Havasupai Falls - Complete Guide | Champagne Escapades Travel Blog

PSA: The most magical place in America isn’t Disney World – it can be found within the Havasupai tribal lands of Arizona. Ten miles into sandy red rock canyons is an oasis flowing with Gatorade blue waters. This magical place dripping with waterfalls requires a tough-to-get permit, but is more than worth the trouble. Read on to learn how to purchase a permit, and everything you need to know for the most amazing backpacking trip.

How to obtain a permit:

All reservations for 2024 must be purchased online February 1st 2024 at 8AM Arizona time at https://www.havasupaireservations.com/. Permits are limited per day and demand is extremely high so they will most likely sell out for the entire year within one hour. This year they are offering pre-sale reservations for a fee that gives you early access to purchase – find out more HERE.

Create an account in advance with your credit card information already filled out
On the morning of Feb 1 make sure you are logged into your account just before 8 am and ready to hit the reservations button as soon as it goes live.
The site will crash due to the high volume of traffic at various stages of your attempt to select dates, chose a credit card, etc. Keep trying.
The maximum size group you can secure a permit for is 12 people.
Confirm interest with your group in advance and identify a few potential dates in case you aren’t able to pick your first option.
Each person must pay for 3 nights. It is $455 per person. That adds up quick for a big group so make sure you have confirmation everyone can make all your possible dates. There are no refunds and the person who’s name is on the reservation must be present.
In 2019 we were lucky to score our first choice date for a group of 12 with all of us online attempting to purchase for over an hour. It turned out we had secured the permit within the first 3 minutes, but the site errored out prior to confirming so we didn’t realize until I found an email confirmation about an hour in. Be sure to check your email if the website errors out directly before a logical confirmation page.

How to get to the trailhead:

The Havasupai Indian reservation is located in the northwest part of Arizona. The trailhead is just over 3.5 hours from the Las Vegas Airport or a 4.5 hour drive from the Phoenix airport. It’s best to start the 10 mile hike to the campground in the morning so most people park at the trailhead and camp at their cars the night before. You may lose service on the way to the trailhead so be sure to download the map to your phone in advance.

Check-in Process:

Updated For 2024 reservations: Check-in for all permit reservations will take place at Grand Canyon Caverns Inn, located at Mile Marker 115, Route 66 near Seligman, Arizona 86434. The trip leader must check-in for all members of their group, beginning the day before your arrival date and no later than noon on the first day of your reservation. Failure to do so will result in your reservation being cancelled. No refunds or rescheduling of dates will be issued.

The trip leader will need to provide photo ID to receive all permits, wristbands, bag tags, and an entrance form, which will need to be completed and shown to the Havasupai Reservation boundary checkpoint staff.

The hike in:

The earlier you start hiking the better camping spot you can secure. Good news: it’s all down hill on the way in. The trail only has an incline for about 1.5 miles then it levels out. 8 miles in you will reach Supai Village where the people of the Havasupai tribe live. There is a small store there and the office with a checkpoint. 2 miles beyond the village you will come to Havasu Falls and the start of camping spots. Don’t jump for the first spots, they continue for a mile and get better as you get closer to Mooney Falls.

Things to do:

Hike to Mooney Falls: About .5 miles past the campground you will hear the rush of Mooney falls. You can hike down to the base of the falls via a somewhat sketchy set up of steps and railings. Take your time descending – it gets pretty slippery.

Hike to Beaver Falls: 2 miles past Mooney Falls is Beaver falls. This is a great place for a swim and to hang out for a while. The trail to get here follows along the river with multiple river crossings so be sure to wear water shoes with a bit of grip.

Cliff Jumping past Beaver Falls: If you’re crazy and in search of an adrenaline rush there are a few cliffs for jumping just past Beaver Falls. Continue past the falls along the trail until you come to an area of relatively still water making sort of a natural pool as pictured below and choose which cliffs to jump from. Water levels may vary during different seasons so be sure to check the water depth before jumping from the highest cliff.

Hike to the confluence of the Colorado River: Continuing the trail past Beaver Falls another 6-8miles will bring you to the confluence of the Colorado River. You will enter Grand Canyon National Park along the way. When you get to the end of the trail you can drop your bags and swim through the shallow waters to the Colorado River. Most will say to do this full hike you need to start super early- but we didn’t start the trek towards Beaver falls until around 10 am, hung out at the falls for awhile, did the cliff jumping and then ventured all the way to the confluence and it was no problem. It was dusk while we were hiking back and we did see multiple rattle snakes. Be cautious and bang rocks together as you hike so the snakes hear you coming and disperse.

Hang out at Havasu Falls: On our second full day in the canyon we walked up to Havasu falls and hung out there for awhile. We had brought a bocce ball type game to play and drinks/snacks for a chill picnic. They have picnic tables by Havasu falls.

Hike to the Hidden Falls: If you venture back up the main trail you came in on you will come to Navajo falls. These are smaller less dramatic waterfalls then Havasu or Mooney, but many people hang out here and swim- you will have seen them on your initial hike in. There is a somewhat hard to find trail on the left side of these falls which will take you back to the hidden falls (pictured below).

Hang out at your awesome campsite: We all brought different games to play from cards to dizzy bat and spent the afternoon/evenings enjoying mostly room temperture drinks, mountain house meals, no service, and great company!

What to Pack:

Tent, Sleeping Pad (I recommend this super compact light weight one that holds air well and is actually comfortable), Sleeping Bag
Alternate sleeping option- Hammock
Hiking Boots, Water Shoes, Flip Flops, Backup tennis shoes if you have room
Second skin, Band-Aids, and any supplies for blisters (You don’t want to be hiking out 10 miles with bad blister and no remedy)
Wet Wipes (these biodegradable ones are perfect for camping), Travel size Shampoo and soap
Bug Spray, repellant wipes or these bug repellent bracelets are great
Solar powered table light (this one can also charge your phone) and a headlight with a red light setting for night
Water Bottle or camelback
Collapsible water container (the water supply may be far from your campsite so this is a necessity to have enough water for cooking/drinking/cleaning)
Jet Boil or camping stove & propane cans
Rope to hang food and belongings on away from animals
Camping cups and utensils
Freeze dried meals- We love the mountain house ones you can get on amazon
Water purifier- there is potable water at the campground, but we needed a purifying device on the hike to the confluence or we would’ve had no water for the return hike. We like this Sawyer one that’s very easy to use
Portable charging device
Cards, or other fun camping games
Collapsible Day backpack, to use for the hikes once you’re in the canyon
Lightweight towel for swimming/showering
Clothes, swimsuits, light jackets/layers (it gets cold at night even in spring/summer)

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Alcohol:

Alcohol is technically not allowed on the Indian reservation. Upon driving in guards will ask you if you have any and may check your vehicle. Be sure to hide any alcohol from plain site before you get to the Indian reservation border. We brought in a case of beers, bags of wine, and plenty of liquor in plastic flasks without a problem. We did get one bottle of whisky and a box of wine taken by the guards because we didn’t know to hide it all well enough.

Mules:

You can add a mule to your reservation to carry up to 4 soft bags down the canyon and back up the canyon. We hired one for our group of 12, mostly so we could carry the additional weight for alcohol into the canyon and did not use it on the way out. Once you secure a reservation you will be given the option to apply for a mule with more details on how the drop off of bags works.

Overall Itinerary:

Friday:

Fly to Las Vegas
Stock up on Groceries/Drinks
Drive to Havasupai Trailhead, 2024 update- you are no longer allowed to camp at trailhead night before your hike in so you will need to stay somewhere close by

Saturday: