Disc golf is a unique outdoor sport with many area courses available to play.

The game is played with discs, smaller than Frisbees, that come in varying weights meant for different distance throws, including drivers and putters.

Discs are thrown into baskets made of steel with a chained net about 4 feet off the ground.

Most baskets are par 3, with the holes winding throughout the trees on varying terrain.

Hickory Run State Park’s 19-hole course can be tough to follow, even with the map available at the park office. It’s a mostly wooded course, with a few areas of open fields. Players can get a score card at the park office.

Joe Lazur, of King of Prussia, and Alan DeHaven, of Philadelphia, are veteran disc golfers. They camp at Hickory Run every year to play the course at the park. DeHaven uses the UDisc app to play and finds the terrain and following the course to be challenging.

Lou Camacho, of Effort, playing for the first time at Hickory Run, called disc golf a fun way to get exercise.

You walk and talk and get to observe different things in the park,” Camacho said.

Linesville Park in White Haven is an 18-hole course that is moderately hilly and heavily wooded. After the first three tees, people are playing in the woods, with the back 9 featuring steep hillsides covered in rock.

The FEW Back Course at Francis E. Walter Dam, east of White Haven off Route 940, was built in 2012. All 18 holes are par 3. It is described as “lunar like landscape” with pine trees, rocky terrain, wind and elevation, and often wet and swampy conditions.

There are three courses available at Blue Mountain Resort, Palmerton. The base course has 18 holes, some with multiple tees or baskets. This course starts at the base of the mountain then play is through fields, wooded areas and back down the tubing slope for the 18th hole.

Blue Mountain Skyline course is seasonal. There are four par 4 holes and the 18th basket is par 5.

The Blue Mountain Slopeside course is a 9 hole year-round course. The scenic course with some uphill hole is good for beginners because of its short distance to the baskets.

Allentown area courses include Jordan Creek a 1401 Lehnert Road, Whitehall, and Covered Bridge at 4170 River Road, Allentown.

Jordan Creek is moderately hilly and moderately wooded, and it is noted that 58 discs have been lost there.

The Covered Bridge course was designed by Boy Scouts as an Eagle project. The all par 3 course is good for beginners as well as a practice course for higher skill levels.

You can find courses in East Stroudsburg, too. Pinebrook Disc has lots of foliage and a course length of 6,449 feet, with all holes under 300 feet from the tees. Yetter Park, 198-184 Wilson Ave., is an 18-hole course with a variety of elevations.

All courses have ratings with the degree of difficulty, course conditions and the number of discs lost on the course. One of the best parts is not only enjoying the outdoors, but once the discs are purchased, it’s usually a free activity.

Discs range in price from $20 for a starter set to over $100.

The app UDisc allows people to learn about and review courses as well as keep score and compete with other disc golfers.