01/29/2019

Ultimate Guide to Havasupai

If you’ve seen the pictures of the blue / turquoise waterfalls surrounded by orange / red rocks on Instagram and want to see them in person, this guide will tell you everything you need to know! I had been wanting to visit Havasupai for years, but it was always so hard to get a reservation. Luckily my friend got one last year so I was finally able to see the place with my own eyes, and let me tell you it is everything!! The waterfalls are just as pretty as the pictures and all the other campers there are so cool! It was a super fun experience and a great workout (20 miles of hiking roundtrip).

What is Havasupai?

Havasupai is a Native American Reservation near the Grand Canyon where the Havasupai Tribe live. There are 5 stunning waterfalls in the reservation:

1. Fifty Foot Falls

Fifty Foot Falls consists of 4 waterfalls that flow next to each other and, as its name suggests, is fifty foot tall. It’s not as popular as the other waterfalls because its water isn’t blue like the other ones. Nevertheless, it’s still beautiful with plenty of space to swim and relax since it’s less crowded.

2. Navajo Falls

The water from Fifty Foot Falls flows into Navajo Falls. Navajo Falls is a bunch of small waterfalls that you can soak in. It’s surrounded by the beautiful red rocks and is one of the fewer areas that gets direct, head on sunlight. It’s about a mile before the campsite and is also less crowded.

3. Havasu Falls

Havasu Falls is known for its blueish/tealish water and is one of the prettiest waterfalls out there. This is the most crowded of the falls since it is easily accessible (well after the 10 mile hike that is) and there was even a wedding there when I was there!

4. Mooney Falls

Mooney Falls looks pretty similar to Havasu Falls except it is way taller and has way more area to swim in. The hike down to Mooney Falls is pretty scary so there’s slightly less people here than Havasu, but still quite a lot of people. You can follow the stream of water down the canyon and have that area to yourself.

5. Beaver Falls

Beaver Falls is a cascade of waterfalls flowing down. It is beyond beautiful. Perfect for hanging out and waterfall jumping.

How to Get Permits to Visit Havasupai 2019

Reservations are required to visit Havasupai and can be made at www.havasupaireservations.com on February 1, 2019 at 7am PST / 8am MST / 10am EST. There will be no phone reservations this year.
The reservations are super hard to get – they usually fill up pretty quickly, so in order to increase your chances of getting one:

Create an account at www.havasupaireservations.com BEFORE February 1st. This way you don’t waste precious seconds creating an account the day of.
Log in to your account a few minutes before reservations open. The button to reserve will activate when it hits 8am MST.
Know which dates you want to book and have a bunch of back up dates just in case.
Have all your friends try to reserve it too.

It looks like for 2019 there’s only the 3 night / 4 day option and the prices are:

$100 per person per weekday night
$125 per person per weekend night (Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights)

Reservations are NON-REFUNDABLE, NON-TRANSFERABLE.

How to Get to Havasupai

To reach Havasupai, make your way to the Hualapai Hilltop Parking Lot, which is where the hike starts. The parking lot is 4 hours from Las Vegas’s airport and 5 hours from Phoenix’s airport. Supai Village is a 10 mile one way hike from the Hilltop Parking Lot. You will check in and get your wristbands in Havasu Town. Don’t forget to bring your ID! you have to hike 20 miles round trip. The hike starts at

Hualapai Hilltop Parking Lot to Supai Village: 8 Miles One Way

Havasu Town to Fifty Foot Falls/Navajo Falls: 0.5 Miles One Way

Fifty Foot Falls/Navajo Falls to Havasu Falls/Campground: 1 Mile One Way

Beginning of Campground to Mooney Falls: 1 Mile One Way

Mooney Falls to Beaver Falls: 2 Miles One Way

Beaver Falls to Colorado River: 4 Miles One Way (we didn’t get to do this 🙁 would’ve needed one more night!)

There’s 3 options to get to Havasupai:

1. Backpack

The first option is to carry all your stuff (tent, sleeping bag, clothes, food, etc.) on your back for 24 miles roundtrip (basically until the campsite & then you can do the other hikes with a smaller backpack). My friends and I did this option and it wasn’t bad. This hike is a perfect beginner’s backpacking trip because you’re either mostly hiking downhill or flat ground.

2. Mule & Hike

If you don’t want to carry all of your stuff on your back for 24 miles roundtrip, you can hire mules that will carry your stuff for you. It’ll be much easier to hike 24 miles roundtrip this way. 1 mule can carry 4 bags and you have to drop off those bags at the parking lot by 7am the day of. It costs $164 one way. Reservations are required.

3. Take a Helicopter & Hike

If you don’t want to hike 24 miles roundtrip, there’s also an option to take a helicopter in. Airwest helicopters will take you to the village and is a 10 minute ride. You will still have to hike another 2 miles one way to get to Havasu Falls. The cost is $85 one way per person and this includes one bag. There are no reservations for the helicopter, so it’s first come first serve. Natives get priority. The helicopters run from 10am-1pm from Hilltop.

Accommodations

Day trips are NOT allowed, so you will have to stay overnight. You can either:

1. Camp

There’s a mile long campground area for you to set up tent. Reservations are required. See “How to get permits to visit Havasupai” section for how to get reservations. There are bathrooms with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. No camp fires are allowed. You will need to bring your trash out from the campgrounds on your own and throw it away at Supai Village.

2. Stay at the Lodge

The lodge is located in Supai Village. It costs $175 per night per room that sleeps 4 people. To make a reservation, you have to call (928) 448-2111 or (928) 448-2201. Lodge reservations start the previous year for the following year, so if you’re looking to book for 2019, it’s already sold out at the time of me writing this blog.

