Oh, Havasupai. How your beautiful turquoise waters refresh my soul and brighten my spirits. How your rich, burnt copper colored sand ignites a passion within me for exploration and adventure. How you bring undeniable truth to the fact that paradise does not always mean tropical.
Located within Havasu Canyon, just outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park, lies the Havasupai Indian Reservation and its remote Supai Village. The name “Havasupai” means “people of the blue-green waters” on account of the fantastic color of the Havasu Creek water (a tributary of the Colorado River). Known for its gorgeous waterfalls, Havasupai is a bucket-list destination for nature lovers all around the world. As a biophilic individual myself (aka nature lover), I knew I couldn’t pass up taking a chance on the upcoming reservation process that opens up once a year in February. Thankfully, my nearest and dearest friends share the same biophilic tendencies as I do (not to mention a love of all things food related), setting up the perfect formula for a “girls just wanna have fun” adventure that the great Cyndi Lauper would sure be proud of.
How to Navigate that Grueling Online Reservation Process
Due to its complete and utter “wow” factor of waterfalls on waterfalls, Havasupai is incredibly popular year-round. While many tend to go into the reservation process with a carefully thought-out list of desired dates, what they soon find out is that many, many other people are vying for those exact same dates. This, sadly, makes that list a complete and total waste of time. To be honest, once the battle of date selection commences, the more flexible you are with dates, the better chance you‘ll have of getting a reservation (hey, beggars can’t be choosers).
We, meaning four ladies in various cities eagerly waiting next to their respective computers, watching the minutes tick away as the reservation calendar launch time approaches, went into the online reservation process hoping to get permits for Labor Day weekend… because obviously, no one else would have that three-day holiday weekend on their preferred list (cue head-slap emoji). Though we didn’t end up snagging the initial dates that we wanted, victory was ours in the end.
The entire reservation process goes by in a flash, and you may go through it feeling like you just spent the last five minutes on a roller coaster, holding your breath while your stomach drops, watching dates quickly fade and disappear one after another. Stay the course, and just remember, pretty much any date will lend itself to a magical experience. Ultimately, be open, be flexible, and be quick!
REMEMBER: In contrast to most other reservation-oriented campgrounds, there are no specific camp spots to reserve in Havasupai. With a reservation, you are allowed to setup camp anywhere within the campground. This means that during that intense reservation process, all you need to focus on is simply the date!
When to Visit
Havasupai is most popular during summer months when the hot weather is conducive to long soaks in the cool, crystal clear water. Daytime temperatures in the summer average in the mid-90s (though, it has been known to go into triple digits) while nighttime temperatures average in the mid-60s (temperatures in Fahrenheit). Monsoon season typically rears its head during the months of July and August, making it especially important for visitors to stay updated on the weather during their planned stay and listen for flash flood warnings.
It is important to remember that Havasupai is a “reverse” hike, meaning that you will be descending over 2,000 feet to the canyon floor from the Hualapai Hilltop trailhead. As a result of this, the campground and its surrounding falls experience warmer temperatures than those at the trailhead, which lies at 5,200 feet.
Our adventure took place mid-September, where the daytime temperatures hovered in the 80s, ideal conditions for a whole lot of GoPro worthy waterfall dive-ins and playful splash arounds. Evenings cooled down to mid-50s, making it comfortable enough to sleep soundly through the night without shivering or sweating. In the words of Goldilocks, it was just right.
What to Pack
Needs may differ slightly among individuals in regards to what items are valued more so over others. Our goal was to pack the bare essentials as well as to share items amongst the group so that each individual was not bringing the same items (i.e. only two people in the group brought a Jetboil to share instead of everyone bringing their own). In addition, the duration of stay will ultimately determine what and how much to bring. The list to the right represents items brought for a three day, two night backpacking trip.
Though many folks do, we chose not to bring any water toys or floaties. If brought, please do remember to be respectful of the land as the residents of Supai do live there, and pack out whatever is brought in. The entire campground and waterfall areas are kept clean, and that is thanks in great part to responsible outdoor practices and the diligence of the Supai people.
Where to Stay
No, I’m not talking about how to select the perfect camp spot (because, let’s be honest, that’s a total personal preference type of situation). I am talking about where to stay the night before. In planning out this adventure, we knew making a near 7-hour drive from San Diego to the vicinity of Havasupai would not leave us with much energy to do, well, anything else. Because of this, we planned to arrive in the area a day early and take the evening to relax before undergoing our long awaited three-day backpacking extravaganza.
Options for lodging nearby are slim, but after some research, we decided on the Hualapai Lodge located in the city of Peach Springs and an hour and a half drive to the trailhead. The lodge is located on Historic Route 66 and contains a restaurant, basically the only one in town. The street itself is pretty desolate, consisting of only the lodge and its inhabitants as well as a small store across the street. There was not much else to get our kicks on, which was perfectly fine after driving for nearly one-third of the day. The employees were friendly, and our room was clean, spacious, and convenient. What more could we ask for the night before heading out to sleep in the dirt amongst the birds, bugs, and fellow backpackers?
