiking trails, fishing, a playground, evening summer concerts, a community garden, tennis, and horseback riding.

-There are no terrible holes, but no terribly outstanding holes, either. The nicest looking hole is probably #5, a par four cut through a meadow. The property is flat, and most of the trees are large enough to shape the throwing lines, but not yet large enough to add real character to the course. Several low-lying areas remain wet year-round.

-The back nine shares space with equestrian trails, which comes with the risk of landing your disc in a steaming pile of manure. On weekends, pedestrian traffic can also be an issue.

-Multiple holes play through cut-out sections of old fences (possibly old property lines or horse corrals). These fences are nothing but an eyesore and should be removed. Three holes play very close to actual fences/property lines (10, 14, and 15).

-Hole 10 tees off a concrete walking path and can be easy to miss. The rest of the layout was easy to follow.

-The course was significantly redesigned in 2018, and has been updated again recently. The map on DGCR is not entirely correct. The tee signs are laminated paper stapled onto a cork board, with new signs added as the course continues to evolve.

-The disc golf is fine, but not outstanding. Located just off the Marsh Road I-95 exit, Bellevue is convenient for local players, road trippers, or a family Saturday at the park.

+ Although pretty much flat after the first hole, the layout provides a good combination of open, treed and wooded holes to keep things interesting


+ Work is going on to update this course, with some changes to the layout and addition of long tees; from reading through the reviews, it sounds like the course went through a major change in 2018. The changes I saw were newer (and still in progress). Many of the "old" signs now have additional information tacked on to reflect the long and standard layouts. I couldn't find some of the alternative tees, so I played a mix of shorts and longs. It was a bit confusing at times, but I was left with an overall positive impression, seeing a course that's being improved


+ There are a few early holes where you might find picnics and other activities, but the layout does a very good job of separating from other park activities. The back nine feels entirely apart from the park


+ One last callout about the improvements: the new long tee on Hole #6 is framed pavers with an absolutely stunning slab bench cut from the trunk of a (local?) tree. If this is the model for the rest of the tees, Bellevue will be distinctive


+ Hole #12 is a short 3, and the second half of the hole is a narrow alley cut through a grove of skinny trees. The basket is right in front of you, beautifully framed. It's like a miniature version of the famed hole at Blue Ribbon Pines


+ Nice raised basket-on-stump on Hole #4, and great use of woodchips to mark greens and keep the mud down throughout the course

- Tees are a mix of framed pavers, carpet, and dirt. While I suspect they're moving toward uniformity, the variability is pretty wide right now


- Danger of Holes #8 and #9 throwing at one another: they face each other across an open, sloped field, and they're both 300ish "go for it" teeshots


- Hole #10 is long and narrow, with a fence bordering right side tight. It's a par 4 that requires a very controlled low straight shot to get into the landing zone, also avoiding a small stream that cuts across the fairway. The problem is that the approach from that landing zone is so heavily treed that it's just a "poke and hope" - and the impact of luck on your kicks really detracts from the hole


- Hole #18 is a disappointing closer. It's in that "tweener" range of 250ish, bends hard to the right the entire way (enough that you can't see the basket), and doesn't really have a clear throwing lane. There's a "mando" on the right according to the signage, but there's also a huge tree down - that may have been the mando? I'm left wondering if this is still a hole that's being figured out, because it felt the roughest and most unfinished - which is unfortunate for a final hole

~ The overall 18 hole loop is pretty intuitive (and up to date on uDisc), but I'm sure I'm benefitting from the descriptions provided by earlier reviewers, especially DumfriesLizzie. Because of the ongoing work, you really have to check the signage to confirm which hole and tee location you're at. There are some small white arrows to help navigation from hole to hole. Not a lot of them, but they seemed to pop up at exactly the right times.


~ I'm always impressed by the commitment that Delaware State Parks has made to disc golf, while in neighboring NJ, we still have only one course in a State Park (the excellent Allaire). These layouts in northern DE have been around for a while: Lums Pond since 1987, Brandywine since 1980 and White Clay since 1999. Like Bellevue, ongoing improvements are evident at Lums and Brandywine. Only White Clay seems to be stuck in time. But they're all good, and different from one another



COURSE AMENITIES:
Old Chainstars that are in good shape, but Chainstars aren't as easy to spot as newer designs with brightly colored bands. Cart-friendly,. Restrooms available. Park is "pack in, pack out" so you won't find garbage cans


RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:
The nearest obvious choice is Brandywine with its spectacular views and elevation changes (and you can use the same day park entry fee), but don't sleep on Canby West if you want a wooded challenge

Very beautiful, large park with a lovely fine-gravel main promenade around a catch-release pond, open fields, equestrian facilities, playgrounds, picnic areas, etc.. With spur trails into woods, the disc golf course, etc.

Manageable holes once you figure out where you are and which hole is what number. More later on that.

Varied holes overall, though some in the middle and back start to repeat the type of the previous or near-previous hole.

I believe the front 9 (barring short no. 6, old bricks) now has paved teepads. I believe there are other paved tee pads at nos. 11, 12, and 15. These are long enough and wide enough for those of us with long legs and arms.

