Lawson Adventure Park is a short, par 3 course playing along the base of the mountain behind the resort facilities. There's 18 holes here with substantial elevation used throughout. This is a pretty quick play and is located only a couple minutes off the highway.

The terrain is pretty perfect for disc golf. It's heavily wooded and very hilly so it's still a challenge even with the short distances. It's basically ace run central out here. This is a great mountain course for beginners. The design is well done for the most part, especially for the little bit of space that was available.

The flow of the course is pretty simple to follow. No long walks between holes and it plays away from any of the other activities happening out here. They provide a solid course map and scorecard at the clubhouse when checking in. The map is very accurate, as is Udisc if you'd prefer to use the map there. Very hard to get turned around out here, much less lost.

The tee pads are all mulch. They vary in size with no rhyme or reason. Some are wood framed "standard" sized pads while most are just large enough to take a stance to throw a standstill. Standstill drives are really all that's needed out here anyways so not really an issue.

No tee signs, but there's logs with the hole number painted onto them along the edge of each tee. Basically every basket is visible from the tee so any kind of map is just overkill.

Doubtful that the course is ever very busy, if at all.

Discs for rent in the clubhouse if you need them. Not sure what kind, but nice that they offer them. Apparently it's $10 per person to play but my wife and I weren't charged anything since we had our own discs. I'll take it obviously, but plan on having to pay.

The baskets. Man oh man are these things terrible. They're some kind of portable things you'd probably get off of Amazon or something. Very cheaply made. Super thin chains, many of which are no longer fully attached. Even the ones that are don't do a good job of catching any kind of putts. These are just really bad baskets in general when in good condition. The fact that none are in good condition just makes it worse. This could be a fun little ace run course. The baskets don't want to catch putts, much less drives though.

The tee pads aren't uniform here. They're all kind of just random. None of them are very good either.

Hole 18 drops you off about as far away from hole 1 as is possible. It's not that long of a walk or anything, but mildly annoying.

Lots of rollaway potential here. Very rocky terrain and steep hillsides. Speaking of the rocky terrain, it's extremely treacherous out there. Lots of loose rocks and tripping hazards. Be sure to watch your footing and take your sweet time. By far the slipperiest course I played up in the mountains on this trip.

Like I mentioned above, apparently it's $10 a person to play. They didn't charge us anything, but $10 is extremely steep for the quality of golf you get here.

There's decent potential for this course. Unfortunately it doesn't quite deliver on that potential. This one is still a pretty fun little putter course though. Very unpolished and one of those courses that feels more like an afterthought. Play it if you must, but by all means find a better option if you only have time for one round.

- 18 holes of very technical mountain disc golf
- Scramblers dream course
- Restrooms on-site, porta potties at end of course
- One of the easiest bags off I-70 in Colorado
- Disc rentals on site
- Very friendly and helpful staff
- Navigation path is 'somewhat' easy to follow
- Natural tees are outlined with rocks
- Marker at each Tee with number
- Highest risk/punishment factor I've ever played

- Pay to play value is questionable
- NOT beginner-friendly
- Not cart friendly
- Low-quality baskets
- Navigation can be spotty
- Extremely rugged terrain
- Natural tees are ok, but really need some work
- Tee markers only give number...no other information
- Basket flags are very faded and worn
- Holes are pretty short

Lawson Adventure Park is one of those Rafting/Zip-Line companies you see traveling along I-70 in Colorado. They have lodging as well as other adventures, and Idaho Springs is just down the road.

I have to start with a warning about this course. It is VERY rugged terrain. If you have trouble with balance, loose footing or steep terrain, than this course may not be for you. It's not what most people think about when they think about DG. Maybe this place has changed in the last few years, but it is NOT a place to bring a beginner.

Leave the drivers in the car. This is a Putter / Mid Range course. Every tee feels more like a scramble than a tee shot...if you really like scrambling, and making technical shots, you will like this course. I really had a good time playing here, and sneaking a Roc into the window of the cabin hole was the highlight of the day for me. Comet Masters would tear this place apart.

