Desert Canyon Golf Resort

Desert Canyon Golf Resort in Orondo, Washington, is a Jack Frei and Rick Fehr co-design from 1993 that occupies an unusually dramatic site on the Columbia River plateau of central Washington. The par-72 layout stretches to 7,285 yards with generous fairways, large sloped greens, and sweeping high-desert views that give it character distinct from the Gamble Sands-area courses of similar latitude. Fehr (a former PGA Tour player) contributed strategic design sensibility; Frei the routing expertise needed to work the high-desert terrain. Course opinions are mixed, reviewers generally praise the width and playability but some criticize specific holes as blind or oddly routed, and a handful of holes feature two greens on the same complex which can make laying up difficult. For Gamble Sands-area visitors looking to extend a trip, Desert Canyon is the logical Columbia River detour, a dramatically scenic resort round that complements rather than competes with Gamble's links.