Echo Valley DGC is located in a large, beautiful park and nature preserve between Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. The 18 holes of disc golf play in an area mostly well removed from other park amenities, giving the feel that you are out in nature.

The layout here is well designed and makes great use of the land that the park has to offer. Many holes play over rolling terrain, and in a couple places the slopes get relatively steep. My favorite hole here was #5, which plays 335' (short tee) or 435' (long tee) straight down a fairly steep hill. It's a definite birdie opportunity (or ace run for you dreamers out there) but not without risk - dense woods line both sides of the fairway.

In general, holes here range from wooded to mostly open. There was nothing unfairly tight here, but definitely tight enough to require plenty of shot shaping. The first 6-7 holes stood out to me as having particularly strong variety - from #1's long, open fairway to start things off, to #2's tight wooded line, and beyond. Things are also made more interesting by several potential water hazards. Hole #17 has a pond in play behind the basket, and hole #18 requires a carry over a low-lying and potentially wet area. Don't be fooled by the hole info page though - the rest of the water hazards on the course consist of small creeks that cross fairways on 5-6 different occasions. Even on the early April day that I visited, these creeks were pretty much dried up. Advanced players might want the risk of potential disc loss in the water, but recreational players will likely be glad that the only place here where that looks to be actually possible is hole #17.

The tee areas are great. There are two per hole, and they are set up exactly the same - large concrete pads in good condition, and detailed tee signs consisting of laminated paper mounted on wooden posts. I also noticed some small white flags in the ground, that were located in areas that suggested to me that a third "short" set of tees is in the works. This would be a welcome addition and make the course more accessible to newer players. I played my round from the current shorter (Blue) tees, and even those offer plenty of length - averaging around 410' per hole. The long (Gold) tees push this number up even higher to 495' average. The one thing I will say is that it did often seem like the long tees were basically just located behind the shorter tees, and not really appear to offer a different challenge other than the increased distance. But since I only played from the shorter tees, take that with a grain of salt.

The baskets are "sponsor-banded" DISCatchers. One per hole in great shape. Navigation between holes is generally easy, thanks to separate blue and gold tape on the basket rungs. The only spot where I would have liked to see a couple extra arrows is on a longer walk between holes 7 and 8.

The front of the course has a practice basket (plus an open field large enough to practice drives), kiosk with large course map, and restrooms.

This course made a "destination level" impression on me over the first few holes, but unfortunately I do feel that the rest of the course is not quite as good. Some of the middle holes started to feel similar for me. Holes 8, 10, and 11 are all semi-open, flattish, longish designs with the basket tucked off to the left at the end. It could be argued that Hole 9 follows that same theme - the basket is just on the right side instead and tucked a little further back. A couple of the later holes were also a little bit underwhelming, like #14 which is a dogleg left around private property bordering the park.

Newer players (and my noodle arm) would like to see a true "short" layout, or at least a couple of shorter holes. The current Blue layout only has five holes that are less than 380' long.

The walking paths next to some holes are a bit of a concern. Mostly line of sight stuff at least.

There were only a couple of benches near the course and they were located along the walking paths, so not in ideal locations for disc golfers. This is a lengthy enough course that I found myself wanting one by the back nine. There were also no trash cans on the course except for one at the beginning.

In summary, this is a solid and challenging course in a nice setting. It was my first course played in the state of Ohio (my 11th state overall) and it did not disappoint! There were not enough standout holes for me to push my rating higher than 4.0, especially with the other minor concerns present as well. Nonetheless, don't let that stop you from checking this place out. If you are in the Cincinnati/Dayton area and have played Idlewild, Echo Valley should definitely be on your itinerary!

+ Flat, sturdy, long and wide tee pads of concrete on every hole.
+ All tees have their own brightly colored and detailed tee signs with the hole number changing color, depending on which tee position you're playing.
+ Nice variety of open, wooded, elevation and a few water features.
+ Eye-catching numbered baskets have different colored tape on the spokes to guide players to their intended next tee.
+ Everything is so crisp, clean, well presented and maintained.
+ Correct me if I'm wrong. I think I counted three practice baskets and two info boards, but...

