About Difficult Campground
Number of accommodations: 47
Nearby Activities & Attractions
Fishing
Hiking
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Rates, Sites & Availability
47 Sites Available
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Site Details
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47 Sites Available
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Reviews (440)
What Guests Are Saying
Difficult Campground is praised for its beautiful setting, with well-spaced, private sites nestled among trees, and proximity to Aspen and nearby trails. Campers enjoyed clean facilities and friendly hosts who were attentive and helpful. While some sites may be less desirable, overall, visitors found it a peaceful and enjoyable experience, with opportunities for wildlife sightings and easy access to outdoor activities.
What Guests Are Saying
Difficult Campground is praised for its beautiful setting, with well-spaced, private sites nestled among trees, and proximity to Aspen and nearby trails. Campers enjoyed clean facilities and friendly hosts who were attentive and helpful. While some sites may be less desirable, overall, visitors found it a peaceful and enjoyable experience, with opportunities for wildlife sightings and easy access to outdoor activities.
Review Summary
Patrick F
VerifiedAugust 16, 2021 • Stayed at: 023, Loop: DIFF
Beautiful location and nice separation between campsites. The Grottos Day use area just up the road is a great way to spend a day. I highly recommend this location.
Kelly E
VerifiedAugust 16, 2021 • Stayed at: 047, Loop: DIFF
The hosts were very friendly and accommodating without ego.
Genevieve J
VerifiedAugust 14, 2021 • Stayed at: 025, Loop: DIFF
I love this campground. This reservation I never made it there due to the road detours and my car broke down and had to be towed.
Spent the weekend in a motel in Glenwood Springs. However, I hate the user interface on your reservation system. I could not understand the significance of "availability status" markers. Did not understand how to use the "dates" to indicate which nights I was staying. Your system has the end date = to checkout date while the relevant date is the date of the night one is staying. When I figured it out I could not figure how to go back and change the completed reservation to include one more night so I had to make a second reservation. What a mess! I liked it better when I just drove around and found an empty site!
Olivia K
VerifiedAugust 14, 2021 • Stayed at: 026, Loop: DIFF
Awesome!
Vinod R
VerifiedAugust 10, 2021 • Stayed at: 009, Loop: DIFF
Excellent campgroubd
Mark H
VerifiedAugust 4, 2021 • Stayed at: 001, Loop: DIFF
The campground was clean and quiet and just outside of Aspen on the east (i.e. Independence pass) side. The availability of water was a bit of a pain as there are water spigots spaced throughout the campground but NOT one spigot per site, or one spigot between 2-3 sites. Not a big deal, just bring jugs and be prepared to carry water, or have your kids go fill the jugs for you. The vault toilets in the main check-in area were clean--so much so that my first visit of the day actually smelled lemony fresh. And no, I'm not kidding, I noted it and commented on how odd it was to my wife, who had a similar experience. Its a primitive campground, no amenities, but if that is what appeals to you, then two words: Worth it! We've been lucky enough to get sites at Silver Bar a number of times in the past, but no dice this year, so this is where we ended up. It's bigger, easier to get a site, and a good home base for your adventures in the Aspen/Maroon Bells wilderness area.
Karen D
VerifiedAugust 4, 2021 • Stayed at: 015, Loop: DIFF
Great location. Surly host in one of the loops (the host from Maine). Gave away our campsite even though it was already occupied by our party and we let him know we wanted to extend our stay the previous night. Great hiking nearby.
Lara S
VerifiedAugust 3, 2021 • Stayed at: 010, Loop: DIFF
We checked in without difficulty. Wish we could have found a campground map at any point during our stay. Explored a little but don't know what we missed. Since there's no service there, internet info is unavailable.
Janna H
VerifiedJuly 28, 2021 • Stayed at: 002, Loop: DIFF
Great campground. Had an ant invasion and the camp hosts took care of it. Quiet, nice sites and plenty of room. Great access to hiking trails and the river.
