About Difficult Campground
Number of accommodations: 47
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Sites & Availability
47 Sites Available
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Reviews (441)
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
Paul H
VerifiedJuly 7, 2025 • Stayed at: 038, Loop: DIFF
The campground is fabulous. Nearly every site is secluded by trees and vegetation, with excellent pads for vehicles and tents. The bathrooms are clean. My only complaint is that the hosts were a bit overbearing with the rules and regulations. We heard that several campers were fined upwards of $150 without a warning for having a cooler outside their vehicle (or bear box) while away from the campsite. Additionally, the campground was entirely banning tents for a while due to "bear activity," which nearly caused use to cancel our trip (we do not have an RV). When we asked the host about it, she explained that the bears had learned to seek food in tents. I asked why the problematic bear(s) hadn't been captured and relocated, and she said "we're on their turf." This is such an ignorant perspective; bears that have become habituated to humans need to be removed and relocated to their natural habitat, for the safety of both humans AND the bears. So, in general, we got the impression of over-regulation and misguided theories from this campground. Otherwise, this is a fantastic site, and I'd still come back! Hopefully they figure out the bear thing in the meantime.
Stephen P
VerifiedJuly 4, 2025 • Stayed at: 008, Loop: DIFF
This is our third time at difficult campground. Quiet and private camping spot. It is an amazing experience with the moose and bear while being only minutes from Aspen, We took a kayak trip through the North Star Nature Preserve with Elk Mountain Expeditions. Excellent service. We stayed three days and then headed to Breckenridge for some mountain biking.
Love Colorado and the Rockies.
Megan M
VerifiedJuly 3, 2025 • Stayed at: 009, Loop: DIFF
We had a great stay at Difficult Campground! The location is ideal—just a 10-minute drive to downtown Aspen, but it feels worlds away, tucked in the woods and surrounded by nature. There’s a peaceful little hiking trail that runs along the river nearby, which was a perfect bonus.
The campground itself is very clean and well-maintained. There’s a water faucet every few sites, and the bathrooms were spotless during our stay. Firewood was available for purchase on-site, which made things super convenient.
We loved the layout of the campsites—most felt private, with a nice mix of sun and shade depending on the site. Some offer more tree cover, so it’s worth looking at the map ahead of time if that matters to you. Each site also had a bear-proof storage container, which gave us peace of mind.
Overall, a fantastic basecamp for exploring Aspen or just soaking in some quiet time in the mountains. We’d definitely stay again!
stephanie f
VerifiedJuly 2, 2025 • Stayed at: 011, Loop: DIFF
great spot and i loved the little stream behind my site, i just didn’t love how close the campsites are, so if you’re right next to a huge family with kids and dogs you won’t get the peace and quiet.
Dennis S
VerifiedJuly 1, 2025 • Stayed at: 043, Loop: DIFF
toilets could have been cleaner
Erik S
VerifiedJuly 1, 2025 • Stayed at: 044, Loop: DIFF
Great camp hosts. Bathrooms clean (for what they are). Beautiful area. Site #44 is fairly steep, so for an RV, you'll use ALL of your leveling blocks and still may not hit level.
Justin A
VerifiedJune 29, 2025 • Stayed at: 038, Loop: DIFF
Beautiful location just outside of Apsen.
David F
VerifiedJune 29, 2025 • Stayed at: 043, Loop: DIFF
Beautiful campground. Our site was great and all the sites we saw were very private. The camp hosts were great.
Julie H
VerifiedJune 24, 2025 • Stayed at: 025, Loop: DIFF
Had a great time here. Camp hosts were great & very accommodating. Beautiful area!! Many hiking trails to jump on from this campground.
Gianna Filips
June 22, 2025
Great campground close to Aspen and Independence Pass. Wonderful camp hosts, Rebecca and Lauren were a great help, and if we needed anything, they were always around and very friendly and professional. More camp hosts should be like them, they are the best we've come across. We will definitely be back.
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.
Latitude & Longitude: 39.1417 / -106.771
Elevation: 2494 feet
Policies & Rules
| Category | About |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| General |
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. |
| General |
All garbage shall be removed from the site and deposited in the appropriate receptacle by check out time. |
| General |
Off Highway Vehicle Use in not allowed at group or any other site in campground |
| General |
Check in time is 2:00pm and Check out time is 11:00amIt 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. |
| General |
Fires are restricted to the metal fire rings or pedestal grill, no other open burning is allowed. |
| General |
Tent camping is allowed on flat, gravel areas shown inside the designated area. |
| General |
RV's and campers must be parked on the hardened gravel surface. |
| General |
RV's and campers cannot hook up to water via the spigots, spigot is for self-fill jugs only. |
| General |
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. |
| General |
Quite hours are from 10pm to 6am, 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. |
| General |
VENDOR AND EVENT REQUIREMENTS Renters of these sites may hire vendors to support their use such as catering, flowers, music, ceremony efficient, photography, chair rental, etc. These vendors are not required to obtain a separate permit to provide these services. However, the party who rented Windy Point via Recreation.gov is responsible for all actions and/or damage taken by the vendors. The vendor must follow all site rules. All vendors shall adhere to check-in/out times for set up and especially retrieval of their equipment. In event the vendor does not retrieve their equipment, the renter is responsible to remove the equipment by noon on checkout day. |
| General |
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. |
| General |
Customer Service Contact 801-226-3564 or Help.WhiteRiver.Aspen@AmericanLL.com |