- ...no lost disc box? It's a huge course, so I probably walked right past it and didn't notice. But, if there isn't one, then there really ought to be because...
- ...some of the roughage areas can be really dense and grabby. Keep both eyes on your disc if it ricochets.
- The action gets a bit samey during part of the back nine.
- Very few player convenience features (benches, bad stands, etc.)

Hole1 is just a bumpy wide open gentle downslope. It has the fewest features, which is why it was my least favorite, but the rest of the course more than compensates.

Hole6 is a gorgeous example of just how good a disc golfing fairway can look. A random stand of tall pines blocks out most of the Sun. Straight ahead from the tee is the basket perfectly framed on both sides by those shadowy giants. All around you is that foresty type of serentiy. Moments like that make me happy to be a disc golfer.

And hole5, my favorite to play at this course, was the star of the show. After a striking downhill fairway, the basket teases you in an open area at the bottom of the hill while trees and shrubs on both sides of the fairway threaten to ruin your throw. It was a joy to play.

That's a sentence that prefectly describes the course as a whole, isn't it? For those disc golfers who love wooded fairways or more open park-style/hybrid holes, Echo Valley won't disappoint. Enough of the fairways bend one way or the other to challenge a player's various throws. Even those golfers who prefer to air out their drives can appreciate this place for the kinds of challenges it has. Echo Valley also has a satisyfing footprint. The designers were able to create an excellent venue for our sport because of the sprawling area they were given to work with. Peaceful woods, trickling streams, breezey fields and two or three healthy hills punctuate the disc golfer's visit.

But then, at around hole14, I got the feeling that the course was starting to run out of steam because I noticed that most of the fairways in the back nine were somewhat interchangeable variations of "tree-dodging in a half-open field." I was still having a ton of fun, mind you, but my mind kept revisiting holes5 and 6, and I lamented the realization that the experience wouldn't be returning to that level. That dimmed my enthusiasm slightly, but I still loved playing at this place. It's the type of course that wish I lived closer to.

I strongly recommend Echo Valley. It's so good and so popular that the club has installed a second info board at hole10 to welcome those who walk to the park instead of driving. (I suspect it also informs other parkgoers that they are strolling through a disc golf course.) The upkeep is stellar. The fairways are fun. The venue is peaceful and at times quite pretty. If you ever find yourself in between Dayton and Cincinnati, do yourself a favor and stop by Echo Valley.

Multiple tees for every hole.

All concrete tee pads.

Nice mix of terrain and shot types needed

Multi-use park means plenty of amenities like bathrooms, benches etc...

The teepads are a hair short. Not egregiously so, but another 1' would have made a difference given the challenge associated with the course.

Most of the Gold tees are just longer versions of the Blues. To me this is the difference between giving this a 4 and a 4.5 or 5.

Very few trash cans (that I saw).

So far I've only played the blues and felt like they're a really nice challenge without being absolutely soul-crushing. The course itself is built in almost perfect terrain for disc golf (as far as Ohio goes anyway). Rolling hills, plenty of trees and thoughtful design have lead to a course that will challenge most players without horrendously frustrating a reasonably experienced player. It's not somewhere you should bring someone to introduce them to the game, but if it were, it wouldn't be rated as highly as it is.

As far as shots needed, you'll play L to R, R to L, up and down hill and have water come into play occasionally. It's abundantly clear that plenty of time was spent crafting lines on most holes, which is where my biggest "con" comes in: When you take the time to have two sets of tees, it's simply not acceptable to stack one 100' in front of the other and call it a day. IMHO, the long tee should increase the challenge of the hole in other ways in addition to distance. Simply moving 50' left or right can completely force a player to completely rethink how a hole should be played and adds much more replay value to a course. Obviously that's not an option on every hole at any course, but obvious opportunities to do this here were missed/skipped. In the grand scheme of things though, this is a fairly minor complaint given everything else Echo Valley brings to the table.

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who helped to make Echo Valley possible. The amount of work that was poured into this thing is incredible, and if you saw this place two years ago, you'd hardly recognize it now. While this has surely been a team effort, I'd like to give a massive shoutout to Carl Chiles for designing an absolutely spectacular layout, and for all of the time and effort he has given to make EV a reality.

