Havasupai is a bucket list kind of place! And when they say photos don’t do it justice - it’s true. I had seen hundreds of images of the cascading waterfalls into turquoise waters against the orange rocky bluffs, but it truly does not compare to experiencing it firsthand. If you’d like to travel here someday, there is a lot of information you should know beforehand. This post will cover what I think are the main items to know before you go and also serves as a photo blog of our trip.

Respect the Supai people and their land. “The Havasupai Indians of the world-renowned Havasu Falls have lived in the Grand Canyon for over 800 years. The Havasupai are known for being the only permanent, continuous inhabitants of the Grand Canyon. The name Havasupai means "people of the blue-green water," referring the pristine color of famed Havasu Falls and its surrounding pools and waterfalls.”

At the tail end of March 2019, seven of us traveled from Seattle, Washington to Supai, Arizona for what turned out to be one incredible backpacking experience. The laughs, smiles and memories of our time together made this trip so special. I’m grateful for walking into the desert with near strangers and coming out of it with good friends.

***Hiking 10 miles to the Havasupai Campground***

THE BASICS:

Flights: we flew to/from Seattle (SEA) to Las Vegas (LVS), but Phoenix (PHX) is also about equal distance away
Lodging: we bookended the trip by staying at a hotel and of course, spent our time in Havasupai at the designated campground
Rental car: we didn’t really mean to rent a 15-passenger commercial van… but it was actually perfect! Plenty of space to fit all of us comfortably and our gear.
No pass is needed to park at the trailhead but make sure you bring a printed copy of your permit

THE ITINERARY:

Every Havasupai permit is 4 days/3 nights. We stretched out our trip a little by a few days for convenience of getting an early start time hiking in and a recovery day by the pool in Vegas!

Day 1: Flew from Seattle to Las Vegas; drove to Peach Springs, Arizona. Stayed overnight in a hotel.
Day 2: Drove to Hualapai Hilltop trailhead and hiked 10 miles to our campsite
Day 3: Day hiked to Havasu Falls and Little Navajo Falls
Day 4: Day hiked to Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls (and 2 people in our group hiked to the Colorado River)
Day 5: Hiked out of Havasupai and back Hualapai Hilltop; drove to Las Vegas, Nevada
Day 6: Took an easy day and lounged at the pool before we flew home; flew from Las Vegas to Seattle

SECURING A PERMIT:

Havasupai has always been on my bucket list, but I didn’t actually believe that I was going to go anytime soon until about a month before the reservation system opened. I reached out to my friend & coworker Audrey to see if she and her husband would be interested in going with us. They wrangled up a few of their friends and together we assembled a solid crew of 7 people who were going to try to secure a permit.

All permits/reservations are given on a first come-first serve basis and are regulated by the Supai Tribe. Reservations open annually on February 1. All of us created accounts before opening day (as recommended by the Tribe) and were ready to go at 8 AM (Arizona time). The site was overwhelmed with users and was crashing for most of us, but Audrey ended up getting through first and snagged our priority dates! I highly recommend trying to assemble a group before the reservation system opens so it increases your chances of at least one person getting through the reservation system. We also made a list of our first choice start dates and had backup dates that worked for all of us.

All permits are for 4 days/3 nights, so all you need to do is select the date you want to start your hike in and select the number of people in your group. A single group only needs 1 permit that has everyone’s name on it. I believe the max number of people on a single permit is 8. The price of a permit in 2019 was $375/person for the entire reservation. Reservations are transferrable between people if needed but reservations are 100% non-refundable. Visit the reservation site below to learn more and create an account:

Permit Reservations

BRING YOUR PERMIT WITH YOU!

Day hiking is not permitted to Havasupai. Everyone must have a camping permit. There are rangers stationed at several check points on your journey to make sure you’re eligible to be there. Our first check point was about 5 minutes before the trailhead, where they asked for our reservation confirmation and checked our vehicle. The next checkpoint was at the Supai Office at the Village, where we all got wristbands to wear for the duration of our trip. Sometimes there are rangers on the trail asking to see your reservation confirmation, so make sure you have it handy and bring multiple copies if you’re nervous about losing it.

PACKING LIST:

I brought the essential camping gear and then some including:

Tent and fly (did not use the fly due to our secluded camp spot and good weather)
Sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner (did not use the liner because it was warm enough)
Sleeping pad
Camping pillow
Hammock and straps
Seat pad
Day pack
Food storage (rat sack)
Jet boil stove (they had so much excess fuel at the Ranger station at the campground, but I recommend bringing some fuel with you because it would suck to not have any at all)
1 liter water bottle (we brought our water filter but there is drinkable water available at the campground)
Trekking poles
Nighttime clothing: down jacket, fleece pants, base layers, beanie, wool socks, gloves (depending on the time of year you go, you can probably do without many of these items and lighten your load!)
Daytime clothing: bathing suit, cover up, shorts, t-shirt/tank, sports bra, underwear, socks, sun hat, sunglasses
Footwear: Hiking boots, Teva sandals for water shoes and to lounge around camp
Mug, bowl, utensils
Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, glasses, contact solution, sunscreen, chapstick with SPF, face wipes, hair ties
Quick-drying towel
Camera and gear (lenses, lens cloth, tripod, remote)
Cash (for food in the village)