Food & Water

You should bring your own food, but in case you don’t bring enough or you really don’t want to bring your own food, these are your options:

Restaurant

There is a restaurant at Supai Village.

Store

There is a store to buy things at Supai Village.

Food Stands

There are food stands located between the village and Havasu Falls where you can buy fry bread and other tasty things. The food stands are good, but aren’t very reliable because sometimes they won’t be open.

Water

There’s water for you to fill up at Supai Village and the campgrounds, but there is no water on the 8 mile hike to and from Hilltop Parking Lot to Supai Village, so make sure you carry enough for that stretch.

3 Day, 2 Night Itinerary:

Day 0:

Depending on where you’re coming from, you’re probably going to spend a portion of the day driving to the Hilltop Parking Lot (Closest airports are Vegas and Phoenix). It is a good idea to get to the Hilltop Parking Lot the night before your reservation starts, so that you can start hiking early the next day. Most people either sleep in their car in the parking lot or pitch a tent in the parking lot. If neither of those appeal to you, there’s a lodge in Peach Springs that you can stay in. Note that it is approximately 1.5 hours away from the Hilltop Parking Lot, so you’ll waste 1.5 hours in the car the next day driving, when you could’ve been spending that time hiking.

Day 1:

Start hiking early! It’s going to be miserable if you start later and hike in the hot sun. If you’re doing it in the summer, I would recommend starting the hike around 4am or maybe even earlier. We hiked in autumn, so we started at 6am, which wasn’t too hot luckily.

Hike to Supai Village and check in to get your permits (remember your ID!). Refill your water here and use the restroom.

When you get to the campground, I would suggest finding a campsite that is closest to the beginning. That way you don’t have to carry your backpack another mile. It will also be easier when you’re hiking back on the last day.

When you have your tent and stuff all set up, you can hike back to Havasu Falls, Navajo Falls, and Fifty Foot Falls and chill there.

Cook dinner, play games, talk, stargaze, sleep.

Day 2:

Hike to Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls. While the distance to Mooney and Beaver isn’t that long (3 miles from campsite to Beaver), you’ll end up spending a whole day hiking and hanging out at these two waterfalls. This was my favorite part of the trip. The hike was super cool and had a variety of different landscapes.

Hike back up to the top of Mooney to watch the sunset.

Cook dinner, play games, talk, stargaze, sleep.

Day 3:

Hike back. You can either hike back in the early morning, or in the evening to avoid hiking in the hot sun.

3 night, 4 day itinerary:

I didn’t get a chance to do 3 nights, but if I did, I would still follow Day 1 and Day 2 above and then on day 3 I would day hike to the Colorado River and then hike out on Day 4.

Best Time of Year to Visit

Summertime is probably the best time to visit if you want to swim. I visited in October and the temperature was nice in the high 60s, but the water was pretty cold. It wasn’t freezing cold, but it wasn’t warm enough to relax in all day. The temperature was perfect for hiking though because it wasn’t too hot. It would be super hot in the summertime. Even then, summertime would be the best time to visit so that the water isn’t too cold, and you can easily dry off once you get out of the water.

WiFi Connectivity

There’s no signal starting on the drive in to the Hilltop Parking Lot, and I didn’t bother to check if there was signal during the hike. There’s no signal at the campgrounds. If you really can’t disconnect from technology during your time here, there is free wifi at the village.

Packing List

It’s important to have the right gear when backpacking/camping so that you aren’t uncomfortable. I’ve listed the essential items for visiting Havasupai and linked some of my favorite gear.

1. Confirmation of your campground reservation
2. Driver’s license
3. License plate number of your car that’s parked at the trailhead
4. Water / Refillable Water Bottle
5. Food – Dry foods, jerky, granola bars,
6. Comfortable Backpack – this is so important since you’re pretty much carrying it for like 24 miles. I loved the Osprey one I used because it had this anti-gravity suspension that kept pressure away from my back.
7. Daypack/Waterpack– For the day hikes to Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls, you’ll want to have a daypack to carry your food, towel, etc.
8. Hiking Boots – Also super super important. Having the right hiking shoes is key to enjoying the long trek. I love my Salomon’s even though they don’t come in pink.
9. Water Shoes – Prior to the trip, I was debating if I really needed water shoes or not since my hiking boots are waterproof and I didn’t want extra weight on my back. However, bringing them was such a good idea!! You’re going to have to walk across waterfalls so it would’ve been uncomfortable to do that in your socks and hiking boots.
10. Hiking Socks – These are sooo important. Wearing the wrong socks will lead to blisters. Blisters are not fun.
11. Headlamp – It’s really dark at night with no lights so you’ll need your own.
12. Backpacking Tent
13. Sleeping Bag
14. Sleeping Pad – makes it warmer from not sleeping on the bare ground
15. Hand Sanitizer
16. Trash Bags – Because you need to take out your own trash
17. Hiking Poles
18. Sunscreen
19. Sunglasses
20. Toiletries
21. Quick Dry Towel – Dries super quick so no need to carry around a heavy wet towel
22. Clothes/Swimsuits
23. Backpacking Stove – this is assuming you want to boil water for food, if you’re just going to eat sandwiches the whole time, then it’s not necessary
24. Utensils
25. Hat – Optional but nice to have
26. Bug Spray – Optional but nice to have if you don’t want bug bites
27. Gloves – Optional but really nice to have for grip on the chains down to Mooney Falls because the chains are wet and slippery
28. Camera – Optional… but why wouldn’t you want to take pictures?
29. Battery Pack – Optional – but nice to have in case you want to charge your phone
30. Floaties – Optional – but nice to have to float in the waterfalls