Hello and welcome to the latest reason why Dayton should be in the running for top disc golf cities in the world. EV is another gem in an already extraordinary lineup of courses in the area. You like beautiful shot shapes? No worries. How about pristine fairways? They're here. Want lots of trees? Me either, but let's be honest, disc golf wouldn't be the same without them. With so much to offer, EV is just shy of having everything you could want in a championship level course.

One of the first things you'll notice about EV is the fun factor. So many upper-tier courses are upper-tier because they are stupidly difficult. Make no mistake, EV is a challenge and a half, but fun is built into the design. I've played both sets of tees now, and even from the golds, the top of the world hole, the must-gets sprinkled in among the overarching difficulty, and so much more, make this course just really, really fun to play. Opening day was just as busy as expected and my group was waiting a lot, but even after a round just shy of three hours, I found myself wanting to play again.

While I think that overall EV is a RHFH/LHBH friendly course (and I say this as a RHFH player), overall, there is a good mix of backhand and forehand lines. In fact, many of the holes have multiple options. Whatever you choose, placement is key. The fairways are shaped beautifully in order to punish bad shots and reward good ones. The out of bounds feels necessary on nearly every hole with the possible exception of the path on 17.

As others have already mentioned, the course looks absolutely fantastic. With the work that so many volunteers in the community have put in, the course feels very established, even though it's less than a month old. There's still the occasional branch here and there that probably won't be around in a few months (I'm looking at you, vine on number 4), but, for the most part, you wouldn't be able to tell it was just opened if you didn't already know.

I sat for a very long time debating between whether to give EV four or four and a half stars, but ultimately decided on four, and here's why.

The first reason is the amount of tweener holes on the course. Depending on your definition of a tweener hole, there are anywhere from 3-5 that are right in between pars. I personally would consider 3, 16, and 17 to be par 3.5s. There's also a case to be made that 13 could be a par 5 from the golds, but with two really good shots it is possible to get it to the basket in 2. Either way, it can be frustrating to have multiple holes that a roughly 50 person advanced/open field don't get a single birdie on from the golds.

While elevation certainly impacts some holes (5, 12, 14, 16), for the most part, a lot of the holes don't really incorporate much at all. This isn't inherently a bad thing, but when so many are in a row it can get repetitive. Holes 8, 9, 10, and 11, while all having their own personality and shot requirements, are relatively flat and are all roughly the same distance. While we're talking about these holes, it's worth mentioning that the turn is about as far away from the parking lot as possible, and the layout makes it tough to play a quick round or just skip a few to get in only 9.

Tick tock: It's comparison time, everyone's favorite. Even in its early days and weeks, the community has debated whether or not this course beats out Caesar Ford as the best course in Dayton. While I respect their opinion, I think that the people arguing in favor of EV are doing so out of recency bias. There is no doubt that EV is championship caliber, but there's not really a case to be made for it being better than CF. Where CF offers two (or three if you count 18) absolutely beautiful par 5s, EV doesn't even have one. CF also offers a fantastic mix of open and woods golf. EV has holes that are more open than others, but with the exception of 1 and 18, pretty much everything here requires a set line. While EV is a solid second place in Dayton, it is second.

Come play Echo Valley. With the perfect mix of simple and difficult shots, EV offers something for all skill levels. From the blues, rec and intermediate players will have a fun yet challenging round, while advanced players and above can find a slightly easier course that still makes birdies feel rewarding. From the golds, everyone will probably cry at some point or another, but a good round feels like a great round, even for the best players. Regardless of what tees you play, the course is almost certainly going to make you throw bad shots, but it only makes the excellent ones that much more rewarding.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how Echo Valley develops in the coming years both as a physical course and as a Dayton Disc Golf community staple. I'm excited watch the make-or-break shots hole 18 is going to force at tournaments. I can't wait to hear about someone finally acing 5 from the gold tees. And there's nothing like watching someone get a birdie here on the hole that they just couldn't quite get last time. Once again, thank you to all of the amazing people that made this place possible. Being from around the area, I know how much this course means to not only the dedicated players, but also the casual players who have grown up playing the old course at Patricia Allyn, Eagle Ridge. Seeing this go in now feels like a long time coming, even if it has only been in development for the past three years or so. On that note, I invite you to come out and have fun, and to join the buzzing community already building around this beautiful course.

