**I have a lot of pictures to upload with this post but I am posting this from Guatemala and the wifi won’t support it currently. They will be posted as soon as I’m able!
BOOKING A RESERVATION
Of all the questions Caelynn and I received from our trip to Havasu Falls, the most common seemed to be “how did you book your campsite?” and to be honest, it was a lot easier than I expected it to be. As far as I understand, the Havasupai Indian Reservation has changed quite a bit over the past year. I talked to friends who claimed they booked a reservation at the campgrounds for roughly $25 total where we spent $100 per person per night, and this was earlier in 2019. I’ve also been told that campsites get booked out immediately when they go on sale February 1st and you’d be hard pressed to book one later in the year.
However, it seems the booking process has undergone some changes as well. We had a small window to make our four days in Supai work and it just so happened there was a cancellation for those exact dates. It’s simple, all you do is visit https://www.havasupaireservations.com/, create an account, and search under their ‘canceled reservations’ tab to find a date that works for you and your party. From there you move along through the process of paying and booking as you would any other campground or hotel. Keep in mind that weekend camping is slightly more expensive than camping over the weekdays.
I was relieved to see that we were able to book a reservation for dates that worked for us because I’ve been dying to visit Havasu Falls for a long time. The price was a bit of a shocker for me. $100/person/night is the most expensive campground I’ve ever heard of. Perhaps if you book on the opening date early in the year you get a discounted rate and the cancellations get filled at an inflated price, I’m not sure. All that said, the short trip is worth the price in my opinion. It makes it more difficult to justify a return visit but for the first timer, like us, we decided to pull the trigger.
GETTING THERE
Getting to the Havasu Falls trailhead is about as straightforward as can be. Simply type “Havasupai Trailhead” into Google Maps and it’ll take you directly to where you need to be. The drive from Los Angeles is roughly seven hours so we decided to break it up over two days (the nice thing about living in a van, you can pull off and sleep comfortably at any rest stop). We originally wanted to hit the trailhead early in the morning but wound up sleeping in, enjoying a nice breakfast in Kingman, and starting around early afternoon.
Something you’ll definitely need to consider when beginning your hike is the deadly Arizona heat. We visited early November and by midday it gets scorching hot. It’s advised that you either begin your hike early in the morning or late in the afternoon so as to avoid the heat.
About two miles before the trailhead is a ranger station where guards will do a deep search of your car for prohibited items (more on this later). They’ll ask you once you get there if you have alcohol, firearms, or drones in your car and claim if they find something you didn’t mention you’re turned around and your reservation won’t be honored. Fortunately for us, all I had were some old beers in my cooler so I dumped them out, had them search a few of my backpacks, and we were on our way.
The hike itself is a relatively mellow seven miles to the town of Supai, two more miles to the campground, and one more mile to the end of the camping area. The trek begins with a steep switch back for about a mile that’ll get you down to the canyon floor. From there it’s six miles along a dried up (sometimes not dried up) river bed, which means easy walking along a steady decline. As I mentioned above, it’s smart to avoid the middle of the days on this path because shade is scarce and there’s no place to refill water if you find yourself overheating.
We started hiking at 1:20pm and landed in Supai at exactly 4:20pm - a solid three hours to go seven miles. I was happy with our pace. As soon as you enter the town you’ll see signs plastered all around announcing that there are no pictures allowed - something we didn’t know and I had to go back and delete a few pictures / videos of local horses (more on this later). The town is bigger than I expected it to be. In theory, you could just pack a tent, pad, and sleeping bag and make it through your three nights here in OK condition just from purchasing your groceries on the reservation. There is at least two markets where you can purchase any camping gear you might’ve forgot, last minute snacks, even ice cream. There’s also a restaurant where we ate on the way out on our last day; the jalapeño burger was actually pretty good!
It’s two more miles to Havasu Falls and the campground where you’ll be staying for the next three nights. We arrived at the campsite at exactly 5:20pm which meant we were setting up our tent and preparing for the night in the dark. It’s a good thing we brought headlamps. By now we were hungry and ready for bed so we prepared dinner and fell asleep pretty early, around 7pm. I recommend you bring a good book or deck or cards to help bide the time, especially this time of year when the sun sets so early.
Over the next days we got to explore one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. The changing leaves juxtaposed over the marvelous red sandstone was amazing, the huge waterfalls, intricate campgrounds, fun hiking trails, it was all a nature lovers dream. We spent the second day resting and hanging around Havasu Falls, enjoying the small window of sunlight on the pool at the bottom of the falls and swimming around a bit. Surprisingly, the water was warm enough to enjoy swimming around in. Day three we trekked down to Mooney Falls and even further down to Beaver Falls. Day four we hung around the campsite for a while until eventually packing up and hitting the trail around 10am.
