Havasupai 101
Near the Grand Canyon is an epic backpacking trip to explore the blue-green waterfalls of the Havasupai Indian reservation. Havasu means "blue-green water" and pai "people".
Permits
The permits are allotted by lottery every year on Febuary 1st. This is the tribe’s website. We were able to do the pre-sale in January. If you create a log-in you should be notified about the pre-sale. Click here for more pre-sale details. The permit allows you camp for 3 nights and 4 days anywhere in the campground. The Supai campground is about a mile long and follows Havasu Creek between Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls.
Check-In
You can check in at the Grand Canyon Caverns Inn from 8am - 5pm, so you have to decide whether to try to check in the night before or day of and get a later start. We drove from Salt Lake and got in late but in the morning there was a line to check in.
If it’s a weekend you have less of a chance to get a good campsite coming in that late. We left Grand Canyon Caverns around 8:15 and it took about an hour to drive to the Hilltop Trailhead. Parking was full so we had to park on the street and walk down so we headed out around 10. It took us till 2:30 to get to Havasu Falls which is the beginning of the campground, so 4.5 hours. In April the heat wasn’t a huge concern but could be in summer.
Campground
It was a Friday and the campground was super crowded by 2:30 pm. We were lucky to find a spot. People seem to leave early around 6 am so you can try to hike in early or move. You can go around and check tent tags to see the date when people leave. I think a lot of people try to check in at the hotel by 5pm so they can leave earlier the next day.
From Havasu Falls the end of the campground at Mooney Falls is about a mile so even though you think you are done when you reach the first Havasu Falls, mentally prepare to walk around for a while to find a spot. When we left Monday morning it was a lot more empty so I’m assuming weekends are busier. Any spot with a table and by the river with not a lot of grasses I would grab. We waited until till the trail got less wide and then crossed the river and found a good spot near the end, closer to Mooney Falls. There are lots of spots, but also a lot of people.
Detail of the Supai Village to the Colorado River. The falls in order going down the canyon are Little Navajo, Havasu (first star), Mooney (second star), then Beaver.
Packing
Day 1 - Hiking shirt, sports bra, shorts, socks, boots
Long sleeve shirt, puffer coat, underwear, and pants to wear at night.
Day 2 - Swimsuit, tank and shorts, chacos.
Day 3 - Same swimsuit and shorts, chacos.
Day 4 - Another hiking shirt and socks, shorts from day 1.
It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be at night. It said it would be high 70s to low 80s to about 45 at night. I was warm in my 20 degree bag and sweatpants and my puffer were perfect for mornings/nights.
2 Hiking shirts
2 hiking socks
Hiking shorts
Long sleeve shirt
Puffer coat
Underwear
Sweats or pants
Swimsuit
Quick-dry tank
Swim or quick dry shorts and Chacos.
Meals
I had heard people didn’t eat as much as they thought, but I was still worried. At the last minute I took out a bunch of stuff and I’m glad I did. I’m not sure if its the heat or being tired, but I wasn’t that hungry. For dinners we decided to do mostly backpacking meals supplemented with chicken packets. My friend told me to go as fresh as you can the first day and I loved that I did that. By the end you are sick of bars and things in wrappers.
Day 1 - yogurt at hotel
Lunch - grapes, apples, carrots, beef stick, nuts
Dinner - Peak brand sweet pork, add Avocado
Day 2 - Peak brand Mountain Berry Granola.
Lunch - tuna packet, pickle packet, crackers or tortilla, apple, trail mix, dried fruit
Dinner - Backpacker’s Pantry brand Cuban coconut black beans, add chicken or summer sausage.
Day 3 - Adventure Meals breakfast scramble - not good, try Ova easy egg packets
Lunch - Vermont brand BBQ beef stick, protein bar, dried fruit, trail mix
Dinner - Peak chicken Teriyaki, add chicken packet.
Day 4 - Oatmeal if time to cook or protein bar, dried fruit.
Here is my dehydrated meals rating 1-5:
Backpackers Pantry Chicken Fajitas - spicy 3
Peak Sweet pork and rice - 5
Peak Chicken teriyaki - 4
Backpackers Pantry chicken and rice - 4
Backpacker’s Pantry brand Cuban coconut black beans - 4
Adventure Meals breakfast scramble - 1
Peak brand Mountain Berry Granola - 5
Matt also bought a summer sausage last minute which was really good to add to meals and have with a little cheese the first day and crackers.
