Reviews: 205
Avg. Rating:
Beautiful and fun as hell
8 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: - Some really fun elevation holes where you can really rip a disc.
- A lot of challenging forested holes, but nothing that is impossible.
- Very clearly marked baskets and tees.
- Course is very intuitively laid out, starts near the front of the park, travels through the back before finishing back up front.
- Course is pretty great for all skill levels intermediate and above; having 2-3 basket options for each hole.
- Perfect distance drive from Denver; far enough to really get you out of the city and into the mountains, but close enough to where you don't need to make a full day trip to play this course.
- Good variety of shots overall, there are several holes that are wide open, several throwing from elevation, quite a few going through the forest, and a few with a mixture of all of the above.
- The weather in this part of Colorado is unreal.
Cons: - I know the money goes to help maintain a beautiful course, but $15 is quite steep. It would be one thing if it was solely a disc golf course, but this area is shared by a few other recreative activities, so it makes me question whether the money partially goes to help cover costs of other parts of Beaver Ranch.
- Zip-liners flying over you on the first few holes can be quite alarming/distracting.
- I'm putting this as a con, even though I personally find it to be a pro, but it is a lot of hiking (but I appreciate getting a little exercise in while playing disc...)
Other Thoughts: - Really consistent course over all. There aren't any particularly exemplary holes (that's what's holding this course back from receiving 5 stars imo), but there isn't one hole I thought was less than good.
- Courses like Beaver Ranch help edge the sport a little closer to ball golf, where there is a crew that clearly takes great care of the course, a pro shop, and food on-site.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Perfect Summary of CO Mountain Golf
18 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: A Colorado course with views, slopes, amenities, and challenge--in other words, an ideal mountain course.
-Amenities: Very good. Concrete tees, DISCatchers, thorough tee signs including pin position indicator, next tee markers, brooms and benches throughout. Pro shop on site. It has a bit of a country club feel.
-Multi-Tees/Pins: Primarily pins, as there are three locations for most holes out here. Two holes have short tees.
-Scenery: My introduction to the Colorado mountains, and I loved it. A couple of spots you can see a long way, but Beaver Ranch is more the cozy side of the mountains, where the rugged pines are all around and slopes pop up in your view in unexpected places.
-Elevation: Frequent, and sometimes extreme. I couldn't help but laugh as my second drive picked up and rolled 300 feet down a side hill. Hole (7) is the biggest downhill bomb, and (8) is a huge valley shot. Other holes have substantial elevation out here, too.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Quite excellent. Especially when the pin positions are mixed up, there's a good variety of short and longer holes. The pines are ever-present, but the width of fairways ranges from thin to very broad. It's mostly par-3s, but some of them are on the long end and need a confident drive that shapes to the slopes well. Speaking of, the elevation isn't just blasted in your face always; it is often incorporated into the fairway shape in such a way that any shot choice will have varying consequences if not executed perfectly. There are also some beautiful greens, framed by foliage short or tall. The pacing of the course is also great, and it stays fresh through the whole round.
Cons:
-Backtracking: A few of the long pin positions require backtracking along the fairway to get to the next tee. This is a confusing element for navigation, and also slows down groups behind you.
-Lost Disc Potential: Not negligible. Steep slopes mean that shots go out of view and can roll or get caught in unpredictable places. I had a couple of long searches myself.
-Few Multi-Shots: What, in my mind, keeps Beaver Ranch from being one of the best. The number of par-4s and -5s is disappointingly low. Would love to have more strategic, multi-shot holes in this beautiful setting.
-Exertion: This is one of the more physically demanding courses out there with lots of climbing. I found it quite strenuous having just arrived at altitude the day before.
-Pay-to-Play: $12. Totally worth it.
Other Thoughts: To me, Beaver Ranch/Conifer is an ideal Colorado mountain disc golf course. It's got views, isolation, elevation, varied terrain, and fun shaping. Plus, it's got excellent amenities. Its reputation is well deserved. I think it only really lacks more long holes. If you're on the south side of Denver, it's well worth the drive here.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.
1 Helpful / 6 Not
Pros: - One of the best maintained courses.
-It seemed as if every hole has brooms for sweeping tee pads, benches, trash/recycling, and detailed hole info/signage.
-Lots of elevation change
-Good variety of open and wooded holes
Cons: None
1 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Beautiful Colorado
19 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros:
+ Nice Concrete Tees
+ DisCatchers, yes please
+ Nice full color and descriptive tee signs
+ Multiple Tees and Basket locations with the addition of two baskets on each hole, nice surprise.
+ New pro shop and player lounge
+ The little things like, bag hooks and brooms and toilets and water just make this place even better.
+ Beautiful scenery just like most of CO. This course will not disappoint you when it comes to being close to nature. You get to play through a mature grove of trees, its just beautiful.
+ Lots and lots of elevation. You arent throwing every single shot up and down hill but almost all holes bring elevation into play somewhere weather its throwing up or down hill or throwing across a valley or on a side slope. The hills really make your brain work just as hard as your body if you are looking to score well.