The hike out was easier for Caelynn than it was for me. Of course it’s two more miles back to the town and then seven more from there back to the car but this time it’s a gradual uphill and thus is a bit more challenging. Caelynn was having some trouble with her hip flexor so she elected to ride the helicopter back to the parking lot. The Supai Reservation flies helicopters in and out four times a week to bring in supplies and fly out the rubbish and they sell seats to hikers who aren’t interested in walking back. She paid $85 for a seat and a $10 credit card fee and was back at the van in less than 20 minutes. I, on the other hand, decided to hoof it back because I was disappointed in myself for not jumping off the top of Havasu Falls and needed some time to dwell on my frustration. After four days I had traveled 30 miles by foot and I think that’s something to be proud of!
WHAT TO BRING
Hiking in 10 miles to stay for three nights and four days presents its challenges in regard to food. Fortunately, the campground has a few fresh water spickets so all we brought was a 1L bottle each. We had a bit of trouble finding what to bring on the internet, probably because so much has been changing there, so here’s a list of what we brought:
Tent - my 3 person ultralight by Nemo
Queen size air mattress - I brought this thinking it’d make us more comfortable but it wound up adding a lot of weight and not being comfortable at all
Sleeping bag - I have a bag rated for 20 degrees and it kept me perfectly warm
Headlamp - crucial because you’ll be moving around a bit at night
Warm clothes - one pair of clothes to sleep in and one to wear around during the day, don’t forget a swimsuit and a pair of water shoes if you plan on walking around in the water
Jetboil - essential for preparing food and coffee
French press - we love our coffee in the morning
3 dehydrated meals (each) - you can pick some up at REI, they’re delicious!
Oatmeal and granola - for breakfast
Hydroflask - I bring it everywhere with me, my one liter bottle was the perfect size
Snacks - I brought a Clif bar for each day
WHAT NOT TO BRING
Drone - they’ll check before the parking lot and you don't want to get it confiscated
Firearms - don’t even keep one in your car, they’ll turn you around and won’t let you stay
Alcohol - we poured out all our beer upon arrival, such a shame
Keep in mind there are frybread stands and a few convenient stores in town so if you forget something or run out of food a little early you’ll be totally ok. We wound up only eating about 2/3 of our food because of the access to some world famous frybread, it’s worth bringing some extra cash to try one for yourself.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, we had a great experience in Supai. The scenery is unbelievable, the weather was good enough (a little on the colder side), no major issues with fellow campers or the hike itself. That said, a few people reached out to me about the mistreatment of horses and dogs on the Supai reservation. This is partly why I suspect they don’t allow pictures to be taken in the town. The stories I heard were pretty intense and I have to say I didn’t see anything THAT bad. You have the option to hire a donkey to carry up to four bags down to the campground at a cost of $125. That means they have donkeys doing laps (I suspect) all day every day which can be exhausting for them. I saw a few horses and/or donkeys that looked malnourished which is always tough to see. Every dog I saw seemed happy and healthy.
The price tag seems hefty but I loved every second of my time here and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit to go and soak in every single second. I would like to go back in either spring or early summer when the days are a little longer and the landscape is a more lush. Also, I must go back to jump off Havasu Falls, the 98’ waterfall that’s captivated so many lucky visitors.
CAELYNN’S CORNER
For every trip Caelynn and I go on together we think it would be a fun and insightful addition to hear about her experience through her lens.
Prior to Havasupai, the most I’ve ever hiked was 3 miles, but I was determined to make this happen. I was worried, not only about hiking 10 miles, but also carrying a 20-25 pound bag while doing it.
The first few miles I felt great, but around mile 4 my hip flexor started to bother me, making miles 5-10 brutal. I started to question my decision in booking us this trip. We arrived at the local town and they informed us it was only two miles further. I had hope! My legs were shaking by the time we made it to camp but I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.
We (we being Dean) pitched our tent, cooked some ramen, and slept very soundly. We decided to take it easy the next day and not stray too far from camp. We hiked over to the waterfall that was closest to us. It was 100 feet tall and had the most beautiful turquoise water. On our third day, we hiked to the tallest waterfall in Havasu. A number of people we passed on the trail warned us that it was a “sketchy” getting to the base of the waterfall. I don’t know what I expected, but not what we stumbled upon. We were climbing down a nearly 90 degree angle, with only slippery chains to hold on to, while water and wind were hitting us. As terrified as I was during that descent, I’ve never felt more proud to have conquered my fears and something so challenging.
The next morning we started our hike out. I quickly realized my hip would not hold up for ten miles. Dean ended up carrying my backpack, along with his, two miles into town. I then hopped on a helicopter and waited for him to finish the hike. Havasupai was challenging, especially for a novice hiker like myself but absolutely worth it.