HRNT is a scenic, wooded course located in a small state park. This course isn't built for serious disc golfers, but the sights and sounds are meant for everyone to enjoy.
- This is a short, simple wooded course. With an average hole length of only 211 feet, course can be handled by casual and beginning players.
- The course is all about the terrain. Three true uphill shots and four downhill layouts provide the challenge & fun.
- #2 is a tight downhill shot. Just throw a putter or mid-range and let it glide down towards the basket. #3 plays back up the same hill, but isn't nearly as much fun.
- #6 & 7 are two more fun downhill holes. #7 has the added challenge and appeal of a drop-off just past the basket. This is one of only two holes (#9 being the other) that clearly are targeted for more advanced players. You go right of the basket by 15 feet, you may be 20 feet below and 100 feet away from the basket.
- #8 is the best of the uphill shots as it's the best ace-run shot off the tee. It's only 185 feet so you've got option to park your tee shot.
- Some great scenery throughout the course. There's a cool amphitheater to the right of #9. From the top of the hill between holes #5 & 9, you're also overlooking the lake. Fun trails walking from the parking lot to the first tee. Just note they get extremely muddy in spots.
- Fun, educational tee signs. As part of the Nature Trail disc golf course series, these signs have nature-related information. Note to people wanting a course in their hometown: convince officials to put in educational tee signs. It's a win-win for everyone.

Walking up to the first tee, I see a basket. My first thought is the practice basket is really close to the first tee. Hah! It's actually the basket for #9. Cue the Office Space Bob's meeting gif of 'So..what is it you say you're doing around here'.
- In addition to that, #9 is also a blind, downhill, dogleg right around the amphitheater, throwing over the walking path towards the woods tee shot. The basket needs to be moved somewhere more sensible. Even taking off running as soon as I released my tee shot, it still took 5 minutes searching in the woods to find my disc. I knew to be prepared. Casual, one disc owning players won't be thinking the same thing.
- #4's layout was also bad. Based on the direction of the tee pad, I thought the hole was pointing one direction. Turns out it was 45 degrees to the left of that.
- Course will either be better or worse once the leaves are on the trees. Better by having well defined fairways and paths between holes. Worse as in tougher by having tighter fairways and more insects and wildlife to deal with.
- For being in a state park, it's weird that you can see somebody's backyard on #5. It does take away that nature feel when you get some vibes of being in a city park instead of a secluded state park.
- Course was lacking in some upkeep when I played. There was a big tree down on #8's fairway and another near the basket on #3. The trail to the course was closed, so had to take a different one. Granted it only added 2 - 3 minutes each way.

Haw River is a nice, basic course. If you live close by, you love the vibe if offers. If you don't, it's not worth a drive out of the way.
- There are motel buildings that are next to the course's parking lot. Who knows how often they're used, but you may get some looks from people on vacation or a retreat of sorts if you show up to get your frolfing on.
- The park also has other amenities away from the course. I didn't bother checking them out as I had my share.
- You're only 20 - 25 minutes from Keely Park, Lake's Edge, and Holly Run, but it does feel like you're way out in the middle of nowhere. That at least allows you to bag this course if you're just passing by.
- If #9 was only better, my entire perception would be different. Shoot, even if it was simply an average layout, the hole would be significantly better. It honestly feels the basket was moved to be out of the way, the park's department and didn't know where to place it. So they figured it should go near the closest disc golf element, which turned out to be the first tee. That would only make sense if the basket was interfering with the road/path.
- #1 was perfectly suitable. #2 was fun. #6 - 8 were all fun. The other holes were rudimentary. Enjoy the sites and sounds of this state park. And knock out a course in under 20 minutes.

It is a "disc golf course" since it does have baskets(9) and relatively flat (gravely) tee locations to throw from. Course is an added bonus if you are already visiting the park. It is located in a beautiful park. There are a few (2-3) really fun holes. Great exercise if you don't mind climbing hills. Signage isn't bad and the course is so small if you miss a hole you can easily backtrack to play it plus replay that one you bogeyed.

Unless you "park" every hole plan on loosing a disc or more. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time searching in the (beautiful) deep fern filled woods. Most of the fairways are literally just a single track of hiking trail. Easy to turn an ankle if not wearing appropriate footwear. Growth and neglect have negated some of the original course lines (on some holes they don't exist).

