Disc golf might be the perfect Vermont summer activity: it costs almost nothing, it takes you into the woods for two hours, it works for a six-year-old and a serious player in the same group, and it ends at a brewery. Killington sits in the middle of a surprisingly deep cluster of courses, from a flat riverside putter course 15 minutes up Route 100 to a wooded, hilly layout in Pittsford that ranks among the best in the state.

This guide covers every disc golf course near Killington worth the drive, what each one is like, where to get discs, when the courses are playable, a full day plan and a few etiquette notes for first-timers. One honest note up front: the in-town options have thinned in recent years, so the best rounds now start with a short drive.

The Short Answer

The best disc golf within 45 minutes of Killington is in Pittsfield (Clear River, a free, flat 18-hole putter course behind a tavern), Rutland (Northwood Park, a free wooded 18), Pittsford (Sugar Hollow, a free, hilly, beautifully maintained 18 rated among Vermont's best) and Ludlow (The Maples at Okemo, a pay-to-play mountain course with rentals). Killington Resort's own course has closed and the old Base Camp course in town is no longer maintained, so plan on driving 15 to 40 minutes. Bring a three-disc starter set, play the flat courses in spring, the hilly ones in summer and fall, and finish at Long Trail Brewing.

Course inventory within 45 minutes of Killington

Drive times below are from the Killington Road and Route 4 junction. Hole counts, fees and conditions come from the operators and from course-tracking apps as of fall 2026; check the app the morning you play, since volunteer-run courses change.

Disc golf courses near Killington, Vermont

• Clear River Disc Golf. Town: Pittsfield. Holes: 18. Terrain: Flat, riverside, putter course. Fee: Free. Drive: About 15 min.

• Northwood Park. Town: Rutland Town. Holes: 18. Terrain: Wooded, hilly, gravel tees. Fee: Free. Drive: About 25 min.

• Allen Street Campus. Town: Rutland. Holes: 9. Terrain: Flat, open, beginner layout. Fee: Free. Drive: About 25 min.

• Sugar Hollow. Town: Pittsford. Holes: 18. Terrain: Wooded, very hilly, well maintained. Fee: Free. Drive: About 35 min.

• Castleton University. Town: Castleton. Holes: 18. Terrain: Heavily wooded, hilly, all par 3. Fee: Free. Drive: About 40 min.

• The Maples at Okemo. Town: Ludlow. Holes: 18. Terrain: Extremely hilly mountain course. Fee: Pay per round. Drive: About 40 min.

Clear River Disc Golf, Pittsfield

Fifteen minutes north on Route 100, behind the Clear River Inn & Tavern, this is the friendliest course in the region: 18 short holes along the river on mostly flat ground, designed as a putter-only course, free to play any time, with restrooms and water at the tavern and a layout that works with a stroller or a cart. It is the right first round for kids and beginners and a great warm-up round for anyone. The tavern next door serves lunch and dinner, so the post-round pint is 50 yards away.

Northwood Park, Rutland Town

A free public course on former logging land, expanded to 18 holes in 2023, with gravel tees, real elevation and wooded fairways that reward accuracy over power. It is open dawn to dusk year-round, dogs are welcome under control, and there is no water or restroom, so bring both. Good for players with a few rounds under their belt.

Allen Street Campus, Rutland

A short nine-hole intro course on a school campus, flat and open, free, and built for learning the game. It is closed during school hours and after dark, so play it on a summer morning or a weekend. Baskets sit near brush in places, so keep an eye on your throws.

Sugar Hollow, Pittsford

The gem of the county. A free 18-hole course in a town park, wooded and very hilly, with rubber tee pads, seasonal restrooms and drinking water, maintained by a dedicated local volunteer club with the town's recreation department. It routinely ranks among the top courses in Vermont on player-rated apps, a new longer pro layout was in development for 2026, and the fall foliage round here is one of the best in New England. Dogs on leash. Expect a workout; this is not a flat stroll.

Castleton University, Castleton

A free, heavily wooded 18 on the college campus where every hole is a par 3. It is cart and stroller friendly by layout, but recent player reports mention thin signage and some overgrowth, so it is a course for players who enjoy a little adventure and don't mind consulting the app for the next tee.

The Maples at Okemo, Ludlow

A lift-town mountain course at Okemo's Jackson Gore base, opened in 2023, pay by the round at the ticket window, with disc rentals at the hotel front desk and a tavern at the bottom. It is extremely hilly, seasonal, and the most "resort" experience of the bunch, with big views to match the climbs. If you are staying in one of our Okemo-region rentals, it is your home course.