The course opens with no. 1's fairway sharply descending through fairly-narrow woods to a small creek. A tester out of the box.

Has a nice balance of wooded and open holes on the front 9. No. 11 starts rather open before a guard line of trees before the open green. Then it is back into the woods, pretty much.

I think no. 10 might be the most challenging hole. It is a tunnel that descends to a creek. Narrow footbridges over said. Over or around a mound as you rise from the creek. Basket tucked in a grove of trees to the right.

No. 5 (presently marked as no. 19!) is the big open bomber hole. I believe it is over 500 feet and one of the 3 par-4s.

Nos. 8 and 9 are quite pretty, sharing a small meadow ringed with trees.

No. 12 is one narrow tunnel ahead of an even tighter section of trees. The basket is dead ahead, and the hole is quite short. But there are plenty trees to hit!

Beautiful bench at new no. 6 and a handsome one at no. 4. Both generous in size. However, I didn't see any others.

The primary problem is signage, as noted by others here. Everything is fine until you finish no. 3. There is no next-tee sign to direct you from 3 to 4, so you need the course map to figure how to walk over the two park loops to get there (through small woods). The no. 4 basket btw is elevated on a tree stump and just at the right bordering tree line.

The bigger signage trouble starts with big 5. It is labeled as no. 19. Then you look at the course map on your phone or what you printed out from DGCR. You walk around in the gardens (warning, bee hives!!) on the other side of the creek tree line. You look at the pictures here too and scratch your head. Apparently holes 5, 6, and 7 (the old ones) slotted between this creek tree line. What you have now is a reoriented old no. 6 teepad that plays to the old no. 7 basket. It takes more than a minute to figure this out. This is new no. 5.

That means most everything going forward is now 2 nos. less than the current online course map says. Old no. 8 is now new no. 6 (it has a long pad also), old no. 9 is new no. 7, etc. I think most hole signs of new holes 6-18 have something on them indicating this now (taped-on pieces of paper). There is a new (from scratch) no. 16 between old 17/new 15 and old 18/new 17. The tee for new 17 is now on the border of the soccer field. The tee of new 18 is deeper in the woods beyond the basket of new 17. The tee of old 19 appears to be the basket placement of new 18. I know. It's confusing, but print out the map and hand-edit your printout, based on this paragraph. You will get clarity on what is what.

One definitely needs next tee signs from 3 to 4 and from 9 to 10. For the latter, you walk down the paved path towards the green barn, then go left on the intersecting path to the edge of the property. There you will find two stakes in the ground to mark the short tee of 10. Not sure where the long tee would go... These stakes have orange, numbered labels on them. You will also find them at nos. 13, 14, and 17. Nos. 16, 17, and 18 have green mats.

Seems to have a lot of muddy places, even on dry, cool days. It's shady along a good deal of the course with less-than-good drainage.

Walkers and runners are determined to walk through the fairways. I had them on nos. 6, 13, 14, and 15. Despite having *two* pedestrian loop trails and a kabillion other trails in the park. It's exasperating but unfortunately common in multisport parks. I try not to lose my temper and only say something to those who actually encamp on fairways. No encampers thankfully on my first outing here.

It is a pay-to-play course from March-October (I believe). You need a credit card for a dashboard ticket if there is no booth attendant. If you play other state park courses on the same day (Brandywine, White Clay Creek, others?), you can use the same ticket and feel like you are getting more of your money's worth.

When the state parks authority and/or local disc golf club have the money for signage and can complete all the teepads, this course will shine like the star it actually is. If there is a GoFund me for this (I don't know), I would certainly contribute. For now, call it a diamond in the rough.

UPDATE (2/20/22): Signage now totally updated and clear. Concrete or asphalt teepads at every hole now. I believe also longer baskets have been added to nos. 1 and 4. And shorter baskets added at nos. 5, 7, 10, and 18. So now, I believe 6 holes have 2 baskets, and 4 holes have 2 pads (previously existing). Makes for good extra variety. The course is just too busy. At least on a holiday weekend. And some of the regulars are disruptive and rude. Mix of abilities and sizes of groups can lead to traffic jams. I think though if you can play early working weekdays, maybe you have a shot at a peaceful round. Locals can confirm that better than me.

- New pins/pads being added constantly
- Consistent upkeep by state park employees is great
- Great course for beginners to learn the game
- Great course for advanced players to fine tune their game
- State park offers many other non-disc golf activities as well.

- Course intersects with walking/horse trails
- Tee Signs need updating
- Can get muddy

Very happy to call this my home course, and look forward to the constant improvements being made.

First 9 are fairly open with some shots going INTO the woods. Back 9 have most shots going through tighter wooded lanes.
Nice tech shots that are pretty forgiving for the most part. Long pads make it super fun with more opportunities for multiple shots. Never busy and seems to be well maintained with no long grass spots.

Once tee pads are put in I see this place being a better option than other local courses. Much more variety than White Clay and Brandywine

No Long tee pads
Some chains are light
No alcohol
Signs are not accurate
Scoring on Udisc is not accurate

Love this new setup!

