Even all beloved decisions, like Sunlight Mountain Resort’s decision to retire two of the longest-running chairlifts in Colorado, can have unintended consequences. The impact of the celebrated upgrades fall onto the niche Roaring Fork disc golf community, who spends its summers playing on the ski resort. 

The beautiful and challenging 18-hole course won’t be available throughout the 2025 summer to make way for construction, but that didn’t get in the way of the next generation finding a new spot to play. 

A group of seventh and eighth graders from Riverview School in Glenwood Springs designed and carried out construction, with help from PEAK teacher Shawn Waaler and Jack Wheeler of The Home Group Inc., of a new 9-hole course located on the K-8 school’s campus. The course is open to the public after school hours, during weekends and holidays, and throughout summer break.

“From the beginning it was student-driven and generated,” Waaler said. “The kids deserve all the credit, they really made this happen, along with all of the community helpers. It was a really fun project and to see it all come to fruition was really neat.”

The school received the baskets a number of years ago through a grant from a former teacher at Riverview School. Waaler, who was introduced to disc golf as a way to bond with coworkers, saw the unused equipment as an opportunity to simultaneously connect the community with the area, offer a fun outdoor experience for students, and fill a void affecting the Roaring Fork Disc Golf community. 

The 9-hole course offers a fun experience for all ages, and even includes a “choose your own adventure,” as Waaler referred to it. At a certain point on the course, you can either choose to follow the building for a shorter and more relaxed experience, or continue to push into the sagebrush for longer and more technical holes.

“The course has the best of both worlds,” Waaler said. “We created it so it could be played during CREW the first 30 minutes of the day. It could be played in PE, or if a teacher just wants to get her kids outside for a bit, you can probably get four holes in that short amount of time. But if you have more time, and you want to challenge yourself or you are a higher level player, I think there’s some challenge in the course as well.”

Waaler said that after taking her students to the disc golf course at CMC’s Spring Valley campus for a field trip, it was nearly impossible to get their minds back on anything else.

“Well, anytime you mention a field trip to your students, they are all for it — anything to get out of school, right?” Waaler joked. After their trip to the local college campus, the students went into experimental mode, trying different layouts to find out what worked and what didn’t. Once they figured out the best layout, many community volunteers and The Home Group Inc., helped pour cement for the baskets. It all culminated in a grand-opening with a ribbon cutting event on Friday, May 23. 

The kids went the extra mile in every facet of the process. The course is uniquely designed by the students down to individually painted signage and student-created QR codes loaded with more information. 

Different seventh and eighth graders wrote short pieces describing their motivations and enjoyment of the process. 

At Riverview School, we have an exciting new opportunity in our community. A disc golf course has been newly installed, and we want to welcome our friends, family, staff, students, and anyone interested in disc golf. This disc golf course was made to expand our community with an intriguing sport. The fast-growing sport, often described as a blend of traditional golf and frisbee, is gaining popularity nationwide, and now, it’s found a home right here. The new disc golf course, which features 9 holes winding through sagebrush and open fields, and offers a fun and accessible outdoor activity for all ages. Whether you’re a seasoned player or picking up a disc for the first time, the course is designed to challenge and engage players of all skill levels. Our disc golf course is accessible for kids as it provides a shortened course with fewer holes.

-Lyda Volek and Alex Mellin Ibarra

We’re super excited to let you know that Riverview has a brand-new disc golf course! Disc golf is a cool sport where you throw a disc into a basket, and it’s a fun way to get outside and be active. It’s great for playing with friends, getting some exercise, and just having a good time. We hope families can come check it out together and have fun exploring this new course. It will be open to the public after school hours, on the weekends, and during summer. You will need a disc and some good shoes for walking. The first tee is southwest of the playground. At the first tee, there will be a sign with a map of the course and a QR code you can scan to learn more about individual holes, distances, and par. Enjoy! Created by 7th and 8th grade Osprey Students 

¡Estamos muy emocionados de contarles que Riverview tiene un nuevo campo de disc golf! El disc golf es un deporte chido donde tiras un disco a una canasta, y es una manera divertida de salir y ponerte en forma. Es perfecto para jugar con amigos, hacer ejercicio y pasar un buen rato. Esperamos que las familias vengan a verlo y se diviertan explorando este nuevo juego. Va ser abierta al público después de horas de escuela, los fines de semana, y durante las vacaciones de verano. Necesitas un disco y zapatos para caminar bien. El comienzo del campo está al suroeste del patio de recreo. En el primer tee, habrá un cartel con un mapa del campo y un código QR que puedes escanear para obtener más información sobre hoyos individuales, distancias y par. ¡Disfruten! Creado por estudiantes de Osprey de 7.º y 8.º grado

-Paul Gudino and Luiz Vargas