The Welcome sign went up even before the For Sale sign came down; even before Lemon Lake Park had its name.  

Lemon Lake County Park's first 160 acres were purchased in 1968; Lemon Lake was dedicated in 1972; At the 1972 March Park Board meeting Lemon Lake County Park was named after the small marsh area that had historically been called by that name. 

Courses

Lemon Lake's White Course
Established 2009:
 


This is typically the shortest course however this course will be configured to the extended White Course format used at the 2013 PDGA Pro World Championships at Lemon Lake. The course has tricky ravine holes, open meadows and shots through tight woods, and Hole 15 features "the bathtub shot".  The max distance in standard configuration is 4384 feet with a par of 55.  Note for Pro Worlds this course measured 8083 with a par of 64. Original holes 5, 6, 7 and 16 were closed in 2015 due to erosion and vandalism.  Four new holes were immediately established adding hole 13 and 14 that were previously used for Worlds in addition to new holes 15 and 16 near shelter 2.  Hole 17 will be played in the long position.

Lemon Lake's Red Course
Established 1999
Restored 2017 (600+ trees lost)


This course has the most variety, from tight turns in the woods to long challenging par 4's.  This course is a lengthened version of the original 18 holes Par in standard configuration is 54 with a length of 5940 feet.  Note that for Pro Worlds this course measured 6369 with a par of 62. This course has been fully restored in 2017 after being devestated by the Emerald Ash Borer (Beetle). Restoration efforts began in February 2017 continued through August removing more than 600 Ash trees totaling more than 450 tons of wood.  Several community residents repurposed the wood to heat their homes through the Winter.  Wood that could not be repurposed was burned onsite.  We sincerely thank the parks department for allowing us the opportunity to restore this course and for their help in doing so.  We'd also like to thank our volunteers who worked tirelessly over the year to complete the project.  Tim White, Brad Haan, Jason Winterfelt, Ryan Jackson, Matt Travis, Jessie Mercado, Tim Monigan, Nick Svitko, Justin and Jill Rich and Aaron Hicks.  We could not have completed this work without you!


Lemon Lake's Blue Course
Established in 2003:

This course is the most open of the group with 8 challenging wooded shots that feature a stream and elevation changes.  Some holes along the waterfront were removed in 2016 due to rising water.  New holes 8, 9, and 10 were installed near the Dog Park, hole 12 was also moved to a new position near the road due to rising water.  More than 200 trees were removed from this course in 2017 due to the Emerald Ash Borer (Beetle) destruction.  The course currently measures 7100 feet with a par of 59. 

Lemon Lake's Gold/Silver Courses
Established in 2008:

These courses have been designed to challenge the top players in the world. From the Gold tees the course measures 8812 feet with a par of 64.  From the Silver tees, the course measures 6610 feet with a par of 58. The course is carved through a mature oak forest with gradual elevation changes.  It also features some spectacular ravines and tricky pin placements.Hole 11 Gold has been permanently closed.  A new Gold teepad will be installed on hole 6 and new tees installed on hole 8 Silver and 8 Gold this season.

Park History

Lemon Lake County Park was opened to the public on May 1, 1972.  The park was dedicated on August 26, 1972 by US State Rep. and House Rules Committee Chairman Ray J. Madden of Gary, IN.  Speakers and dignitaries included Richard Blastick, Lake County Council President; Harold Holmes, Lake County Park Board President; and Crown Point Major, Richard Collins.  Park Manager Charlie Watts and his family, professional landscaper Clark Fowler and the Lemon Lake park staff employees were highly commended for their more than 3 years of work and dedication in establishing many of the park's first amenities.  Rep. Madden proposed a projected population growth of 1 million people to the Lake County Indiana region by the year 1985  This growth would necessitate 10,000 recreation acres of parks.  Lemon Lake became the first of the now 13 parks (36 parks originally proposed) to be opened to the public in Lake County, IN.  Much of the work completed by this group of early pioneers, community volunteers and business developers can be found all throughout the park today.