Gear
A good easy to use water filter is a must. There is a spring in the campground but depending on where you are it might be quite a walk to get there. My friend recommended the Sawyer filter and it was awesome. The bag that comes with it is not great, we liked this one, but any with a 28mm lid will be attach.
I think a camping chair is worth the weight. Most are two pounds and some one. We brought a hammock, but I didn’t use it as much as I thought because I thought I would fall asleep the second I got in it!
I bought a new pocket rocket lighter weight stove and loved it. The Jetboil set may be a bit better in the wind and boil a bit faster but is bigger and heavier. We used our Nemo pads and since our old 2 person backpacking tent has some broken poles we took the 3 person Half Dome and it was nice to have the space, especially since my husband carried it :)
This is a great backpacking list I was sent that helped me make sure I had everything. Bring some cord to hang bags on so the animals don’t get to them.
Mules and Helicopter
It is $400 to rent a pack mule down and back up. They are pretty much rented round trip so there you can’t just rent for the way back up. What I didn’t realize is that one Pack Mule can carry up to 4 bags, up to 32 pounds per bag, must be soft-sided. You can also use facebook to rent out the other spaces on your mule so you don’t have to pay the full $400. Bags are dropped off at the Hilltop Ranger Station no later than 10:00 a.m. on the way in/down and 7:00 a.m. at the Campground Ranger Station on the way out/up. We decided to carry our packs both ways, but if I went again I would probably rent one.
Be careful hiking up and down though, mule trains come up behind you and you have to move out of the way. Once we were on one trail, and the mules right next to us on another trail, but then a rouge mule came on our trail and knocked two of our group down. They weren’t hurt but the leader yelled “wake-up” to us, so be aware. Also the mules leave a lot of poop in places so be ready for the smell.
The helicopter was hard to find information on. On the way out we were told it starts flying at 9am from the Supai town and is first come first serve, $100 a person. There was a crowd and I’m not sure how long you would have had to wait.
To Confluence or not to Confluence
The confluence is where the blue green water of Havasu Creek meets the brown water of the Grand Canyon. You see Beaver Falls and pass lots of beautiful swimming holes and hike along the river (and across) the whole time.
In my opinion the stretch from Mooney Falls and on to Beaver Falls is a must see and then on to the confluence is a close second. Tons of blue swimming holes, beautiful red rock and we even saw two rams fighting. This hike has a bunch of river crossings and places to swim so I would definitely wear a swimsuit and water shoes. After Beaver falls you have to go up and over onto the ledge to pass the next section. On your way back look for the blue arrow that takes you up over the ledge. Also if you have AllTrails or another map you can look at what side of the river you should be on to guide you on some of the river crossings. You should take a water filter to fill up.
“In my opinion the stretch from Mooney Falls and on to Beaver Falls is a must see.”
So the hike into the campground is 10 miles, 11 if you camp by Mooney Falls. Then Mooney Falls to Beaver falls is about 3 miles and Beaver to the confluence is another 5 miles, so 16 total. If you hike in, 10 miles, then to the confluence, 18 miles, then out you are at 38 miles total. Plus maybe a trip into Supai is another 4 miles. If I had to pick I would get mules or a helicopter instead of hiking to the campground which isn’t super pretty to be able to see Beaver Falls and the confluence. Also the hike in has tons of mules going in and out, which means lots of mule poop and watching to make sure you don’t get hit.
The hike down to Mooney Falls is steep and has a ladder and can get backed up. Avoid waiting by starting early or going in the middle of the day. Some said you needed gloves, but I didn’t feel like I did.
Supai
Supai Village is the most remote town in the contiguous US with a population of a little over 200 people. If you have time or a spare day you can walk up to the village which is 2 miles, but a lot of it is uphill, so maybe hike it in the shade of the morning. After the hike in and the confluence, that 2 mile hike in the sun was a bit hard. You can visit the cafe or store or even go to church. The store is a bit limited but does have cold drinks and a few supplies. You need to wear a mask in town.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the town of Supai, Arizona.
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