7 Arboretum Disc Golf Courses Worth Exploring

Where Disc Golf Meets Trees, Gardens and Living Landscapes

Most disc golf courses use trees as obstacles.

A much smaller group of courses plays through places where the trees themselves are part of the attraction.

Across the United States and Canada, disc golf has found a home inside arboretums, botanical collections and historic garden parks. These settings can produce something very different from a typical municipal course: players move through living collections, landscaped grounds, mature woods, gardens, ponds and other spaces created for people to explore and enjoy.

The seven courses below demonstrate several different ways disc golf and arboretum landscapes can work together.

This isn't a strict ranking. Some are serious championship courses. Others are smaller community layouts. What connects them is the setting—and the opportunity to make a round of disc golf part of a larger outdoor experience.

1. Mahr Park Arboretum

Madisonville, Kentucky

Why It Stands Out: A Complete Disc Golf and Arboretum Destination

If there is a model for combining serious disc golf with a larger arboretum destination, Mahr Park Arboretum deserves attention.

The 265-acre property includes rolling terrain, mature trees, ponds, Lake Pee Wee shoreline, trails, community gardens, nature areas and an accredited arboretum. Disc golfers have two very different options: an 18-hole championship course and a separate nine-hole course intended for beginners and practice.

That combination is important.

The property doesn't require a family, new player and experienced tournament golfer to want exactly the same experience. A serious player can take on hills, trees and water on the championship layout while newer players have a shorter alternative.

And disc golf is only part of what visitors can do. Mahr Park also offers hiking, fishing, paddling, nature play, dog parks and other outdoor activities.

What Other Courses Can Learn From Mahr Park

Build for more than one type of player.

A destination course becomes considerably more useful when advanced golf and beginner access can exist on the same property.

Best for: Destination disc golf, families with mixed skill levels, water and elevation, and players who want a full outdoor day rather than only a round.

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2. Leila Arboretum

Battle Creek, Michigan

Why It Stands Out: Championship Golf in a Horticultural Landscape

Leila Arboretum offers a very different interpretation of arboretum disc golf.

The Battle Creek property combines an established horticultural landscape with an 18-hole disc golf course featuring substantial elevation and technical wooded golf. The City of Battle Creek describes the Arboretum as home to a championship disc golf course as well as a children's garden, museum, walking paths, open green space and picnic facilities.

This is not simply a beginner course placed around decorative trees.

The long layout is demanding. UDisc describes significant elevation changes and technical play, while shorter tee options provide another way to approach the course.

That illustrates an important point about arboretum golf:

Beautiful doesn't have to mean easy.

Mature vegetation, elevation and established landscapes can create legitimate competitive golf without losing the character of the place surrounding it.

What Other Courses Can Learn From Leila Arboretum

Use the landscape instead of fighting it.

Trees don't need to be cleared away simply to create golf. Existing vegetation can become the architecture of the hole.

Best for: Technical players, elevation, mature landscapes and golfers looking for a challenging arboretum round.

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3. Robert E. Miller Disc Golf Course at Arboretum-Spiker Park

Canton, Ohio

Why It Stands Out: Disc Golf Built Deep Into an Established Park Landscape

Canton's Robert E. Miller Disc Golf Course at Arboretum and Spiker Parks is another strong example of disc golf coexisting with a mature park environment.

Canton Parks and Recreation describes a substantial course using both trees and open terrain, with concrete tees and holes ranging from short technical shots to throws beyond 400 feet. The original design is credited to Ed Headrick, one of the foundational figures in the development of modern disc golf.

The landscape includes mature trees, rolling ground and water features that give parts of the course an almost garden-like quality.

Current players continue to praise the course's shot variety and scenery, even as such a large established layout naturally presents navigation and maintenance challenges.

What Other Courses Can Learn From Arboretum-Spiker

Variety creates replay value.

A property containing mature trees, open areas, elevation and water can produce holes with dramatically different personalities without requiring artificial obstacles.

Best for: Traditional disc golfers, varied shot shapes, established park golf and players interested in disc golf history.

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4. Prairie Arboretum Disc Golf — PrairieDisc

Freeman, South Dakota

Why It Stands Out: Disc Golf as a Tour Through an Arboretum

At PrairieDisc in Freeman, South Dakota, the attraction isn't simply the current number of holes.

