Havasu Falls

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Features Birding · Cave · Commonly Backpacked · Fall Colors · Historical Significance · River/Creek · Swimming · Views · Waterfall · Wildlife

This is the famous hike to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon. A difficult 19-mile roundtrip, it takes place entirely on the Havasupai Indian Reservation and visits the remote village of Supai near the waterfalls. The hike takes 4-7 hours each way, and is significantly more difficult on the way out than on the way in. Plan ahead, pack plenty of water, and wear a lot of sunscreen to ensure that everyone has a good time.

- Permits are absolutely mandatory to be on the Havasupai Indian Reservation; they are expensive and normally very difficult to acquire.
- All visitors to Havasupai need a permit for either the campground or the lodge (or a helicopter tour). Day hiking without a permit is NOT allowed.
- Permits are released for reservations on February 1 for all dates within the calendar year. Besides reserving a permit as soon as they become available, you can perhaps get lucky by checking every day for cancelation permits. Visit the Havasupai Reservations website and make an account to learn how the permit system works.
- An alternative to reserving a permit and hiking into the canyon is to purchase a helicopter ride through AirWest Helicopters.
- The village of Supai has plenty of supplies, including food and water, that can be found at two different stores: Sinyella Store and Havasupai Grocery Store. Try to support both shops, as they rely heavily on tourism.

Starting at the Hualapai Hilltop parking lot, the Havasupai Trail kicks off with a mile of switchbacks descending into the Grand Canyon. The trail is well-maintained, made of packed dirt and rock, and about 10 feet wide with small rock walls on its sides.

About a mile and a half in, the trail flattens out and you'll find yourself on the canyon floor, weaving along a 20-foot wide dry riverbed for the next 4 miles or so.

By the time you reach mile 5, the canyon narrows a bit more. The trail is about 10 feet wide again with some shade for the first time, thanks to the canyon walls. The walls are also much taller by now, rising more than 100 feet overhead.

When closing in on the 6-mile mark, the scenery changes vastly, becoming more representative of what's to come in Supai and the various waterfalls ahead. Some sandy trail comes into play, tall trees start to appear in the distance, and you can hear Havasu Creek flowing if you listen closely enough. The trail also descends into the canyon a little bit more dramatically at this point, signifying that you're only a couple of miles from Supai.

Seven miles in, you'll find yourself under lush Gambel oak trees in more sand. The walls are even taller now, at several hundred feet, and Havasu Creek will soon appear on your right. A half-mile later, about 7.5 miles in, you'll cross a bridge over to the right side of the creek, move away from the water a bit, and finally descend into Supai.

Once you reach the bottom of this descent, about 8 miles in, the canyon opens way up and you'll see Supai. Upon reaching the village's main area, the Havasupai Tourist Office will show up on your left, where you need to check in.

You'll then make your way through the village -- passing the lodge, shops, and many homes -- then descend 2 miles farther into the canyon. In this stretch you'll encounter a few short uphill sections, and the first real uphill hiking of the trip so far. At just over 9 miles in, Navajo Falls is below the left side of the trail. After crossing another bridge farther down, Havasu Falls suddenly appears below the trail on your right.

After one more mile of descending, you'll finally reach the Havasupai Campground where you can locate your designated site. Unload, unwind, and enjoy the paradise of shade and blue you've worked so hard to reach. Make sure to check out Mooney Falls and perhaps Beaver Falls, too, which are located 0.5 and 3.5 miles past the campground, respectively.

Flora: Gambel oak, scrub oak, prickly pear cactus, yucca. Fauna you might see: Mule deer, common kingsnakes, rattlesnakes, bighorn sheep, wild horses, domesticated Horses, pack mules. Fauna you likely won't see: Ringtails, bobcats, mountain lions.

The Havasupai Indian Tribe has lived here for at least eight centuries, long before the Grand Canyon was established as a National Park in 1919. The reservation was officially created in 1880 on just 518 acres, and Havasupai were pushed out of much of their ancestral land in the canyon. In 1975, through the Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act, the reservation was expanded to 188,077 acres. Though still very far shy of their original territory, this allowed the Havasupai Tribe to build a new economy around tourism.

The tourism economy also has its downfalls. Visitation is heavy, and campers often leave trash behind, degrading the environment in the process. It is also very expensive for people to live here and manage this land with no road access, and it doesn't appear that the tribe has the resources it needs. For obvious reasons, visitors should treat this heritage land with the utmost respect.