Backpacking Havasu Falls

I’m so excited to share this trip with y’all! It was so much fun and full of adventure. Backpacking Havasu Falls should definitely be on your bucket list if it isn’t already! This post is a long one so buckle up 🙂

Our trip was a 3-night stay at the Havasu Falls campground in Supai, Arizona. We had reservations (yes, you need reservations, more on that in a minute) for September 23rd, 24th, and 25th. We camped at the trailhead on the 22nd, which a lot of people do, so we could be up early to start the 10 mile hike to the campground.

We backpacked in and out of camp, by which I mean we carried everything we needed for the trip on our backs. There is an option for less experienced hikers/campers/backpackers to have the mules/donkeys take your stuff down for you and you can hike without the weight of a pack. You can also helicopter in and out but I don’t know why you’d want to miss the beauty of the hike with this option. Our packs were roughly 40-45 lbs (which might not sound like a lot, but it gets heavy fast) and we carried our clothes, food, water, tent, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, and that’s about it. I’ll share my full packing list and food list below in case you’re wondering.

So yes, back to the reservation thing. You do have to have reservations to stay at the campground. You will need to make reservations far in advance as they quickly sell out. We basically called and called nonstop until someone answered the phone so we could make reservations for any date they had available. They also do validate your reservation and check campsites every day, so don’t try to be sneaky, lol. Also FYI, they don’t allow day hikers. Before we started the hike at the trailhead, one of the locals asked if we had a reservation, and we told him yes and gave him our name, and he said “oh yes, 6 people right?” so, they definitely know who is supposed to be there. The village of Supai is about 8 miles from the trailhead, and this is where you check in to get your wristbands (you must wear these for the duration of your trip) and get the tag for your tent that shows your group name and the dates of the reservations. Someone came around and checked the tent tag every morning. You can visit this page to read about how to make reservations, the current pricing, as well as the different options for guided trips, etc. (https://aoa-adventures.com/reserve-havasupai-permits/ ) Again, you don’t have to have a guide but some people prefer it since they think of the logistics, food, equipment etc. and do that stuff for you.

Here’s how our itinerary went down:

We flew into Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 22 and met our group of friends. We actually rented a 10-passenger van (which we lovingly named Bertha) because it was cheaper than the large SUV option. So, we had plenty of space! From there we drove the approximately 4ish hours to the Havasupai Trailhead, which is on the Native American reservation for the Havasupai people and is surrounded entirely by the Grand Canyon National Park. We arrived pretty late on Friday evening and it was already dark (watch for Elk!!) so we set up our tents on a space we could find and were asleep around midnight. This was the only night I was really cold while sleeping, but that is because we were camping on the edge of a canyon with no protection. It was windy and we felt it! I had no idea that night how close to the canyon we were, but it became apparent as the sun came up that morning.

We set our alarms for 5am to get up and start the packing up process, which took longer than we anticipated just because we had more food to put in and water that weren’t already in our packs. But by 7am or so we were ready to go. Also, FYI, there are bathrooms at the trailhead if you need them. We were on our way!

The hike is 10 miles one way, and the first mile is a pretty steep downhill with a lot of switchbacks. I recommend hiking poles for this trek, especially if you are backpacking!! It helped a ton to have them. Once you get out of the switchback portion of the trail (which is mostly rock with some sand, so be careful of your footing) the trail becomes a thicker sand/gravel combo. It’s pretty hard to walk in at times. The trail is well marked so you’ll have no trouble there, but definitely be aware of the horses/mules/donkeys that also run the trail taking people’s gear up and down. They are usually in a gallop so the use of headphones on the trail is discouraged so you can hear them coming. Just step out of their way if you see them, they will go on past you. I have to say, it sort of broke my heart to see some of the horses with 2 large coolers strapped to their backs. I mean, I know they can carry it no problem (they can carry something like 20% of their body weight) but there is no reason why campers need two full coolers of food and drinks. I don’t know, I’m not trying to judge and certainly the horses carrying gear is part of the income that the tribe is able to make, but I am just a bleeding heart for animals sometimes and it made me sad, especially knowing how difficult the trail is and they pretty much run it! I encourage you to backpack your gear in and out if you are able, and I personally think it adds to the experience! I felt SO accomplished when we were done knowing I carried everything myself.  Also, if you need a cooler…maybe you should try car camping somewhere else 🙂