Worth the extra drive

Three courses sit just past the 45-minute mark and are worth knowing about: White River Disc Golf in Randolph (a flat, technical, volunteer-loved 18, about 50 minutes), the hilly state-park course at Lake St. Catherine in Poultney (park entry fee in season, gate can close in spring and fall) and Chester Discgolf (an extremely hilly, wooded 18 about 55 minutes south, not for strollers).

What about Killington and Pico?

Here is the honest status as of fall 2026. Killington Resort's 18-hole course, which opened in 2012, is listed as permanently closed; the mountain's summer focus is downhill mountain biking, the Adventure Center and the ball golf course. Pico has never had a course. And the long-running course behind Base Camp Outfitters on Route 4, once an 18-hole layout on private land, has not been maintained in recent seasons; the baskets are still in the woods, but players report the fairways have grown in. If you want to try it, call the shop first and set expectations low. For a reliable in-Killington outdoor day, the resort's traditional 18 is covered in our guide to golfing in Killington, and the rest of the summer lineup is in our roundup of Killington summer activities.

Where to buy or rent discs, and what a starter set costs

You need three discs to have a great first day: a putter, a mid-range and a fairway driver. A branded disc golf starter set with all three runs roughly $25 to $35, and a single disc is about $15, which makes this one of the cheapest sports to try. Locally:

• Base Camp Outfitters, Killington. Historically the in-town source for discs and cheap rentals, and worth a call, though stock has been thin recently. Open daily.

• Okemo's Jackson Gore front desk, Ludlow. Rents discs for rounds at The Maples.

• Big-box sporting goods in Rutland. The national sporting goods retailers in Rutland typically carry entry-level starter sets; call before you drive.

• Order ahead. The simplest move: order a starter set online a week before your trip and have it shipped to the house. Tell our team a package is coming.

Write your phone number on every disc with a marker. The people who find lost discs in these woods almost always call.

Seasonality: mud season, foliage rounds and early spring

Vermont's courses follow the same calendar as its trails.

• Mud season (late March or early April through late May). Snowmelt turns the wooded, hilly courses soft, and walking them leaves ruts that take all summer to heal. Give Sugar Hollow, Northwood, Castleton and the Okemo mountain course time to dry, and follow any postings. Lake St. Catherine's park gate can be closed in spring, and Okemo's course opens with the summer season.

• Earliest playable in spring. The flat valley courses come around first: Clear River in Pittsfield and Allen Street in Rutland dry out weeks before the hillside layouts. A sunny April afternoon at Clear River with a tavern lunch is a great early-season day.

• Summer. Everything is open. Play the wooded courses in the morning before the heat and the bugs pick up, and bring water to Northwood, which has none.

• Foliage rounds (late September to mid-October). Color starts at higher elevations in mid-to-late September and moves down into the valleys through mid-October. Sugar Hollow and Northwood are the standout foliage rounds; Okemo's mountain course adds the views. Our guide to Vermont fall foliage helps you time the week.

• Late fall and winter. Northwood and Clear River are technically open year-round. A crisp November round with no leaves on the trees (and every disc easy to find) is an underrated pleasure. Snow rounds are for the committed.

The two rounds and a brewery day

Here is the day we would plan for a summer or early-fall Saturday from a Killington rental.

1. 9 a.m.: Clear River, Pittsfield. Fifteen minutes up Route 100. Eighteen quick putter holes on flat ground to warm up the arm and let the kids get their first birdies. Grab coffee at the tavern.

2. 11:30 a.m.: lunch. Eat at the Clear River Tavern on the course, or pack sandwiches from the Killington Market and picnic by the river.

3. 1 p.m.: the real round. Drive to Sugar Hollow in Pittsford (about 35 minutes) for the county's best 18, or to Northwood Park in Rutland Town (about 25 minutes) for a shorter wooded round. Water, bug spray and real shoes.

4. 4 p.m.: the brewery. From Sugar Hollow, head back toward Killington and stop at Long Trail Brewing Company in Bridgewater Corners, 15 minutes from most of our homes, with a riverside deck and a family-friendly pub. From Northwood, stay in Rutland for wood-fired pizza at Hop'n Moose (evenings Tuesday through Saturday, plus lunch Friday and Saturday). More options are in our guide to breweries near Killington.

