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Difficult Campground – reviews, photos

806 West Hallam Street, Forest Service, Aspen, CO 81611
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4.0 of 5 stars 4 Reviews
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4 reviews from our community

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Denver, CO
Senior Contributor
41 reviews 41 reviews
Reviews in 30 cities Reviews in 30 cities
75 helpful votes 75 helpful votes
“Nice”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 20 July 2009
4
people found this review helpful

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!

  • Stayed July 2009, travelled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
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Erie, CO
1 review
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“4th of July 2006”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 16 January 2007
4
people found this review helpful

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.

  • Liked — Aspen!
  • Disliked — Reservation System
  • Stayed July 2006, travelled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check-in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
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