Anyways, I digress. So, like I mentioned earlier the village is about 8 miles from the trailhead start and that’s where you check in for your reservation. Be sure you have enough water with you on the trail, as there are no options for water until you reach the village. They have some convenience stores where you can buy it. Be sure you have cash. Another 2 miles downhill from the village is the campground and the falls!! The last 2 miles downhill into camp were personally the hardest for me. It’s all pretty much downhill on the way in (meaning it’s all uphill on the way out) but the last 2 miles are deep sand, almost like walking on a beach, so it’s challenging, especially when you’ve been wearing a heavy pack for almost 4 hours. I was SO SORE after! Oh, but once you arrive, it is all worth it. This view is so breathtaking!!!

We walked through camp and scouted out which spot we wanted. Many were already taken, having arrived on a Saturday which is a popular day, we were lucky to find a great spot towards the back of camp, right by the river. We stayed there the first night, and then the next morning moved over to the campsite next to us because those people left. And that was, in our opinion, the best spot in the entire place!! Once you find your spot, you can leave your tent up for as long as you are there. You don’t have to break down camp every day which is great to just be able to leave your stuff where it is.

Yes, the water really is that blue, due to the lime in the water. It is stunning. I kept saying I felt like I was in Neverland!
We went to sleep each night around 8pm, which was shortly after it got dark. Since you can’t have a campfire, headlamps are definitely helpful, but we were all pretty tired from adventuring during the day so we would have no trouble going to sleep early! We were awake around 6 or 7 every morning. Hello 10 hours of sleep!! GLORIOUS.

Some things to note:

• You’re not allowed to have campfires so keep that in mind when you are planning on cooking food. We just brought a little pot and a mini propane tank to be able to boil water. We cooked things like rice, pasta, oatmeal, etc. I’ll share our full food list below.
• No alcohol, drugs, or dogs are allowed, however, you will probably notice that some people do not necessarily obey this. Let’s just say I could really smell a potent smoke smell in the air most nights, lol. Also, there are so many stray dogs that run around and just live either in the village or around the campground. They’re very friendly but are really just hoping that you feed them some scraps. And beware if you do, they’ll probably follow you around for a while to get more haha!
• There is a frybread stand at the beginning of the campground. You’re probably wondering what frybread is…and I am not exactly sure how to explain it except it is SO DELICIOUS. So it’s sort of like a funnel cake but not as sweet and it’s a whole piece of dough that they fry rather than funnel cakes which are, well, like tiny little funnels are fried together ha. It’s like if a soft delicious pita and a funnel cake had a baby it would be frybread…that’s as close as I can compare it but it’s so good. Definitely bring $5 bills (they usually need exact change) so you can get some frybread. They also have frybread tacos, cheeseburgers, loaded ones, and you can top them plain with powdered sugar, or Nutella! I highly recommend a hot frybread with Nutella. The stand isn’t always open though, and they can definitely sell out on weekends since there are usually more campers there on weekends.

• We brought our own water filter but they also have one filtered water spicket at the campground. We walked there a couple times but usually just filled up at the creek and filtered it.
• No showers, but there are outhouse style bathrooms that are pretty clean actually. We just bathed in the creek and I brought little face and body wipes to use too.

Other trails from Camp

Another must do hike from camp is the trail to Mooney Falls and then also to Beaver Falls. Mooney Falls is on the way to Beaver Falls and it’s basically right outside the campground. Beaver Falls is further and a bit more challenging, but it was probably the most fun trek of any of the trails I’ve ever done!!

Minus the beginning of it, where there is a sign that says “Descend at Your Own Risk”. Now, I’m terrified of heights, so keep that in mind when I tell you this. The others in my group didn’t seem as distraught by it lol. The trail basically starts with a descent pretty much straight down the side of the canyon by Mooney Falls. Because of the wind in the canyon blowing the water from the waterfall, the side of the canyon is very wet and slippery. The descent has ladders and chains there to help you get down (it would be pretty much impossible to get down without them) but even still, it is pretty much straight down.

