Difficult Creek Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Views

With gentle grades (by Aspen standards anyways) and relatively smooth surfaces, this makes for a great run.

From the campground, wander through the valley floor for a short bit before crossing the creek on an old bridge and enter the forest of mixed conifers and aspens. Make a couple steep climbs, but none are too long, and enjoy running next to the creek. You then turn away from the creek for a while and pass several large boulder formations and forest openings that afford views of the hills across the valley.

At around 2.2 miles, you rejoin the creek. The next quarter mile is the highlight of this run, as you pass beautiful pools and great spots for a picnic next to the creek.

The final stretch is quite level and wanders through the woods until you reach a flat area next to the creek and small clearing. There is an old USFS sign here, but nothing legible is left. The remains of four cabins are here, but they are hard to detect.

The trail continues but is unmaintained past this point. Many downed trees will make further progress slow and difficult.