The hike in…

There are multiple ways to access the waterfalls - 1) Backpack all of your gear in 2) Purchase a mule to carry your gear or 3) Use the helicopter for you and your gear. We opted for #1, but if you don’t have backpacking or much hiking experience, option #2 is probably your next best choice. We saw many people hiking with just day packs while a mule hauled their gear. While I believe the Supai people care for the mules, the animals do a LOT of work by not only carrying vistor gear but necessary supplies to the Supai people. If you can avoid using a mule to transport your gear, not only will it save you money but it will reserve the animals strength for items that people really need. You will encounter mules on your hike and they ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. Step aside and let them pass!

Using the helicopter (#3) is the riskiest of them all. The heli does not run every day and there could be a wait list when you arrive. There is also a weight limit for your pack (less than 40 lbs.), so make sure you weigh it beforehand! The other caveat with the helicopter is that it is a primary transportation mode for the Supai people, so if there is an emergency or deliveries need to be made into the village, you’ll be waiting in the parking lot for a longggg time and that’s no fun when you’re amped up and ready to get your destination.

If you have moderate hiking experience, you’ll find that the hike in is not difficult, as it is mostly all downhill, but the hike did feel rather long. I was probably just excited to get there! Depending on the time of year you visit, you may want to consider starting your hike in the early AM to avoid hiking in scorching desert temperatures. We visited at the end of March and the temps were cool enough to start hiking around 9 am. It was warm but not unbearable by any means!

What I really enjoyed was standing at the top of the parking lot and knowing what lied 10 miles away but not being able to see any hint of it. The trek down is full of changing landscapes - from Grand Canyon-esque views, to deep sandy bottoms of canyons, to turquoise blue river crossings - it really is an experience going from the dusty, limited vegetation parking lot to a tropical oasis.

*This place will make you feel small, a lot*

CAMPSITE LOGISTICS:

The campsite is a free-for-all in terms of your site, there are no site numbers or designation. The campground itself is quite large, with a meandering creek separating it. There are lots of make shift bridges where you can cross to find even more sites, which is what we did. When we arrived at camp, the campground looked super full at first glance. Of course, some people would be leaving the next day and we debated setting up camp temporarily at the next biggest campsite and then scouting the next morning. I’m so grateful that Marcus and Cameron went on a little quest and ended up finding a super sick camp spot, tucked next to the canyon wall! The only group next to us was a couple (from Seattle actually, ha!) and they told us they were leaving the next day. After they departed, we snagged their wooden picnic table, so we could all sit around it for meals and hanging out. There are lots of trees in the campground, which is great for hammocking and hanging your food and/or wet clothes. Once you’ve settled into your site, make sure the permit holder fastens their permit to the outside of the tent.

There are multiple bathroom stations scattered throughout the campground. The bathrooms were actually nicer than I thought! They are fully compostable toilets so yes, it doesn’t smell great, but rangers clean out the toilets daily and there is (almost) always stocked toilet paper. There are no sinks to wash your hands, but hand sanitizer is available at the bathrooms.

Many campsites had rope pre-strung to hang gear and our food (in rat sacks). There may also be plastic buckets w/lids available at the campground entrance for food storage. We secured 2 or 3 buckets to hold most of our food!

WHAT FOOD DO I NEED TO BRING?

Cameron and I brought most of our food from home, the usual backpacking fanfare. Here’s an idea of the type of meals we had:

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, hot chocolate, instant coffee, Mountain House freeze dried breakfasts
Lunch: PB&Js, salami/cured meats, ramen
Dinner: Mountain House freeze dried dinners, ramen
Snacks: Fruit snacks, nuts, trail mix, fruit leathers, Clif bars

There are several opportunities to pick up snacks on the way to camp, if you want to keep your pack even lighter on your hike in. At about mile 8, you will reach the village, where the Supai people live, work and play on the reservation. There are two small stores when you first arrive. Continue walking about another 5-10 minutes on the trail and you’ll find a third store to purchase supplies - this is the biggest store of the 3 (about the size of a gas station) and is the only one that sells produce. In town, we all bought special treats like cold lemonade and cookies after hiking 8+ miles in the sun, and we also brought a loaf of bread, peanut butter and jelly for lunches for us all.

Pro tip: The first store you’ll come across is open for hot food on the weekends. On our hike out, we stopped here for breakfast and we had the most incredible breakfast burritos! GET ONE.

As you continue your way towards camp, you will also pass a Fry Bread station (hours vary, but generally open every day from 10am - 3pm). It was quite delicious and several people in our group ate here a few times!

PHOTO JOURNAL

SHORT VIDEO

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this post informative if you’re planning a trip to Havasupai this year! Leave a comment if you have any questions about topics I didn’t cover!

Havasupai: A Waterfall Wonderland