It's the environment surrounding them.

The free-to-play course sits inside the roughly 40-acre Prairie Arboretum, where players encounter mature tree collections, ponds, gardens, prairie, bridges, walking paths and landscaped spaces during their visit. The current course has nine permanent holes and opened in 2022.

That creates an experience that works particularly well for groups where disc golf isn't the only reason for visiting.

The Arboretum also provides walking, gardens, fishing, picnic areas, Gazebo Island and Visitor Center amenities. Family members can explore the property while others play—or make disc golf only one part of a longer visit.

The Future of PrairieDisc

PrairieDisc is being developed toward a full 18-hole destination layout designed to make greater use of the Arboretum's distinctive landscape.

The long-term concept includes multiple skill levels, prairie-lined fairways, water carries, mature tree corridors, Arboretum landmarks and a planned true-island finish at Gazebo Island.

Rather than designing only for experienced players, the future course is being developed around a progression from beginner and family play through advanced and championship-level golf.

That allows people of different abilities to experience the same property together.

What Other Courses Can Learn From PrairieDisc

The course doesn't have to be the only attraction.

When disc golf shares a property with gardens, trails, fishing, picnic areas and other experiences, the potential audience becomes considerably larger than the disc golf community alone.

Best for: Families, road trips, Arboretum exploration, mixed-skill groups and travelers looking for an unusual South Dakota disc golf stop.

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5. University of Guelph Arboretum

Guelph, Ontario

Why It Stands Out: Disc Golf Inside a Living University Collection

The University of Guelph Arboretum demonstrates how disc golf can exist inside an educational landscape.

The university's public nine-hole course is located specifically within the Arboretum's Maple Collection.

That detail is what makes the course interesting.

Players aren't merely throwing past trees in a park. They are playing within a curated plant collection maintained by a major university arboretum.

The course is free to play and relatively compact, although alternate layouts can create a considerably more challenging experience. UDisc lists restrooms and stroller-friendly/cart-friendly characteristics among the available amenities.

The surrounding Arboretum gives visitors another reason to stay after the final putt.

What Other Courses Can Learn From Guelph

Disc golf can support education as well as recreation.

Tree identification, interpretive signs and plant collections can turn a round into an opportunity to learn about the landscape players are moving through.

That idea has enormous potential for courses located in arboretums, nature centers and botanical properties.

Best for: Casual rounds, tree lovers, university visitors and players interested in the educational potential of disc golf.

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6. Longview Park

Rock Island, Illinois

Why It Stands Out: Historic Gardens and Disc Golf in the Same Park

Longview Park is slightly different from the other destinations on this list.

It is better described as a historic conservatory-and-gardens park than a formally named arboretum, but it belongs in the conversation because of the way horticulture and disc golf share the same public landscape.

Rock Island lists a conservatory, greenhouse, flower gardens, walking paths, picnic shelters and playground facilities alongside the park's disc golf course.

The current 18-hole layout was redesigned in 2024 and uses the park's notably hilly terrain. UDisc currently describes it as an approachable layout overall, although slopes and out-of-bounds areas can still create plenty of challenge.

That combination makes Longview especially interesting from a public-space perspective.

A single historic park can simultaneously serve gardeners, walkers, children, picnickers and disc golfers.

What Other Courses Can Learn From Longview Park

Disc golf can strengthen an existing destination rather than replace its identity.

The best shared-use courses feel like another reason to visit the park—not the only reason the park exists.

Best for: Casual players, historic parks, gardens, elevation and families combining disc golf with other activities.

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7. East Park Arboretum / Tullahoma Sunrise Rotary Disc Golf Course

Tullahoma, Tennessee

Why It Stands Out: Arboretum Trees Become Part of the Fairways

The East Park Arboretum and Tullahoma Sunrise Rotary Disc Golf Course may be one of the clearest examples of the two concepts literally occupying the same ground.

The course is operated through Tullahoma Parks and Recreation and currently offers 18 holes designed by H.B. Clark. Local tourism information describes the course as running through a wooded portion of the community and attracting both tournaments and traveling players.

The arboretum and the disc golf course are not separate attractions sitting beside one another.

The trees are part of the playing environment.

That creates opportunities for both challenging golf and interpretation of the plant collection itself.