If your visiting the park definitely bring along a few discs (that you don't mind losing). It would be nice to have a spotter. If you're staying awhile then drive (15 min) and play Lakes Edge in Reidsville.

Great tee signs, consistent with the Nature Trail DG courses. Something about nature, something about DG and good hole map and details.
Baskets are in good shape.
Pretty easy to follow from hole to hole.
Good shade throughout entire course.
Conference Center has great facilities, they follow State employee hours, so plan ahead. It is not at the course entrance, but close by.
Good use of the elevation.

The first three holes are tight and heavily wooded, with weeds covering the roughs. I was having serious doubts about bagging this course, and trying to remember how many holes I had to play for it to count while playing these three.
Tees were natural or mulch, not a huge Con.
Mostly right to left holes, not a lot of variety.

I played this course on the day of the Great Eclipse of 2017. I got there after the event, but was still pretty cool to play that day.
As I mentioned above, the first 3 holes were very "natural" on this Nature Trail course, with tight fairways and weed covered roughs, I was debating my committment here. Then, after #3, which was a pretty cool uphill hole, you go uphill where the weeds have cleared out and you are throwing around large pine trees and can see where you are going. Much more enjoyable!
#5 was a pretty cool downhill with two lines. #7 is a left to right hole with a stream in play if you go too far right. #8 is a STEEP uphill on a hyzer line, it plays a lot longer than the distance.
I think the signature hole here is the finisher, #9. Back up top of the ridgeline, amphitheatre in front of you, somewhat downhill to the left, mostly in the open. Gives you a chance to let one fly before you finish. Good final hole.
I believe this is the only DG course at a NC State Park. This state feels the State parks should be for passive recreation and not for active recreation. This facility was formerly a private conference center that was made available to the State Parks system, when that closed.
Over half the states have Disc Golf courses in State Parks. Maybe one day the NC DENR will realize that DG courses provide an extra amenity for their park visitors, most of whom pay to enter, and would generate more income from DGers who would otherwise not visit the park. Their entry fees would probably pay for the course installation and maintenance in a few years.

This is a solid 9-hole course located at the Haw River State Park.

+ Good course design with a variety of uphill, downhill, hyzer, and anhyzer shots.

+ The setting of the course is the biggest pro for me. This is a small state park, but it feels very secluded and peaceful. If you play disc golf for the R&R, this is a great one.

+ No problems with navigation. Good signage.

+ I really liked the elevation on this course. There is a wicked steep uphill hole (the only one where I didn't use a putter or mid off the tee). There are also some fun downhill shots. Number nine was my favorite. It's the longest and most open hole.

+ The Haw River State Park itself isn't much of a tourist destination. I went there with my son's 4th Grade class on a field trip. We did all kinds of nature things, but I didn't notice anything that would lure me to vacation there. They have very nice facilities in terms of cabins and conference rooms. There's also an indoor gym. But otherwise, it's a small state park with a few trails, not much else. List that as a pro/con. It's way off the beaten path and very peaceful and pretty. Just not much to do and probably not worth a special trip just for the disc golf course.

By 9-hole course standards, Haw River holds up fine. Still, there are some cons:

- The biggest con, far and away, for me is the baskets. The have no yellor or orange bands on them, no flags, and they're somewhat dated. They are impossible to spot from the tee against the wooded backdrop. I would say that on most holes, I had to walk halfway down (or up) the fairway to spot the basket. Flags would be really helpful on this course...better yet, new baskets.

- I wasn't a huge fan of the mulch tee pads. You don't need a big run-up at this course, but still, my footing wasn't great off the tee.

- There's a beautiful grassy hill and small lake off to the right on hole number 9. Maybe there were constraints on course location, but it seems like they missed a good opportunity to lengthen out the course some by incorporating this part of the property.

- Along the same lines, even if the builders weren't able to use more territory, especially the lake, it would have been nice to have a little more length to the 9 holes. As i mentioned, I only threw a fairway driver once. It's a tight and technical course, which is fine -- challenging and enjoyable -- but a little more length would make it a stronger course for intermediate to advanced players.

This course is a must-play IF you go to Haw River State Park. (As I stated earlier, I'm not sure why you would make a special trip to this park if you're not a part of a field trip or conference.) If you do find yourself here with your kid while on a field trip, as I did, you will have a pleasant surprise when you find out there's a little 9-hole disc golf course waiting for you to bag!