I don't mind pay to play (our round cost $7.50 each), but I do expect more from the experience. The baskets are very low quality. On top of that they are showing their age. Flags are too faded to read from the tees, and some have no flag at all. No Tee information was a disappointment and the Tees themselves need to be addressed.

Risk - Punishment here is very high. The terrain is so steep on some holes, that you roll for quite a while before stopping. I was doing pretty good until a few birdie putts turned into double-bogeys.

Final thought is that Lawson Adventure Park put this course in to add another attraction to their business. Bravo for thinking about disc golf. The problem is they don't really seem to know what they have. Upgrade the baskets, fix the tees and maybe go with rubber pads and this place would easily earn an extra disc rating, but the place is starting to show it's age. I had fun here, and I think you will too if you like really like steep scrambling.

+ Staff are super friendly/helpful and went over the map prior to my round to point out inaccuracies

+ Several next tee signs & directional arrows to help navigate along the way

+ Course plays a horseshoe, leaving you with a short, easy walk back to parking

+ Creativity: "They" have gone to some lengths to make some of the holes more interesting - The #2 basket is hanging up inside the frame of an old miner shack; #10 is hanging between a couple trees; #15 is also placed inside another miner shack. This might come off as gimmicky to some but I enjoyed it.

+ Challenge: Despite the short lengths of the course, the heavily wooded nature and super steep terrain made for a surprising challenge, leading me to pull out shots that I don't normally have a use for, and forcing me to think about my shots beforehand to avoid roll-downs

+ There are definitely some holes here that have ace run written all over them - there's a large roll-down risk on some holes though so the pucker factor increases a bit on those holes, but it's fun to get to try for the birdie or ace on so many holes which still having to think about your shot.

- The baskets are super basic, with a single row of chains. There are some that have a second row added w/ plastic pull-ties but they don't do much good and the baskets still spit discs out like it's their job. Some of the baskets have white flags on top w/ the hole #.

- Tees are inconsistent. Some are a regular size, maybe 4x8 but others (hole 12) are little more than 3-4' square due to the fact that you're shooting from a steep hillside. All are lined with rocks or wood and have varying amounts of mulch in them.

- Navigation: The map is super inaccurate and there are only tee markers, no distances/diagrams available. My first time here I had more than one instance of tossing to the wrong basket. Since the course is so wooded your target may not be visible but, because the course is so short, you may see one nearby that looks like it'd be yours. This is wrong. Especially on Hole 7, which plays through a gap in the trees, then slightly downhill to the right. You can't see it from the tee but can easily find baskets 8 & 9. This isn't the BIGGEST problem, but with the steep terrain, it's a bit of a pain to hike up an incline, then basically have to replay the hole.

- Restrooms are at the office, but none on/near the course/no trash or benches present on the course

- Cost is $10 + tax, which comes to something like $12.50. A little high.

- All holes are on the short side and heavily wooded (more on this later)

- Terrain: The course is SUPER steep - players with bad knees may want to reconsider or just come prepared. The whole course is heavily, heavily wooded and "fairways" can be hard to find. Especially on #1 where it seems like you're just shooting into a curtain of trees. The ground is strewn with myriad rocks, so be prepared to have your discs chewed up a fair bit. There are rentals available at the office.

Lawson Adventure Park is one of those places that you can rent a cabin and go rafting, rock climbing, zip lining, etc. They have a lot of activities and what has to be one of the more unique courses I've played. It's definitely on the short side but it's filled with trees and steep terrain - every hole involves some sort of elevation change and forces you to think about your shot and find a line somewhere. It let me pull shots out that I seldomly have a need for which was refreshing. It's a great place to come get some practice/experience with both downhill and uphill shots.

Much of BrianElander's review from last year is still valid but I disagree on two points: I'm not sure this is the place I'd bring a beginner - the sheer number of trees on the course I feel might make it a little discouraging to a newbie, despite the short distances. Also, while getting the rundown of the course layout at the office prior to playing, no mention was made of OB so it's hard to say where any would be.