+ The hole lengths arent too crazy long but they feel long. Now there are 100% some long holes out there but to me they all just felt a little longer then the tees say. This is probably just because of playing at elevation but it catches me off guard.
+ Hole 1 from the long really starts out with a bang in my eyes and would be my favorite on the course followed up by hole 21. Hole 1 is a really cool shot that play over a valley and up a hill to the basket. And hole 21 is the top of the world shot that everyone loves.
+ You can tell that they moved the loose brush and limbs around to help stop discs rolling down the mountain.
Cons:
- Its really hard to find a con for this course with all the new additions that I have seen over the past few years but Ill give it a go.
- You could complain about the $12 greens fee but you get what you pay for.
- The mountains will test your lungs but its not really a con for me but it could be a deal breaker for some.
Other Thoughts:
This course is truly great. It was already good but all the recent additions over the years and constant improvements you can really see that this course is loved and cared for. I would suggest that you should go out of your way to play this course and maybe even spend a full day here if you have the time for it.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.
Beaver Ranch
22 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: My Three Pros:
1) Beaver Ranch is truly beautiful and a great representative for Colorado Rocky Mountain disc golf. The course is set in a very pleasant park just outside of Conifer and plays largely up and down a large hill on the property. Visitors from out of state will be impressed on many holes by the great views, however someone who is used to mountainous areas may find the park to be very familiar rolling terrain without any major overlooks or dramatic viewpoints. Nevertheless, this piece of woods is a great place to set some baskets up and you will rarely make it through a round without admiring the scenery at some point.
2) The amenities of Beaver Ranch are exactly what they should be for this reputable of a course and the various elements would be difficult to improve upon. All holes have large concrete tee-pads, with double tee-pads on 1 & 15. All holes have very nice signs indicating basket distance, a map pf the hole etc. All holes have multiple pin positions- occasionally ranging from short and easy to very long and difficult on a single hole (see cons below). While many basket positions are blind from the tee- especially the golds- there are indicators at each hole showing the basket positions in play, which are then clearly defined on the hole map, making first time play and understanding of the correct basket to play much better. The pro-shop at the entry has an excellent disc selection and great Beaver Ranch swag, as well as some snacks and drinks. The approach area where the pro-shop is located has nets for driving warm up, and several baskets of the putting course are right there as well to practice putting on. Most holes have bag holder hooks and dog leash hooks. There's a restroom thing sort of midway through the course, although I've never gone in there so who knows if it functions. Most holes have benches and there are a couple of trash cans along the way. 2022 MAY Update: as of May 2022 almost all holes have 3 baskets in play now - a short silver, medium blue and long gold layout- and all baskets are of great quality as others have mentioned. The new Blue baskets look great and are marked on almost all tee-signs. The blues were installed into the medium pin position on all holes that had a medium position sleeve available, but a few holes still need a 3rd sleeve added which is coming soon. I think It should be noted many of the high reviews this course has garnered over the years were Before the addition of the short and medium baskets, they used to just rotate the pin positions.
3) The Fun Factor is high at Beaver Ranch. With several holes utilizing the drastic elevation changes in combination with open meadows and tight woods there are so many different shots required in a single round. The things I love include: the tight lines with super narrow but fair wooded gaps, the big wide open downhill throws, the variation of forehand and backhand friendly holes, the variation of distance from short to long. With the exception of maybe a true huge bomber shot Beaver Ranch will give you an opportunity to try out every shot you have.
Cons: My Three Cons:
1) Too hard versus too easy. Today I shot 10 under par on the silver course, and I am no Paul Mcbeth. My best on the gold layout is like 10 over par! While I love that they have added the 2nd set of permanent baskets to make the gold layout permanent, the resulting permanent silver course is typically set in all-par 3, very scoreable positions reserving any of the tweener difficulty and super difficult positions for the gold layout. And so, many may set out to play the much more challenging and fun Gold layout only to find midway through that the long holes are very long, and very hard- at which point many will say screw it and play the silvers they prefer. Many come to challenge the angry beaver, but be warned the gold layout is a beatdown. Meanwhile, the silvers feel like a fun wooded par 3 course you've played everywhere else. This is not so much a negative for the Beaver Ranch as much as an unforeseen result of taking one sorta-medium-hard course and splitting it into easy and difficult layouts.
2) Not DG only. This is an open space park technically so occasionally you may find folks walking along a trail that runs through the course. I have never had any issue other than waiting briefly for someone to walk through, and that is very uncommon. There is also a zip line tour that runs in the same park and only is only noticeable on the first and last holes but does make noise and will occasionally have groups of zippers queuing near the final tee pad. Also the Jeffco parks rangers do enforce their rules and regulations in the park (no loose dogs, no smoking etc), so keep them in mind when near the parking lot or starting area.
3) While Beaver Ranch is beautiful and fun to play and has all the things a course needs, it lacks the 'wow factor' seen at 5-star courses elsewhere like Harmony Bends or Maple Hill. I think this could be achieved with some elevated tee pads or basket placements, manicured/reconfigured greens, additional work to fix up the teepads on the uphill holes, add steps/nicer trails between holes, and a bit more frequent course cleaning. I am not a huge fan of courses having more than 18 holes and wish Beaver didnt have the extra holes, but then again I couldnt really point to any holes that should be combined or removed. None of these things detract from the current playing experience and could only add to improve the already great experience.
