May 11th, 2024, was a warm and sunny spring day. Perfect weather for the ribbon cutting ceremony for Minocqua Winter Park’s 18-hole Squirrel Hill Disc Golf Course and inaugural disc golf tournament. Surrounded by supporters, volunteers, donors, staff and board members, the big scissors came out and the ribbon was officially cut. The next seven months were a huge success and we are proud to share some of the statistics from the first full season of the Squirrel Hill Disc Golf Course. All stats were collected using UDisc, the leading disc golf app for players to find courses, get information, keep score, and more.
We wanted to create a destination disc golf course that, when coupled with the existing highly rated local courses, would increase tourism. This not only benefits the park, but also the Lakeland community as a whole. We are excited to report that from March 2024 to March 2025, the course was played over 1,000 times and over half of those visits were from those traveling more than 100 miles! The UDisc report also showed that twenty US states and one Canadian Province were represented.
We worked hard to create a high quality course to attract these visitors and keep them coming back. During the construction phase, our course designers worked with local disc golf experts (and designers of some of the best courses in the state) to utilize the unique terrain of Squirrel Hill and provide a wide variety of shot shapes, distances, and challenges. In its first year, Squirrel Hill Disc Golf Course was rated an impressive 4.75/5, placing it in the top 10 of the 464 public disc golf courses in Wisconsin. The written course reviews from players have complimented the fun, but challenging course layout:
“Honestly I think this is one of the best in the state right now.”
“What a Northwoods gem. Super fun track, beautiful views, great hike. Great potential on the property as well. Excited to see where this one goes.”
“This course is amazing! I would recommend making this a destination course to anybody!”
We are so proud of the volunteer work that was done to attain that high of a rating in the course’s inaugural year. Whether hauling and spreading wood chips, leaf blowing, chipping brush, or mowing the fairways, the energy and generosity from these amazing volunteers helped create a professional and beautifully maintained course. And judging by these written course reviews, visitors also took note:
“This is an excellent course with a lot of challenge on the longs, and a lot of good exercise with the elevation…The pure beauty of the forest and manicured fairways should impress everyone.”
“One of the best new courses in WI. Absolutely pristine. Well kept.”
Lastly, the Squirrel Hill Disc Golf Course has proven to be an asset to both the park and the community in its inaugural year. In the fall of 2023, the foundation received a generous donation of discs, baskets, and curriculum from the Educational Disc Golf Experience (EDGE), a non-profit dedicated to help students and youth learn and enjoy disc golf. With these tools, we were able to invite the first school groups to the course in the following spring to learn new skills, promote teamwork, and exercise the body and the brain!
While we are excited to share these first-year milestones, we are equally thrilled to look to the future to increase community collaborations, participation, and education of this booming sport. The Squirrel Hill Disc Golf Course officially opened for the 2025 season on April 11th and we look forward to seeing both new faces and old friends this year. Grab a disc or two out of our borrow bin and check out the course on your next visit to the park. Visit the Disc Golf page on our website for more information and be sure to follow us on Facebook or join the Squirrel Hill Disc Golf Course Facebook Group to stay in the loop with the latest announcements and happenings.
Click here to view a downloadable version of the UDisc factsheet.