The Lake County Parks and Recreation Department will mark its 50th Anniversary in 2018.  Throughout its long history, the Park Board has been dedicated to providing a countywide system of parks, trails and amenities that offer recreational, educational, historical and cultural opportunities with access to open space and natural areas.  Today's park amenities include a 1K paved trail around the lake funded in part by the Cedar Lake Junior Women's Club and Indiana Bell in the early 1970's and more than 5 miles of primitive trails in hilly wooded terrains created by the park's department and community volunteers.  Each provide recreation opportunities to the park's visitors.  Lemon Lake is also home to softball fields, open play areas, two sand volleyball courts and a large creative playground, fishing and picnicking, shelters and washroom facilities, BBQ facilities, and a leash-free dog run.  There is an abundance of wild plants and flower rare to the Midwest.  There is also an abundance of wildlife throughout the park including white tail deer, snapping turtles, birds, owls, fish and wild turkey.  The park is also home to one of the few covered bridges still in existence.  The bridge built in 1974 was the first covered bridge built in Lake County at the time in more than 125 years.













The Lemon Lake Disc Golf Complex

The disc golf courses at Lemon Lake were designed, developed and constructed through the collaborative efforts  between the Lake County Parks Department, Park Manager April Brown, PDGA and Indiana Disc Golf Hall of Fame recipient Brian Cummings and members of the Illiana Flying Tigers DGC.  The club name was later changed to The Red Roc Disc Golf Club in 2001 after the passing of friend and disc golf club member Matt "HOMIE" Lovasko.  Work efforts began in the Winter of 1998 with completion of the first 18 hole Red Course design in 1999.   Many variations and modifications for improvements were made during the 1998 - 2009 era.  The 10 year partnership and countless volunteers contributed to the legacy courses now known as The Lemon Lake Disc Golf Complex.

Awards


Today's Lemon Lake encompasses 403 acres

of rolling hills and open space surrounded by

wooded areas.  The 5 World Championship disc

golf courses at the park utilize approximately

165 of the 403 acres. 

Lemon Lake County Park was awarded as the host

site for the 2010 and 2013 PDGA Professional Disc

Golf World Championships under the leadership of

Tournament Director Brian Cummings, Assistant Tournament Director Jay Svitko and The Red Roc Disc Golf Club.  The park and this event team were the recipients of the "2013 Event of the Year" award presented by South Shore Visitor's Authority and Convention's Bureau for its contribution to the local tourism industry.  The 2013 event brought in more tourism dollars to the region for a single event.  Read


On April 25, 2015, Lemon Lake County Park and The Flight Center staff received the PDGA Proclamation in recognition of becoming the sport's first PDGA Regional Development Center for Disc Golf. Read the nwi.com article here: http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/recreation/golf/flight-center-disc-golf-shop-named-pdga-regional-development-center/article_3d680b06-e269-524e-861f-0fa9f7fad52a.html



















The Flight Center is currently the host site for the traveling disc golf historical exhibit.  The exhibit was first introduced at the 2015 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships in Pittsburgh, PA and has been made available for viewing to thousands of visitors since late 2015.  Read the PDGA article here: http://www.pdga.com/lemon-lake-flight-center-hosts-traveling-disc-golf-history-exhibit


The Flight Center is also home to the Indiana State Disc Golf Museum dedicated in April 2015.  The Museum was curated through donations, personal contributions and park memorabilia.   The Museum displays both Indiana Disc Golf History and disc golf history.  For more information about the Indiana State Disc Golf Museum, visit our link here:  http://www.facebook.com/indianastatemuseumfordiscgolf/


Lemon Lake was the host site of  the 2016 PDGA Director's Cup


ANNUAL EVENTS
Lemon Lake is the host site of 15 annual tournaments including the well known annual Matt "HOMIE" Lovasko Memorial Disc Golf Championships.  This year marks the 4th year the event has been awarded as an A-Tier  by the PDGA. The history of disc golf events at Lemon Lake date back to August of 1999.  Today all disc golf programs and events are managed by The Flight Center, Lemon Lake's central service and information hub for the sport of disc golf and visiting park patrons alike.

For a list of Lemon Lake Tournaments go here: https://www.facebook.com/lemonlakeflightcenter/events.