The Plan
While our intention was to leave the days fairly open to see where the heavenly Havasupai lands took us, we did establish a rough plan of key sites to see and experience within each given day (and anything else would just be little cherries on top):
Day 1:
Hike in (5 AM start time), set up camp, explore Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls
(Actual mileage count: 15 miles)
Day 2:
Hike to Beaver Falls (revisit Mooney Falls en route), hike to the Confluence, return to the campground before sundown
(Actual mileage count: 18 miles)
Day 3:
Pack up, clean up, hike out (4:30 AM start time)
(Actual mileage count: 11 miles)
The Hike In
We arrived to the Hualapai Hilltop trailhead at five o’clock in the morning. The clear, moonlit sky shed a soft white light across the road, revealing outlines of eager hikers adjusting their packs, putting on headlamps, and ensuring complete preparation. Once we did a run through of the exact same, the adventure began.
For the first mile and a half, we zig-zagged our way down 1,000 feet. The sun had not yet risen, and the only visible sights were kicked up dust particles swirling around in our headlamp spotlights and bouncing light beams from fellow backpackers roaming in the distance.
After about an hour of the same conditions, the trail finally leveled out at a dry, gravel filled river bed. It was as if this shift in terrain signaled the sun to rise, its rays now peeking over the massive sandstone canyon walls, splashing against the rocks, and awakening their rusty-red hue. Now that the daylight had come, we stopped periodically to take photos, munch on some trail treats, and absorb the stunning canyon scenery.
Three hours of hiking, picture taking, and snack indulging later, the canyon opened wide, and we saw the first official Supai sign decorated in a mass of stickers, making us more eager than ever to finally make it to this desert paradise. Within 20 minutes, small homes placed intermittently across the now more expansive canyon floor came into view, signifying our official entry into Supai Village and completion of eight hiking miles thus far.
The tourist office, located within Supai Village, is where visitors pick up their previously reserved campground permits. Once we picked up ours, we briefly explored the village’s only small cafe and convenience store, seizing another snack and rest break opportunity (clearly, we are snack fiends). Stray dogs became incredibly fond of us thanks to our magnetizing banana chips and jerky, but with just two miles to go until the campground, there was no time to waste (sorry, pups!).
TIP: Wear a buff around your neck during the hike in to cover your nose and mouth from the clouds of dust kicked up by the mules (the trail is incredibly sandy). You’ll thank me later.
Little Navajo Falls and Fifty Foot Falls
Half of a mile before the campground lies Navajo Falls and Fifty Foot Falls. Though we did not hike down to these two points of interest, their multi-tiered beauty could be seen in the distance from the trail. This was our first waterfall sighting within Havasupai as well as the first time the area’s pristine turquoise water revealed itself. The Havasu Creek, where the falls’ water flows, followed the trail as we neared the campground.
Havasu Falls
There it was. Finally. After about 45 minutes of hiking from the village (including stops for photos and mule passing), the namesake falls revealed itself. Raging waters poured over an eroded cliffside, falling about 100 feet to fill up an ice-blue pool below. This brief, yet jaw-dropping first glimpse at the wonders of Havasupai held us over for the next hour as we made our way to the campground to unload the 20+ pound packs we had been lugging around for five hours. The beauty of Havasu Falls (other than the obvious literal beauty, of course) is that it’s about a 5-minute walk from the center of the campground where we set up for the duration of our stay, making it easy to return at anytime.
Fast forward the hour allocated to campground spot selection, pack unpacking, and leg resting, we made our way back to Havasu Falls to begin living up our time in this waterfall oasis. The start of our descent to the base of Havasu Falls greeted us with a sign explaining the science behind the unreal color of the water. Come to find out, the unique blue-green color of the Havasu Creek is due to the high concentration of lime that it carries. Just a short stroll down a bumpy, red clay path put us up close and personal with this picturesque waterfall. I quickly embraced my inner mermaid, jumped on in, and then the real fun began.
Mooney Falls
A mere mile hike from Havasu Falls lies Mooney Falls, the tallest and mightiest waterfall in the canyon. With just about four hours of daylight left in our first day of this adventure, we unknowingly wrapped it up with the most exhilarating portion, in my opinion, of the entire Havasupai experience.
Majestically flowing at over 200 feet high, the initial view of Mooney Falls made my heart skip a beat, but the journey up and down to access it almost gave me a heart attack. What you often don't hear about (at least, we didn't) was the "descend at own risk" sign, and my goodness, do they mean it. Mooney Falls is accessed via a steep descent along the cliffside through a few short tunnels as well as a series of rigged in chains, bolts, and slippery ladders missing an anchor or two. While this was something we all held our breaths doing, once we touched stable ground again, paradise came into full focus.
The wide open base area of Mooney Falls is much larger than that of Havasu Falls and offers what I believe to be one of the most captivating photo spots of the entire trip. Mother Nature’s commanding presence intertwined with the various aquatic tones of the moss painting the canyon walls was a true sight to behold. I took some time to explore the area near the waterfall, standing atop a slick, moss covered rock, arms open wide, welcoming the spray of the falls. The enchantment of it all made me feel like Ariel, happily lost in some far-off land, waiting for a few anthropomorphic creatures to come join me. Luckily, we experienced Mooney Falls twice, as it would begin our second day and lead us first to Beaver Falls and then later to the Confluence of the Colorado River/Havasu Creek.