Well-designed niner that offers a different look on every hole. Some tight wooded passages, a few relatively open looks among sparse trees. Elevation changes on nearly every fairway. Most holes between 200 and 300 feet with the uphill shots occasionally shorter. The tees are natural but bordered by wood which makes the basket to tee navigation easy. The atmosphere is probably the highlight as the park is secluded and feels miles away from anything, which it pretty much is.

Not well maintained. The beginning holes offer nicely shaped throwing fairways, including quality uphill toss on 3 but walking fairways of just a narrow path. That eases up later as the terrain becomes more open and space is abundant.
Tee signs, while nice, are vague. Several hole shapes do not look like what is drawn on the tee. Combine that with all-grey, hard-to-see baskets and there are several holes where I just threw in the general direction and found the basket later. (Except 9. On 9 I didn't find the basket till I gave up and started walking back.

Worth playing but not going out of the way for.

This course is on a nice piece of land with plenty of elevation change.

The course does not interfere with any other park amenities, other than throwing close to the amphitheater.

The holes are short, which is good for beginners. No need to take a bag, just a putter and a mid. Maybe a fairway driver to let it fly on #9.

The mulch tee pads are actually not that bad and you don't really need a run up anyway.

The tee signs give hole information and nature facts and pro tips about disc golf throws.

There is a decent mix of required shots. The course generally opens up a bit after #3 and #9 is wide open.

I assume this course will never be crowded.

At least three baskets are damaged by fallen trees. They are still very playable. A tree had fallen over the #3 teepad, but is a stand and deliver hole anyway.

The park is only open 8-5 M-F. This will limit what little traffic might show up anyway. The first three holes in particular could use some traffic.

Even though the holes are short, the Chainstar baskets are almost impossible to see. Look for the orange tape strip. I guess they were wanting to keep a more natural look. Not a problem if you decide to play through again, which the scorecard is designed for.

This park is kind of in the middle of nowhere and definitely not a destination park. I'm from Greensboro and had just played Lake's Edge in Reidsville so it was sorta on the way home.

I did spider web kung fu multiple times on each hole.

This was actually a pretty fun course after the first three holes. After #1, don't go the tee pad you see straight ahead. That is #3. Turn left and go up the hill for #2 tee pad. #2 is a pretty neat downhill shot. Keep it in the fairway (such as it is) on these first three holes.

Again, not a destination course, but if you are ticking off courses, you have probably played much worse.

There is a sign warning about copperheads at the trailhead. We didn't see any at Haw River State Park this day. My old boy scout camp was about two miles away from this property and I saw more copperheads during my time at boy scout camp than anywhere else in my life.

-some challenging holes
-more technical than most local courses
-definitely not crowded
- beautiful scenery, plenty of wildlife

-not much variation
-usually just one path to the basket
-the baskets are nearly impossible to see against the background
-extremely tight
-in the middle of nowhere

Haw River Nature Trail is a short little course that really requires you to follow the intended line, and often that line is extremely tight. There's no place aside from holes 5 & 9 where you can let it loose, and even then it's probably not the best idea. It's definitely a great course to practice your control, but there are more enjoyable courses to do that.

The tees are wood chips, but as there's really no need to let loose anywhere it isn't an issue. The tee signs are quite nice, the course map adequate, and the scorecards are beautiful. They wisely set up the card so you can play and score two rounds in a row. The real letdown is the baskets, a set of old Chainstars, which might as well be invisible. Good luck finding them in the pics I took. They weren't any easier finding in person, and the never-ending foliage makes it difficult to judge distances as well.

The designer, who wasn't listed, took care to make each hole different, which was appreciated, but all the holes are very short. Holes 5-9 are the most interesting. 5 finally opens up a bit, and 6 provides some well-needed length. 7 welcomes a steep drop off behind and to the right of the basket leading to a creek bed which was a surprise I didn't see from the tee. 8 consists of a steep uphill grade that is longer than it looks, and 9 is your really only opportunity to air it out, though "it" for most players is only a midrange driver. It also ends just feet away from the first tee, which leads to another issue- several of the baskets are extremely close to the next pad. However, as I don't expect much traffic on the course, it's probably not that big of an issue. As a filler course it's just fine, but it's too isolated and too short for anyone but the golfer who is a completist. Perhaps if they thinned it out a bit and installed some baskets that you could see I'd enjoy it more, but there was too narrow a line, too little to keep me interested, and waaaayyyy too many spider webs for me to spend much time here.