What Other Courses Can Learn From East Park

Give the trees identities.

When a hole passes a distinctive oak, pine, maple or other significant tree, naming and interpreting that landscape can make the course more memorable.

Players may forget the number on the tee sign.

They are much more likely to remember the hole through the red oaks or the basket beside the unusual pine.

Best for: Wooded golf, tournament players, tree collections and courses looking to connect hole identity directly to an arboretum.

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What Makes Arboretum Disc Golf Different?

Looking across these seven destinations, a pattern begins to emerge.

The best arboretum disc golf courses don't simply happen to have a lot of trees.

They use the identity of the property.

At Mahr Park, players can choose between championship golf and a beginner layout within a much larger recreation destination.

At Leila Arboretum, elevation and mature vegetation create serious technical golf.

At Guelph, disc golf moves directly through an educational maple collection.

At East Park, the arboretum and course occupy the same wooded landscape.

At Longview, golf shares a historic park with gardens and a conservatory.

And at PrairieDisc, ponds, gardens, prairie, bridges and Gazebo Island are being incorporated directly into the identity of the course.

That leads to several lessons for anyone developing disc golf in a botanical or landscaped setting.

1. Protect the Landscape First

An arboretum exists because its trees, plants and landscapes have value.

Disc golf should work around those assets rather than treating them as disposable obstacles.

The best hole may not require cutting a new corridor.

It may already exist between two established collections.

2. Let the Landscape Name the Holes

Hole names can help players understand where they are.

Oak.

Maple.

Basswood.

Aspen.

Prairie.

Conifers.

Gardens.

Water.

Those aren't merely landscaping details. They can become the identity of the round.

A hole tied to a distinctive place is easier to remember than simply Hole 8.

3. Give Beginners a Way to Experience the Same Property

Mahr Park's separate beginner course demonstrates one solution.

Multiple tee locations provide another.

A beautiful property shouldn't become inaccessible simply because the championship drive requires 400 feet of power or a major water carry.

Families, children and new players should be able to experience the setting too.

4. Give Non-Players a Reason to Come

This may be the biggest advantage arboretum courses have over conventional disc golf properties.

Gardens.

Walking trails.

Fishing.

Museums.

Nature play.

Picnic areas.

Plant collections.

Scenic overlooks.

A destination becomes considerably easier to choose when the disc golfer isn't the only person in the vehicle who will enjoy being there.

5. Tell Visitors What They're Looking At

Disc golfers may walk past extraordinary trees without knowing what they are.

Arboretums already specialize in interpretation and education.

Combine the two.

Tree labels, course maps, QR codes, interpretive signs and hole descriptions can turn a round into a guided tour through the landscape.

6. Build Community Partnerships

Several courses on this list demonstrate how disc golf can grow through relationships among parks departments, universities, arboretums, civic organizations, clubs and volunteers.

Those partnerships can provide much more than baskets.

They can support trails, landscaping, signs, events, educational programming, maintenance and improvements that benefit everyone using the property.

7. Make the Setting Part of the Destination

Disc golfers travel for memorable courses.

They also remember memorable places.

There is a difference between saying:

“We played another park course.”

and saying:

“We played disc golf through an arboretum.”

That difference matters.

Disc Golf Can Be More Than a Course

These seven destinations show how disc golf can fit into landscapes that already have their own history, purpose and identity.

The sport doesn't have to dominate an arboretum.

Done well, it can help more people discover it.

A golfer may arrive because of the baskets and leave remembering the trees.

A family may arrive because one person wants to play and discover gardens, trails or fishing along the way.

And someone who visits an arboretum for an entirely different reason may see a basket, wonder what it is and eventually pick up a disc.

That's what makes arboretum disc golf such an interesting combination.

The trees aren't simply obstacles.

They're part of the experience.

Experience Arboretum Disc Golf in South Dakota

PrairieDisc is located inside the Prairie Arboretum in Freeman, South Dakota, where disc golf shares the landscape with mature trees, ponds, gardens, prairie, bridges, trails, fishing and Gazebo Island.

The current nine-hole course is free to play, and plans are underway for a future 18-hole experience designed for multiple skill levels.

If your travels bring you through southeast South Dakota, come see what disc golf inside an arboretum can feel like.

Come for the round. Stay for the setting.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

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