Beaver Falls
Beaver Falls is just a two-mile hike from Mooney Falls, but don’t let that seemingly short distance fool you. This lively two-mile trek is an adventure in and of itself, complete with a few river crossings, ladder climbs, terrain fluctuations, and gradual twists and turns. The initial, well-defined portion of the trail from Mooney Falls led us through a rather unfitting, though happily welcomed, valley of vibrant green ivy contrasting beautifully with the canyon’s copper walls. Along this narrow pathway, there were a few sudden snake sightings, a brief reminder that attention to the trail and its surroundings is very important. The trail became more obscure the further we went, causing us to lose the route several times. Recent flooding contributed to this by rearranging much of the terrain. I was extremely thankful for my water shoes during this entire experience, as I believe our total number of river crossings ended up in the double digits. In all, the hike to Beaver Falls took about an hour and a half, granted we took a few detours, stopped for some snack breaks (again, we clearly have a problem), and a whole lot of picture taking.
Of all the waterfalls within the Havasupai experience, I’d say Beaver Falls is the most unique due to the fact that it is not just one large plunging waterfall like Havasu and Mooney Falls. Instead, it is a series of smaller falls cascading along a wide area resembling a type of grand staircase you’d likely see inside of a palace. The falls are incredibly welcoming, and we made sure to dedicate a significant amount of time, an hour and a half to be exact, to swimming in all of its glory.
The Confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River
While visiting Havasupai, it is possible to venture into the official boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park and to follow the Havasu Creek all the way to the Colorado River. This meeting point is called the Confluence, and getting to it is certainly no easy task. It is long, it is confusing, and… did I mention long? In fact, a sign not too far from Beaver Falls advises against heading out past 11 AM for fear of not returning by sundown (and then having to navigate up that network of strewn together wobbly parts at Mooney Falls, yikes). We managed to find said sign around 10:45 AM, leading us to believe a successful roundtrip was actually possible.
At the start of the journey, we happened to run into a tribal ranger (dressed in civilian clothing who conversed with us rather casually). He advised us to use extreme caution while ensuring that we had enough water and were physically up for the challenge. Again, no easy task.
The entire trek to the Confluence from Beaver Falls is 8 miles roundtrip and took five and half hours to complete, and that is including a solid amount of trail running at the end to ensure that dusk did not interrupt our journey back to camp. I lost count of the number of river crossings throughout this expedition, as every so often the trail would suddenly just end. In those moments, we looked across the river in search of another possible starting point to continue onward. The trail is not well-marked… at all, and it is very easy to get turned around. We fought against some serious fatigue and frustration because honestly, this trail requires a lot of focus, problem-solving, and teamwork. The route was exceptionally gorgeous, though, so that helped... just a little bit.
After all of the struggles (emphasis on the plural form of that word), the entryway to the Confluence came into view. We ran to it without hesitation, and my entire body gladly accepted the sudden jolt of adrenaline. As we made our way into the water, the mild current provided us with a short boost while progressing through the final stretch. Unfortunately, the graceful walking portion soon came to an end when we realized that our feet could no longer touch the ground. Now, the only possible way to proceed to the confluence was to swim from the Havasu Creek to a small rock bed just before where the creek meets the Colorado River. Luckily, there was a small, dry, elevated mound of sand to the side of where we were currently standing, so we put down our bags and swam on through the stunning natural stone gateway to an even more remarkable sight.
Our feet touched land, and upon rising, slabs of layered stone presented an epic vantage point to watch and listen to the roar of the Colorado. We devoted about thirty minutes to doing just that, until realizing that there were only a few hours of daylight left, which meant we needed to move. The current had picked up from the time of our arrival to our departure, so swimming back to our belongings and then further on to the trail became even more challenging. However, with some quick steps, long strides, and cameras down, we were able to make good time and arrived back at the Mooney Falls playground about thirty minutes before the sun set.
This part of the journey is not for the faint of heart. While rewarding, please remember to travel and trek smart, as no destination is worth the risk of injury or worse.
PLEASE NOTE: The Confluence is 16 miles roundtrip if starting strictly from the campground. If intending to start from the campground, a very early start time is highly recommended.
If Heaven Were a Desert
I've been incredibly fortunate in my life to have had many opportunities to explore this beautiful planet of ours. While I have by no means seen it all (though, it is on my list), I can honestly say that I have never seen anything quite like Havasupai. If heaven were a desert, I imagine it would look a lot like Havasupai - tranquil, bright, and enchanting. Many people ask if it is worth the effort. For me, it was worth every penny and every second of my time. Would I do it again? Absolutely. After all, they don't call it the Garden of Eden in the desert for nothing.
Side Note: Wonderful Wildlife Sightings
In a moment of discombobulation during the Confluence trek, we just so happened to see a small desert bighorn sheep crossing the waterway. These magnificent creatures are common spectacles around this area, and it sure was a beautiful sight to see.