- A mix of open and technical fairways but more technical
- Technical fairways include low canopies, heavy woods, and a narrow tunnel to a basket
- Good use of a small stream on several fairways and what little elevation change they have
- Good tee signs and markers even though they are in transition
- Paths of wood chips through muddy areas
- Practice basket
- Nice park restroom right at the start
- Some park trash cans
- Mostly away from the other activities (people) in the park

- Many of the fairways have been changed and are not polished yet (natural tees, few 'next tee' signs, few places to sit)
- Direction to the next tee is sparse (they may not be done with the changes)(the course map helps a lot)
- Not many spots to sit and rest on the course
- Not all the muddy areas had the path of wood chips
- Fairways 2 & 3 are still pretty close to the other park patrons

There seems to be an effort to get the disc golf course a better friendlier buffer from the other park patrons. I applaud this since no one wants to hit anyone with a disc. The course also appears to be gaining new challenges.
I could only find 18 fairways but there is a practice basket near the number 1 tee area.
I like the use of the wood chips to cover muddy areas and keep weeds in check. It appears the brush removed is run through a chipper suppling a good inventory of chips at reasonable cost.
In all I like the new fairways with trees, rocks, water, and mud ... hope to get back again soon.
I gave this a 3 rather than 2.5 because I believe the improvements will continue.

The course is relatively flat (which can be welcome when doing a doubleheader with Brandywine).
Open front eight (now).
Very pretty setting.

The new holes nine through nineteen are awful. Perhaps these changes are so new that there hasn't been time to do other-than-wood-chip tee pads, but...
The backside layout is tight without being technically interesting or challenging. There's an OB wall and later an OB (I assume) fence that will be problematic for errant throws. I played the new layout in December, so the trees weren't leafed out and the undergrowth was down. I can imagine that in the summer these holes will be borderline problematic and probably full of poison ivy, ticks, etc.
A couple holes overlap other holes, so I expect there will be conflicts and congestion.

I used to love playing Bellevue. It wasn't a hard course, but it was pretty, a good walk, and one had to pay attention to one's game a little.

But I'll never play it again after these changes. It's no longer fun. There's no reason to go there.

+ Lovely quiet park setting.
+ Balance of open and wooded holes that slightly favors wooded.
+ Tee pads on most of the holes are long and wide made of concrete tiles within wood frames.

- The tee signs and next hole signs can still be improved.
- Undergrowth below and overgrowth above are just starting to become apparent.
- A few of the fairways are kind of close to one another. (8&9 11&12)

I think that hole3 is the prettiest here because of its combination of open field in the beginning and clump of trees with low-hanging branches at the end. I think that hole7 is the most fun to play because of its low and wide pine tunnel the whole way through. My least favorite here is hole10 because I will always feel uncomfortable teeing off that closely alongside a busy road regardless of the amount of trees in the way.

As for the course as a whole, Bellevue has made good on its efforts to improve, and I will now make good on my vow to award a higher rating. Way back at the end of August 2018, my original review of this course (Please let me know if you are interested in reading it.) was mostly critical but optimistic. I saw the changes they wanted to make and hoped for the best. How did they do?

First off, thank goodness those brick tee pads are gone! These new ones are better in every observable way. There is more than enough room for a long wind-up like mine. They are made of sturdy and reliable material now, and I never slipped once. Two or thee have turf placeholders, but I imagine they will be replaced before too long.
Secondly, all eighteen holes have tee signs now. They are laminated paper fastened to wooden boards or cover up the old fiberglass signs from the old course, but it's a significant step up from three years ago.
Thirdly, the fairways have matured. In the freshly cleared-out areas within the back nine where there were no discernible fairways three years ago, there are now recognizable disc golf holes with young trees and lines to hit!

Now that the design appears to be finalized, I feel like I can appraise it more completely. A few of the holes seem like they have been strong-armed into the layout just to complete the 18-hole circuit. I'm glad that they completely removed that pesky 19th hole and erased the old holes (Were they the old holes5 - 7?) that flew too close to that communal garden, but holes 17 and 18 seemed like afterthoughts to my mind with how brief and simple they are.

The signage, while better than it was, can still benefit from an update. The new next hole arrows that dangle from some baskets and point the way along some paths are definitely helpful, but it would still be easy for players to get lost in some spots. 3 to 4 is the biggest culprit of this. Extra signage couldn't hurt.

But the fairways are better. The tees are better. The signage is, overall, better. As a whole, the course is better. I feel like it has finally filled its footprint. The distances aren't terribly challenging, but Bellevue is more about enjoying a lovely time in the park rather than suffering through a challenge. It is a fun course that doesn't ask too much of the player, but don't let its relative ease fool you into ignoring its features! Bellevue can challenge you with tight lines and hidden baskets- especially within the back nine. To that point, hole12 deserves a special mention. From a mostly open tee area, the player is asked to throw into a veritable wall of trees with a small crack in it. A birdie there certainly feels earned... even if your first throw was completely dumb luck!

There is still a little bit more to do, but it's an overall job well done, Bellevue. Recommeded.