The Havasupai Native American Reservation is located at the southwest corner of The Grand Canyon National Park. It is considered one of the most remote Native American Reservations in the United States. The capital of the reservation is a small village called Supai (where you check-in for your camping permit) and is located eight miles from any roads and civilization. Your only transportation options for reaching Supai are by helicopter, foot or by mule. Fun little fact: Supai is the only village in the United States that still sends their mail via mule.
Social media has created an enormous amount of tourism for Havasupai. It’s nearly impossible to get permits. Each year, an allotted date is announced for reservations and they sell out within minutes. Reservations must be made online at www.havasupaireservations.com. Create an account and keep an eye out for a permit release date. This year (2019) reservations opened up on February 1st. I was actually in Belize at the time and I spent several hours trying to get through. The website crashed and just as I was about to give up, the calendar appeared. We originally wanted different dates and twelve permits but settled for a few days earlier and only six passes. You’ll have to take what you can get!
Phoenix or Las Vegas are the closest airports; both are a four hour drive to the Hualapai hilltop parking lot (where the trailhead begins.) Sara had been to Havasupai last year and suggested we trek the twenty mile roundtrip hike in the dark (or at least as much as possible) because the sun can be brutal. Headlamps and flashlights are a must. Even with the headlamps, we were beginning this journey with a blanket of stars above us. We could even see the Milky Way!! It was AWESOME and I was thoroughly anticipating this adventure in the dark. We started our hike in at 3:15am. Sunrise was early but a majority of the time was spent in the canyon so it stayed fairly cool.
Reaching the Havasupai Campground involves an eight mile hike to Supai (where you check in to grab your wristbands) and then an additional two mile hike to the campground. The campground has a fresh water spigot, bathrooms with TP and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a camp site with a picnic table. It is your responsibility to bring anything else you may need.
This seems like a good time to add that for an additional expense you can take the helicopter to Supai or have the mules carry your bags. I promise you, the trip will be more memorable if you do the hike. It ends up being a very rewarding challenge. Unless you’re physically not capable of completing the hike, using the helicopter or the mules seems like a cop out.
In regards to the horses and mules, they are strapped down with up to four bags of poor weight distribution. Although their feet were well taken care of, the animals were skinny and exhausted. On the way out of the canyon I passed a paint horse being ridden up the strenuous switchbacks. It was dripping sweat, breathing with its mouth open and wheezing. It clearly needed a break but instead was being whipped up the mountain. This is animal abuse and I do not support using these animals for such tasks. If you want to visit the falls, you need to carry your shit. The Native American Reservation has no choice but to use livestock for transportation of goods but carrying your heavy shit up the mountain because you’re too lazy, is not a good enough reason for me. There have been several mule and horse deaths on the trail due to heat exhaustion. IT’S NOT COOL.
The final two miles to camp seems like an eternity but you get a second wind once you get a glimpse of the falls. Our campsite was perfectly situated along the water with some shade and a picnic table. We were fairly close to the bathrooms and Mooney Falls. The only con was being a decent distance from the water spigot. To avoid several trips throughout the day, we packed a collapsable water cube which was very handy and held enough water to supply the six of us each day.
A small shack sits near the campground entrance. This is where you can find buckets and mini propane tanks. The buckets come with twist lids and can be used for food storage to keep the critters out of the goods. There is an abundance of leftover propane tanks that people did not carry out. REPEAT: you DO NOT need to bring a propane tank- PROMISE. Keep in mind that the Native American Reservation no longer allows coolers or floaties/noodles. You’re also not permitted to bring drones, alcohol, drugs or have fires. Having a picnic table made it easier for conversation at night. I love my MPowered inflatable, solar charged LUCI lanterns. These were great for table light with no fire.
We spent the first day setting up camp, eating, napping, eating some more and cooling off in the water. We went to bed before the sunset, haha! We were EXHAUSTED.
Mooney Falls/Beaver Falls
Mooney Falls was a very short hike from camp. Getting down to the water is pretty challenging! It involves going through a mini cave and scaling down the cliff while holding onto ropes, protruding metal handles and sketchy ladders. The key is to take your time and enjoy the views!
We stopped at Mooney Falls to take some photos but decided the lighting would be better later in the day. We continued on to Beaver Falls which is a six mile roundtrip hike from Mooney. This was my favorite hike of the trip because you’re trekking through water, swimming down small falls and hiking through fields of vine, all while walking between the canyon walls.
Beaver Falls is at the end of the Native American Reservation, bordering the Grand Canyon National Park. We had a great time relaxing in the swimming holes, lounging on the rocks, swimming under the falls and soaking in the sunshine. The boys did some cliff jumping, shhhhh. The place was a ghost town once the sun set behind the canyon and we were able to snag a couple photos with no one in the background!
We hiked the same route back to Mooney Falls and the lighting was much better than that morning. Everyone else must have thought the same because there was a small line for pictures with the waterfall.
Once we got back to camp we fired up the JetBoil’s and made our surprisingly delicious mountain meals. Again, we were exhausted but fought the struggle and stayed awake long enough to stargaze from the Mooney Falls overlook. As we sat in the dark with a blanket of stars above us, we noticed that Mooney Falls and the canyon wall were lit up as if someone were shining a light in that direction. The rest of the canyon was beyond visual range. It finally clicked that the light, perfectly situated on the falls was coming from the moon. I’d never seen anything like it.
Havasu Falls/Little Navajo
Havasu Falls is also a very short hike from camp and has become the most popular waterfall of them all. The high concentration of calcium carbonate in the water creates the blue-green water we’ve seen throughout the reservation but its especially noticeable at Havasu. The waterfall used to be called “brides veil falls” because it had several spouts opposed to the one chute it has now. The change took place in 1910 when a flood came through and changed the rock formation. We spent the morning here relaxing in the water and playing frisbee. Sara insisted we bring one and I didn’t think we’d use it but it was a blast!
On the way to Little Navajo we passed a couple stands serving fry bread and Indian tacos. They’ll cost you $10-14 but when you’re in the middle of nowhere, cooked food sounds appealing. Closer to Little Navajo was a souvenir stand with stickers, patches, t-shirts, etc. so make sure you take some cash. Shout to my friends that covered me! MUCH LOVE!
Little Navajo Falls hardly had any visitors which is always a plus. The scenery here was stunning and very unexpected. Seeing lavish greenery in the middle of the desert is not expected but a pleasant surprise. If you walk past Little Navajo you’ll reach several large waterfalls and I believe that is “Fifty Foot Falls.” Looking at a map, there are a couple unnamed in that area as well.
We decided to avoid the heat and hike out the next morning at 2:30 am. Remember whatever you bring in you must take out. That includes trash and the dumpsters are two miles away in Supai, so don’t forget to bring bags.
We completed a majority of the hike in the dark and it was PERFECT. Seeing the sun come up while walking through the canyon is something I cannot put into words. The sky transitioned from black to a light blue just above the mountain tops and it was gorgeous. Luckily, the final set of switchbacks just before the parking lot were covered in shade. We were dreading the last stretch but we powered through and finished at 8:30 am.
What an accomplishment! That last stretch is strenuous and it makes me happy that such a magical place is hidden deep in the desert. I’ve created a packing list for your future adventure to Havasupai. Pack light and happy travels 🙂