Rotary Park in Anacortes is a small (maybe three acre), hilly park just off the water. The park is bordered by neighbor's fence lines on one side and a nice little walking path on the lower, waterfront side. The park is fairly rough with rocky areas and lots of downed/broken branches making trekking through it hazardous. I thought maybe I was in Nepal but when I didn't glimpse any Sherpas, yaks or prayer bells, I came to the realization that I was just playing a disc golf course in Anacortes, Washington.

The course features a nice new kiosk at the beginning showing both a map and hole distances. I should have taken a photo of the map but assumed that this little 9 hole course would be easy to navigate. There are nice new metal signs which show the hole # and distance. The baskets are Discatchers with the yellow bands, numbers and next arrow signs hanging from the bottom.

The course is short with the longest hole playing about 260' but with elevation changes combined with thick underbrush, fallen trees and blind basket placements, there is a certain challenge here.

I played on a PERFECT September afternoon with blue skies and 75 degree temperature. With the boats in the marina partially visible below you and the leaves blanketing the ground, it was lovely but then why did I have less than a wonderful experience here?

What I didn't like...

The steep terrain is so rock strewn and covered with downed logs, broken off tree limbs, stumps and other ankle breakers, that it really is not pleasant to walk through especially for an older gentlemen, like myself.

Several holes are blind off the tee and I had to walk quite a ways up the fairway to finally spot the basket.

About halfway through the course, I finally deducted that there were both Red and Blue tees. Apparently, some holes have one tee and some have two. It took me to hole # 9 to finally determine that the Blues were slightly longer and were those where the tee signs were. . I had been trying to just tee off from where the signs were located. I never was able to locate the sign on # 7 so I presume I played that hole from the Blues.

The tee pads are sometimes just worn spots on the paths. They are mostly small, rough and generally not very good.

Hole # 8 is listed as a 122' Par 2. I have never like Par 2's and this basket was probably more like 190', uphill and tight. I would assume that players had complained that the original 122' placement didn't provide much challenge.

The only downhill throws weren't that enjoyable. They were a little too technical for me.

The course is thick enough, with enough forest debris on the ground, that it's very possible to have to hunt for your discs, even on excellent tee offs, as I did on one hole.

I would've hoped that this course would have been cleaned up more by now. If I lived in Anacortes, I would show up with my large, steel pry bar and spend a hour here and there just digging up all the half buried rocks from the paths and fairways. Second task would be to either remove all the broken limbs or at least, try to stack them into some piles.

I love walking through leaves in the fall on courses but the leaves here just covered up all the tripping hazards. I would like to enjoy this course more than I did. I'm usually a big fan of these types of courses.

Rotary Park DGC is a short nine hole course nestled in the hills near the water in Anacortes. With an ample amount of parking and easy to follow directions, locating the course is stress free. Once there, signs point first time players toward the first hole. From there, tee signs (spray painted pavers with numbers stenciled on them) are provided to help with tee location but can be difficult to spot at times due to the dense foliage. Discatchers are in great shape, with next tee signs marked on the bright yellow bands. The course has multiple tee pads as well to keep the course interesting. Holes range anywhere from 122'-258', rewarding accuracy over distance. The course can be played with mostly a putter and mid, but will require an array of shots (hyzer, flick, tomahawk, etc.). Elevation is prevalent throughout the course and even though the course lacks distance, it is quite challenging!

Favorite Hole(s): Hole #1

As mentioned in the previous reviews, the course is treacherous! The amount of fallen trees, roots, brush, and rocks on the course make it near impossible to walk at times. Even though the locals have made a valiant effort to cut back some of the mess, it just doesn't get enough foot traffic to keep the fairways and walkways clear. Because of this, navigating from hole to hole or even locating certain tees and baskets can be near impossible unless you have a map. Even then, it can be tough.

Rotary Park is off to a great start. Even though it is still in the beginning stages, it was easy to see the designer's vision. I played solo the day I was there and still found the course to be challenging and fun. It just needs more work but again, that will come with time and support. I look forward to playing this course again in the future and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it so far. Thank you!

UPDATE:
Based off of the newest pictures uploaded on the site, it looks like the local club has raised enough funds to install nice tee signs! Great addition to the course which should help with course navigation.

The elevation, terrain and heavily wooded aspects of this course make for some fun throws although on the shorter side of things. Brand new Discatchers with double set of chains is a nice touch. Some of the basket locations are blind shots but with many ways to get to the basket which is going to make people 'discover' the course over time instead of being straight forward and dull which is not always the case with short nine hole courses. The area is teeming with wildlife (birds, squirrels, etc.) and you have beautiful views of the sound and surrounding mountains from the walking path 200 feet from the course.

This course is brand new I think, based on the new baskets and that I've never heard of this course until recently. That being said you also get the bad with the good from this course being so new. I'm never in favor of cutting trees for courses but some play would cut down on the random branches impeding your path. Also walking this course is a frustrating and exhausting endeavor with downed trees, ferns, sticks, rocks, roots and anything else you can think of. Playing this course without the map is almost impossible and there is almost no way to determine the correct tee area. There are/were markers at some point but it looks as though they have been vandalized. There are a few signs still there but they are in the wrong place. Instead of making fancy next tee markers they needed to take the idea that's catching on with other local courses and put some yellow tape on the basket in the direction of the next tee pad. This is a simple, cost effective way of navigation without the frustration of someone destroying the work it takes to put together wooded signs.

I really like the idea of this course and I think the shots are fun but it's going to take some years of people playing and walking through here to 'beat it down' and make it fun and enjoyable. This course maybe short and only nine holes but don't let anyone fool you into thinking it's "family friendly" because it is not. Like I said bring the map and stay positive and you should have fun.