5. 6:30 p.m.: home. Hot tub, grill, and a putting contest on the lawn with the basket you did not know you would want to buy.

Etiquette and family notes for first-timers

Disc golf is one of the most welcoming sports around, and its courtesy rules are simple. The sport's governing body sums them up in a single rule, and the spirit of it is this:

• Never throw when someone could get hit. Wait until the group ahead has cleared the basket and moved on, every hole. Discs travel farther than you think and hurt more than you would guess.

• Be quiet and still while someone else throws. No talking, no walking ahead, no phone flashes on the tee.

• The player farthest from the basket throws first. Do not walk past their lie until they have thrown.

• Let faster groups play through if you are a foursome with kids and there is a pair of regulars behind you. They will thank you and it keeps everyone happy.

• Pack out everything, and help look for lost discs. Most of these courses are maintained by volunteers who also happen to be the people finding your discs.

• Dogs on leash where the course asks (Sugar Hollow), and cleaned up after everywhere.

For families, start at Clear River or Allen Street, where the holes are short and the ground is flat, and let kids throw from wherever they want; scorekeeping is optional at age seven. Save Sugar Hollow, Northwood and the Okemo course for kids who can walk a hilly two miles without negotiation. And on any course, put the youngest thrower last in the order so nobody is standing downrange of a wild first drive.

A new favorite sport, one short drive away

There is a specific sound that turns a first-timer into a disc golfer: the rattle of chains when a putt drops. It usually happens somewhere around the fourth hole at Clear River, it costs nothing, and after that the afternoon takes care of itself. Disc golf asks for a three-disc set, a water bottle and the willingness to walk into the woods for two hours with people you like. Vermont supplies the woods, and Rutland County supplies more good courses than most people expect.

The plan is simple enough to remember without this guide. Flat course first, hilly course when you have earned it, brewery when you are done. Play the valley courses in spring and the wooded ones from June to foliage. Put the youngest thrower last in the order, let the fast group play through, and write your phone number on every disc. If the mountain's own course ever comes back, wonderful; until then, the drive up Route 100 is part of the fun.

By the end of a Killington summer week, someone in the group will be pricing a basket for the backyard. That is the sport working as intended. Make one of our homes the base camp, and leave the deck light on for the post-round debrief.

Base camp for a summer & fall of rounds

Our Killington homes put you 15 minutes from Clear River, 35 from Sugar Hollow and 15 from Long Trail, with a deck for the post-round debrief. Find your summer base.

Browse Killington Rentals

Frequently asked questions

Is there a disc golf course at Killington Resort?

Not anymore. Killington's 18-hole course, opened in 2012, is listed as permanently closed as the resort focuses its summer operations on downhill mountain biking, the Adventure Center and its ball golf course. The nearest reliable courses are in Pittsfield, Rutland, Pittsford and Ludlow, all within about 15 to 40 minutes.

What is the closest disc golf course to Killington?

Clear River Disc Golf in Pittsfield, about 15 minutes north on Route 100, a free 18-hole putter course on flat riverside ground behind the Clear River Inn & Tavern. The old course behind Base Camp Outfitters on Route 4 in Killington is closer but has not been maintained in recent seasons; call the shop before counting on it.

Which disc golf course near Killington is best for beginners and kids?

Clear River in Pittsfield, hands down: short putter-length holes, flat ground, stroller friendly and free, with restrooms and food at the tavern. Allen Street Campus in Rutland is a good second option, a free nine-hole intro course open outside school hours. Save the hilly wooded courses for confident walkers.

Which course is the best in Rutland County?

Sugar Hollow in Pittsford, a free, wooded, very hilly 18 in a town park that is maintained by a volunteer club and consistently rated among the top courses in Vermont by players. It has seasonal restrooms, drinking water and one of the best fall foliage rounds in the region. Expect a real hike.

When can you play disc golf in Vermont?

Roughly late May through late October for the wooded, hilly courses, with mud season (late March or early April through late May) as the off-limits window when soft trails rut easily. Flat valley courses like Clear River and Allen Street dry out weeks earlier, and Northwood and Clear River stay open year-round for anyone willing to play in November.

How much do discs cost, and where can I get them near Killington?

A three-disc starter set (putter, mid-range and fairway driver) costs about $25 to $35, and a single disc runs about $15. Okemo rents discs for its course at the Jackson Gore front desk, Base Camp Outfitters in Killington is worth a call, Rutland's sporting goods stores usually stock starter sets, or order a set online and ship it to your rental before you arrive.