Timothy J
VerifiedJuly 26, 2021 • Stayed at: 014, Loop: DIFF
A great camp ground filled with trees and flowers.
A very short drive into Aspen to visit the Saturday Market and Art Festival.
Location Difficult Campground
Address:
665 Difficult Campground Rd
Aspen, CO, 81611
United States
665 Difficult Campground Rd. Aspen CO 816511
Take Highway 82 for 5 miles southeast of Aspen, Colorado. Look for USFS
Difficult Campground sign on the right, past Mile Marker 45.
Difficult Campground is accessed via Highway 82, which is approximately 5 miles northwest of Aspen, Colorado.
Latitude & Longitude: 39.1417 / -106.771
Elevation: 2494 feet
Policies & Rules
Arrival & departure
Check in time
2PM
Check out time
11AM
General
- Dogs must be always on leash within the two sites and anywhere in this area.Campers must occupy the site the first night at a campsite. This prevents booking the site for Fri-Sun and showing up on Saturday.Campers may leave the site for 24 hours and must occupy the site otherwise. This allows a camper to say go for an overnight backpack trip in the woods for one night and come back to their campsite the next day.
- All food, beverage and trash must be always attended by an adult, this requires someone within 100 feet of the attractants. Otherwise, all attractants shall be stored in a locked vehicle/camper or food lockers.Those camping must adhere to the food storage rule as well and store all attractants in a locked vehicle unless attending the food, garbage, etc.
- All garbage shall be removed from the site and deposited in the appropriate receptacle by check out time.
- Off Highway Vehicle Use in not allowed at group or any other site in campground
- It is imperative that you are clear from the site at 11:00am on your check out day so the host can come prepare the site for the next event. Please don't be the group that makes the incoming group have to wait.
- Fires are restricted to the metal fire rings or pedestal grill, no other open burning is allowed.
- Tent camping is allowed on flat, gravel areas shown inside the designated area.
- RV's and campers must be parked on the hardened gravel surface.
- RV's and campers cannot hook up to water via the spigots, spigot is for self-fill jugs only.
- Check with the Ranger District or American Land and Leisure prior to our event to investigate fire restrictions.In the event of fire restrictions, you may only be able to use propane cooking facilities.
- please respect other visitors to the area and the neighboring campsites. Sound travels in the mountains, don't be that rowdy party that disturbs others.
- Vendor Requirements-Commercial Filming and Still Photography: purpose is for a pre-paid film/photography service to document the event only. The products are only available to the client who reserved the group site and their guests. No re-sale is allowed. -Food and Drink Catering: purpose is for a prep-paid food/beverage service provided by the client who booked the group site for the sole service to their guests of the event. No other service shall be offered to other recreation visitors. -Music: Music shall be 80 decibels or less as to not disturb other forest users. Music and the overall event shall adhere to the posted quite hours of 10pm to 6am, the event must shut down between those hours. -Chair and Seating: Additional pre-paid seating may be provided by the client who booked the event site. All seating shall be placed on hardened surfaces. Even numbers shall meet posted site limitations.-Event Tents: Appropriately sized tents shall only be placed on/over gravel, hardened areas such as the parking area, concrete pad, or gravel gathering area at Forest Loop. No tents allowed on grass, in the woods etc.-Flowers and other decorations: A pre-paid vendor hired by the client who booked the group site is allowable. All decorations shall be removed immediately post event and not be allowed to bow away or be strewn about the site. Decorations shall bot be affixed to natural features such as trees, rocks, or other vegetation. -Release or throwing of animals, vegetation, or any other materials: Ariel release of any/all items such as but not limited to doves, other birds, butterflies, balloons, rice, petals, flowers, fireworks, reveal features, or any other item is prohibited. These users are not considered nominal and are prohibited. This is a natural environment, and all celebratory its shall reflect the setting.
- Customer Service Contact 801-226-3564 or Help.WhiteRiver.Aspen@AmericanLL.com
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Last updated: June 4, 2026