Other Thoughts: I have wanted to review this course for a while and am happy to be doing so today. I am someone who has played this course on vacation as a visitor from Texas, then again as a Denver resident who would come up every now and again to get my butt kicked, and now I have a season pass and play frequently. I can still recall the feeling of awe when playing this course the first time and stumbling upon the tee-pee placed at hole 15 to take a mid round break. I still recall the urge to drive out from Denver when I was feeling hot from playing the wide open Denver courses, only to be humbled time and time again. And now, Beaver is probably the course I play the most and love coming back to slowly figure out each hole. Its a course worthy of the reputation as one of America's best and certainly a top contender in Colorado. I look forward to the work and improvements taking place to only make the place more amazing. The views at Bucksnort will be better, and the holes at Bailey are longer, but Beaver will be just as great an experience as any of the other highly rated course nearby.
{PS come play in October for the course's most beautiful colors and mellow weather for the full effect!}
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.
Mountain Epicness
18 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Beaver Ranch is an area of the mountains chock full of amazing disc golf. Several beautiful courses, stunning landscape, and each of them with a unique characters. What makes Beaver Ranch stand out and give it that extra edge to go up to the top echelon of courses isn't just the crazy good hole design.
Every hole on the whole course is unique and designed well. Every once in a while I would think the fairway was a little crowded, only to walk up and see it opened up and I just needed to trust the gap. It was fair, you just couldn't see it.But this course has it all: tight and technical, long epic shots downhill, steep uphill, technical downhill. And all fun and exciting!
The equipment here is top notch. Full, often generously huge, concrete tees on each hole (two on 15). Fully detailed tee signs with real pictures of what the hole looks like from the tee with each basket position marked. Each hole has at least two, up to four different possible positions, and at least two of those positions will have a basket in them. There's a set of... Mach V's I think, and a set of DisCatchers out there. One on each hole. The pictures on the tee were amazing and the most helpful aspect of anything I've seen on a course anywhere.
Navigation is pretty easy, but there are a couple spots where it's easy to get onto the wrong hole and you need to keep going, but really it's pretty easy.
This course is also one of the most beautiful places I have ever played. It is hard to really describe the effect of how well all the little things Beaver Ranch does to combine to being a fantastic course. Even the fact that each pin position is properly inputted into DGCR App, there may have been a couple missing but wow it's such a relief to see.
Cons: I dunno. There were maybe a couple times I was like, "wow I like this." and not "WOW I LOVE THIS."
Previous reviewers have mentioned things like not every tee pad is perfect, the long round can be strenuous and you'll need water, and they're all right. I'll echo them with the same spirit of "well I need to put something here, even if it's small."
Other Thoughts: There's a putting course on the property as well. I didn't play, but it looked fun and exciting!
Green's fee is $12, which isn't bad at all. The pro store has cool stickers, and a modest selection of discs.
I don't know dude, just go play this course!
EDIT: I just came back the morning after writing this review late last night and looked at the pics and saw the baskets I thought were Mach 5 in the review were Gateway Titans. I knew playing and had just forgotten
I also see that the hole numbers in the pics do not match the current configuration of holes. The pics are very out of date (and even have dirt tee pads), but when you get there you shouldn't have a problem navigating, or any big complaints about the new layout.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.
Awesome mountain course
1 Helpful / 8 Not
Pros: Very beautiful course in the mountains. Two baskets per hole. Very good signs with basket locations pointed out on actual pictures of the view ahead of you.
Cons: Lots of hiking around (we came from the coast so the elevation change and the hiking kicked our butt). A couple of pads took some time to find
1 of 9 people found this review helpful.
2 Helpful / 11 Not
Pros: Challenging course with substantial ups and downs, some pretty steep. Fun course, mostly wooded.
Cons: None!
Other Thoughts: This course is definitely worth visiting. It makes for a fun round, especially on the really steep uphill hole where we totally skewed our scores!
2 of 13 people found this review helpful.
Perfect CO course
1 Helpful / 9 Not
Pros: Exceptional everything. Great entrance, great holes, great scenery.
Cons: Holy crap be ready for a workout! Also if you aren't from the area note that this course is very high in altitude and you will be short on breath.
Bring water and stay hydrated!
Other Thoughts: A few holes looked like afterthoughts. But the majority of them were amazing. Wouldnt call it a perfect 5 but 4.4-4.6 seems about right.
1 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Bring your hiking Shoes
2 Helpful / 18 Not
Pros: Well laid out course with every type of hole, demanding use of every disc in your bag.
Cons: The many up down, up downs and unlevel trails are brutalizing on the calves and ankles.
Other Thoughts: Partial stairs on 13 & 14 could be helpful. Bring extra water!
2 of 20 people found this review helpful.
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5+ 
9/30/2020 
9/30/2020
Review By: reezyF 
This review was updated on 5/9/2022
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