Echo Valley DGC is an excellent challenge that stands neck-and-neck with Dayton's best courses. Fun fairways get the difficulty level right for MA1 to MA3 level golfers, daring the bold to disc up and see how much they can really bite off from the tee. Players who can line shape and split testy wooded gaps with fairway drivers will love the marriage of accuracy and distance required to score low. Heavily protected greens force very intentional upshots and birdies feel frequently within reach but highly gratifying when scored.

Highlight holes include a fun but beatable downhill run (Hole 5), a sharply angled uphill fairway that begs for that overstable forehand crush (Hole 12), an ultrafast 381 feet from the blues demanding the most delicate speed & height control...provided you can avoid the ocean of trees (Hole 16), and a clever risk/reward open finishing hole with a hazard so beguiling that it probably deserves to be named (Hole 18; see Other Thoughts). Echo excels in these moments that leave the player wanting to come back for more because they just KNOW they can get it right next time.

Echo is set on a beautiful piece of land that makes it the most attractive course in the area by a wide margin. Grassy fairways and a lush mix of junipers and hardwoods contrast well with the jungle-thick rough. This is a nice place for a walk through the woods, let alone a challenging disc golf course.

A lack of variety in the design dooms the course from achieving its full potential. Holes 3, 4, 9, 13, 14, and 17 lack nuance and blur together in an undifferentiable stew of slanted fairways, scattered trees, and hyzer or anyhyzer approaches. This land could've offered much more creative hole designs and instead no less than a third of the course feels like slight variations on the same thing.

The preferred fairway lines throughout the course are overwhelmingly RHFH/LHBH friendly. I don't mind as a nearly exclusively forehand player, but even I had to acknowledge that I was working half as hard as my cardmates for similar scores.

The gold tees seem largely unnecessary, adding little more than raw distance much of the time and rarely a different look or rarer still a different shot. Or are the blue tees unnecessary, only serving to make the holes slightly shorter, rarely offering a different look or dramatically different shot? Either way, one set of pads was designed with intent and the other seems tacked on as an afterthought.

Bring your rabbit's foot - the luck factor is high with many gnarled vines and twisted branches appearing at the least opportune times to Mutombo great shots. In a similar way, most greens are heavily protected by foliage but don't always feel crafted with care. Protected greens are great, but protected greens that reward great approaches are better.

In the early going, Echo has proven to be a SLOG on tournament days & crowded weekends. Be prepared for 3-4 hour rounds and backups on every hole.

A thin pâte of poison ivy covers the rough, so long pants are recommended if you're susceptible to the leaves of three.

Some teepads seem to have a water puddling issue. Watch your plant foot when it's wet outside.

There's no hiding from it - Echo Valley will draw inevitable comparisons to Caesar Ford Park because both courses are newer and longer than the rest of the manifold Dayton disc golf options. But while Echo can certainly make an argument with CFP for the best course in Dayton, there's no single hole here as creatively designed as any of the closing three holes on that course. If both courses were equidistant from my house, I'd still go to CFP more often than Echo.

When CFP was installed I had some concerns regarding the significant amount of maintenance required to keep the course in optimal shape. Those concerns turned out to be unfounded (thanks Greene County Parks & Trails!), and I'm hoping my same concerns about Echo turn out to be equally spurious. Hopefully the course looks as good two months in as it does two weeks in.

Suggested names for Hole 18's fairway hazard include Hoffmann's Bog, Springboro Swamp, or simply The Marsh. Fellow locals - please come up with something awesome. This thing deserves it.

Now that Dayton has a decent number of above average courses, is it time to try and put together a bid for Am Worlds...? At least eleven public 18-hole courses rated 3.0 or higher are within a 40 minute drivetime of downtown Dayton, with two legit MA1 draws in Echo and CFP. Couple that with the best brick and mortar disc golf store in the country and it might be time to push Dayton disc golf for our game's most diverse and inclusive Major.