Despite the issues, there are some fun holes here and it plays pretty quickly. The short distances combined w/ the wooded nature of the course balance out to make a good challenge. Now, is it worth $12.50? I'm not sure. Rocky Mountain Village is right down the road and has more holes for a $5 flat fee. So in my opinion $5 for a round here would be totally reasonable. That said, I left feeling that, at least this one time, it was worth it because the course is pretty unique, and really challenged me to think about my shot selection. I'd kick my rating up at least by .5 if some of the amenities were improved - benches, better signage etc.

--This course was made for a purpose, that being for new and un-experienced families to be able to get a taste of disc golf in when they are staying that the adventure park, and that is exactly what this course is.
--The tee pads are very nice, with all of them being relatively flat. Also the pads are made with wood chips witch really makes for a decent tee. Its fairly impressive they got the wood chips to all the tees because a few of them are quite a scramble to get too.
--This course is fairly easy to follow, with the exception being holes 7,8,9 (see cons). They have every tee marked and arrows directing you from basket to tee.
--When none of the holes are extremely long, there is massive elevation changes on many of the holes. This makes up for a bit of the simplicity with ample amount of roll away opportunities.
--They added OB on many of the holes, again to add the extra challenge. This provides some fun risk reward type shots, and even some bogey chances witch is a game changer on a course like this.
--There are a a lot fun basket placements. Holes 2,7,8,10,13,15,17,18 all have elevated, hanging, or added protection. This is a game changer on the putts on most of these holes.
--The workers at the park are super friendly, and word is that if they are having a slow day they will have a employee walk the course showing you around and giving you pointers.
--Great for beginners and although I already said it at the start of the review, the is the most perfect course for them to learn on because its simple and easy enough for a beginner to shoot well resulting in a good time.
--As all mountain courses are, this place is very unique. You will find shots here you could never even think of anywhere else. Its truly one of a kind.
--There are bathrooms that you can get to from 1,5,10,18.

--The baskets do not catch well at all. They are the cheapest baskets that you can find (They appear to be the 60 dollar Cosco baskets) and when they added chains on some of the holes our card had 10-15 spit outs. The baskets are one of the biggest down sides of this course.
--This course is EASY. Most of the shots here would be considered a joke at any other course. I used a mid range once on the only hole that was over 200 feet.
--Hole 1 may just be the tightest shot I have ever seen. Its 100% poke and pray unless you take a massive sky high sidearm flex or a thumber. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but for a family friendly course this is a very daunting hole to start on.
--The other main complaint that I have is that the OB is very poorly marked. Granted the OB is the main thing that makes this course hard, but its marked with "sticks and logs lined up" and in a forest with thousands of trees, a line of sticks isn't really that easy to spot.
--Some of the holes are gimmicky, in particular the two holes that are inside old shacks. These are fun shots but they aren't realistic.
--Holes 7,8,9 are in a more open area and you can be shooting for any one of the three baskets. The baskets aren't numbered so you have to take your best guess.
--There is no practice baskets so you are going into the course cold.
--There is no distances, and no course map. This makes the course slightly more annoying to play because you are not sure of the basket distances and what shot you need to throw.

This course inst necessarily here for the the golfer that wants to be pushed to their limits but more here for a fun time with family. Its a great course for kids because the holes are short and reachable for smaller arms and it will not take long time to play. This is a kinda resort mountain place and the fact they added disc golf great, especially for the people staying there. Its nice because there aren't really any other good places to learn how to disc golf in the mountains except for here. The course isn't perfect by any means but I feel confident that over time the course will be improved. This review is here just after the course has opened and once they get the tee signs and maybe better baskets in the feature then this course will be note worthy. If you are staying at the park this is a must play, and if you are driving thought and in a hurry then toss a fast one, but don't come out of your way to play here...yet.