I have been here two years in a row now and I have enjoyed myself both times. Granted, I knew what I was getting into with NO showers, but having a portable, solar show will do the trick along with a plethora of wet-ones or similar wipes. The managers are really nice and honest. I paid too much money so the next day they returned it (mind you we were hiking all day so they had to visit our site several times before they finally got the money to me) I think they are awesome. I wish we could reserve general spots- if you want to guarantee a spot, you should arrive earlier in the day Thursday at the latest for the weekend. The campsites vary in size and it's first come, first serve. They are tucked away so there is minimal noise from the other campers. I've only been twice but haven't had any issues with critters. There are bear-proof food lockers just in case. We camped in tents but others had pop up campers as well. There are grills on the fire pits, which we used after our portable stove started acting up. Lots of trails around and I believe only a couple of miles from downtown Aspen. Again, showers would be a plus but not critical.

We did not have a reservation when we arrived (7/9 - 7/12). There are some sites that can be reserved- check online while there are others that are FCFS. We decided to go with site #41 ($19/night) which was very close to a vault toilet and water spigot. All sites are pull-up with tent space, metal picnic table, fire pit with grill plate. It is located on hwy 82, 4 miles from Weller Lake campground if you're heading towards Aspen town. Where there are aspen trees around, our site didn't have much. Sites are average-sized, with privacy from neighboring sites. It is near the Roaring Fork River, just a little hike from our site which had a walking trail that lead to it. It is bear country so they advise that you store your food/coolers in the bear boxes they provide. We never came across any bears though. Drive into Aspen on 82 is about 3 miles or 10 minutes. There is a City Market right as you get into town if you ever need to get food, etc. We drove to see other campgrounds on the other side of Aspen by Maroon Bells. We really liked Silver Queen campground which is the closest to the Maroon Bells trail. The best site there is #2 or #6 -- 6 is first come first serve however; all others were reservation. There are other campgrounds below silver queen -- silver bell and silver bar. Keep in mind all 3 of these are small, unlike Difficult which has many sites. When we go back to Aspen, we'll definitely stay at Silver Queen. The view is so much more pleasing. By staying at the Silver campgrounds, you don't have to pay to take a bus to the Maroon Bells parking lot. (which is required now). You can just drive up there and park. There were no issues with Difficult except that it isn't as pretty as the campgrounds on the other side of Aspen. We really enjoyed walking around downtown Aspen. We recommend doing the short easy hike to the grotto ice caves. We did Weller Lake hike which was short and easy but big many boulders bordering the shore of the lake do not allow you to get close to the water-- it's a small lake anyhow. Weller Lake campground is right off of 82 with nothing but aspen trees. Only 11 sites- FCFS - I thought it'd be too noisy right off of the highway and not too much privacy. It does NOT have a water spigot!

Difficult is beautifully nestled in the White River national forest. We reserved 5 campgrounds side by side for our annual 4th of July trip and had an amazing time! A bike ride into Aspen is about 4 miles downhill and incredibly beautiful. We didn't let the kids ride it however because you have to ride on the highway for about 200 yards. The campsites were far enough off the driveway to almost be secluded and they were cozy because they were surrounded by so many trees. We were able to get two tents and a canopy in each site with plenty of room for dining and campfire chairs. We hiked on the trail system that branches out from the campground and had amazing views next to the stream.

The only compaint I have is that the reservation system (reserveamerica) told us that the larger group campsite was unavailable but when we got there it was wide open and would've been much better for a group of our size.