PS I found that picture on google.  Ain’t no way I was stopping to take my hands off of those chains to take a photo.  Uh uh.

My muscles were locking up and I was shaking like crazy (again, terrified of heights over here) but Craig went down before me and told me where to put my feet and stuff. So, just mentally prepare for that and just take your time. Because for real, if you fall, it’s not going to be good. It’s definitely not something you should rush because it is slippery. That being said, there were people going up and down it that didn’t necessarily look like they were in the best physical condition, so it’s not like you need to be super fit to do it.

Once we were down from that, we started the rest of the trail to Beaver Falls! I think it was about 6-7 miles round trip, and lots of the trail makes you weave in and out of the water to cross the creek to continue on. It felt like such an adventure crossing the water so much! It was really fun. I did the hike in my hiking boots but brought my Teva’s with me to put on in the water.
I’m so glad I was able to overcome my fear because Beaver Falls was my favorite thing of the trip. It’s so gorgeous! I seriously felt like I was on another planet or something.

We swam and took some pics, ate lunch at the top of the canyon, then hiked back out. We even saw a big horn sheep!! They are apparently super rare to see so that was awesome. And I have good news…the hike back up the aforementioned chain/ladder descent is much easier than going down it. Don’t get me wrong I was still a little freaked out but going up was way better.

Our Food List

Instant Oatmeal
Dried blueberries
Instant coffee
Peppers
Broccoli
Clif bars
Rx bars (choose any kind of protein bar that won’t melt)
Peanut Butter/Almond butter packets
Plastic knives
Steel wool (for cleaning)
Trail mix
Soft tortillas for tacos
Rice
Chicken and Tuna packets
Fajita seasoning
Beef jerky
Salt & pepper
Broccoli
Summer sausage (x3)
Pasta
Candy (again, not any kind that can melt! We did sour patch kids, Swedish fish, etc.)
Propel mix (to be able to get some electrolytes)
Dried fruit
Candied walnuts
Hot chocolate packets

The Meals:

Breakfasts were instant oatmeal with dried blueberries and almond butter plus instant coffee!
Lunches we shared a summer sausage and had some of the dried fruit and candied walnuts.
Snacks were protein bars, trail mix, beef jerky.
Dinners were either rice or pasta with tuna or chicken packets then we would add in either chopped peppers or steamed broccoli
Desserts were either our candy and/or hot chocolate!
Craig packed up the food in big Ziploc bags by day so we would already have them pre-portioned out. This helps a lot with not only packing them in your backpack but also just staying organized and making sure you don’t eat all your food 🙂

What Was in Our Packs:

So I use an Osprey Pack and I carried my clothes, a few toiletries (face wipes, deodorant, face & body lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, dry shampoo), the pot for cooking our food, 3 liters of water in a Camelbak plus a full Nalgene of water, my Teva’s, my DSLR camera, the snack bag of food, my sleeping bag, my sleeping pad, and my pillow.

Other Gear:

Craig and I both use Leki trekking poles which I highly recommend. We slept in a 3-person Big Agnes tent and our sleeping pads are both Big Agnes Q-Core SLX (size wide and long). My sleeping bag is Kelly down 41 degree women’s bag.
My clothes:
-1 pair of leggings (I kept these “clean” meaning I only wore them after I had bathed in the creek and I also slept in these)
-2 pairs of hiking socks (one pair I kept clean and wore at night, the other I just re-wore on hikes)
-1 toboggan (or beanie if you’re not from the south lol, only needed it the first night)
-underwear and 2 sports bras
-1 sleeping shirt and a long sleeve shirt (also slept in this)
-Patagonia down jacket
-2 pairs of shorts
-2 hiking shirts
-bathing suit

I had a Patagonia ball cap too and sunglasses…I think that’s everything.

That is pretty much it! That’s all I can think of right now…feel free to leave me any questions in the comments and I’ll answer as best I can!!

Following up with a recap of our 2 night stay in Vegas that followed this trip, so stay tuned for that!

Xo,
Bess