Dale & Debbie #66: Our Big Adventure

Permits are scarce. Access is limited. And the reward is unlike anywhere else in the American Southwest. Our 4-day hiking trip into Havasu Canyon via the Havasupai Trail delivered turquoise waterfalls, remote desert beauty, and one of the most sought-after backpacking experiences near Grand Canyon National Park. From securing a hard-to-get Havasupai permit to hiking 33 miles through canyon terrain, this bucket-list adventure tested us, surprised us, and exceeded every expectation. If you’re researching how to hike Havasupai Falls, what to expect in Supai Village, or whether the journey is worth it — here’s our firsthand experience.

I interrupt my chronological travel updates to bring you our 4-day hiking trip into Havasu Canyon via the Havasupai trail. We invited friends, Marshall and Bonnie, from Virginia to join us on this amazing trip, and the four of us thoroughly enjoyed every minute!  

Let me begin by mentioning how hard it is to get a permit to enter the Havasupai Tribal land.  It is definitely something we can check off our bucket list as we’ve been wanting to visit for years. I’ve never been successful in obtaining a permit until this past February on the first day reservations opened. We immediately became very excited and began calling it “Our Big Adventure.” Then on March 1st we received an email stating they overbooked the dates we chose in October and would give us a chance to try again before they opened reservations back up to the general public. Fortunately, I was able to get another reservation for Nov. 11-14, although we were a bit concerned about the weather for that time of year, but happy to have a reservation. Since then the four of us have been looking forward to this adventure, and it did NOT disappoint.

This was right before hitting the trail. 

Below are some photos of the canyon and our hike-in.  

One of us left our mark in the canyon! No worries though, everything turned out fine.

Supai Village is the capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is located just West of Grand Canyon National Park. It’s considered the most remote community in the continental U.S. and the only place where mail is delivered by mule.

The only way in and out of Supai Village (200 population) is by hiking or taking a helicopter (although helicopters are never guaranteed). They use mules and helicopters to haul supplies. If the choppers are flying on the day you leave (they do not fly every day), you can wait in line to get a flight out for $100 pp, but they do not take reservations. It’s a 10-minute flight compared to an 8-mile hike! We wanted to hike both ways so we stuck to our original plan. 

We chose to stay at the lodge (very basic, but exactly what we needed) in the village. The campground is another 2 miles beyond the village. It runs for more than a mile along both sides of the Havasupai Creek. There are no photos allowed in the village. Otherwise, I would have taken many! It’s so different than what we normally see in America. The dirt streets are very dusty, especially when the helicopter is landing and taking off. There is a small grocery store, post office, gift shop/visitor center, and cafe where the public is allowed to go. The native people ride horses and drive side by sides. There are no cars or trucks. Their houses are very old and run down. But the K-8 school looks newer and is fenced in. There is an electronic sign that displays some information. I was surprised to see the principal is a Dr.

Some of the Havasupai people seemed friendly and some not so much. I’m sure they get tired of having constant visitors, but it’s how they get money to support their tribe.

There were always children and dogs running around. Lots of dogs and all kinds!  

Some would walk along with hikers.

We brought and prepared all of our meals. One evening Dale was cooking our backpacker dinners on a picnic table at the lodge and returned to the room to bring my dinner. Meanwhile, he left his on the table unopened, and Marshall just happened to see a dog pick it up and run off. He chased him down, they faced off, and Marshall told him to drop it. Much to our surprise, he did! So Dale wiped it off and cooked it. But we think the dog got his revenge because the next morning our door had been peed on ~ we would bet money it was him!

There’s so much more I could say about the village, but on to the best part…the waterfalls. Havasupai means people of the blue-green waters. Calcium carbonate and magnesium combine to create the stunning blue color, which makes the  waterfalls absolutely beautiful! Havasu Ceek is spring-fed and begins just above the village. This water has sustained the village for 800+ years; it’s even used to grow gardens in the canyon desert.

Notice the tents right on the edge of Mooney Falls. Hopefully, there weren’t sleepwalkers in those tents!

Everywhere we went there was blue-green water! And with so many people exploring the area, it was still peaceful!

 

Different views of my favorite…Havasu Falls. It’s the one you see the most in photos and the main one I wanted to see. I think it’s absolutely gorgeous! What a spectacle it is from anywhere you look at it! All the other falls were icing on the cake for me!

One last reminder of how blue the water is!

Our last evening in the canyon.

This was just after leaving the village at 7am on Thurs., Nov. 14th.  It was a chilly 38°.

Here we are about 2 miles out of Supai.

From this sign, it’s about 1.5 miles and 2000’ elevation change to the parking area.

At one point, it felt like we should be getting close to the hilltop. Then we turned a corner and saw this. The parking area is just to the left under the helicopter.  

We still had a long climb!

We made it back to Hualapai Hilltop, and were very happy!

It was such an incredible 4 days in the canyon! The water features were magnificent and spectacular!  There are five main waterfalls, many smaller ones, cascades, and the clear running creek. Everywhere we turned, there was natural beauty. The canyon walls alone are breathtaking! We are grateful for being allowed to experience the Havasupai sacred land.

Below is more information you may be interested in.

• Each reservation is for 4 days and 3 nights. You can stay less time, but no more.
• On days 2 and 3 in the canyon we hiked the trails past the village and explored the waterfalls.
• There are very strict rules and regulations all visitors must abide by.
• We hired a mule to carry 2 bags per couple in and out of the canyon.
• During our stay we hiked a total of 33 miles with 3600’ of elevation gain and loss.

We wanted to swim! I even wore my swimsuit under my clothes one day, but it was just too cold.  The water stays about 70° year-round, but the air temperature was a different story. We did see several younger people take a dip.

Btw…the spray from the larger falls was even cold, which is why you see us wearing raincoats in some of the photos.

The trailhead is in the middle of nowhere. The closest place to stay is in Peach Springs, AZ where there is a campground, old lodge, and small store. From there, it’s a 65 mile drive on reservation land (with no services) to reach the trailhead.

We were quite pleased to have had decent weather. And we feel for those visitors who have been there during storms and floods. There is still some cleanup to be done from the devastating flash flood last August. I intentionally didn’t include any of those photos. We did see tribal members working in some areas.

The tribe seems to have the system down pat. It was never crowded with 200 people staying in the campground and 100 in the lodge on a daily basis. There were always visitors coming and going. Most of these people were young, very polite, and respectful. Everyone spoke to one another with some conversations being longer than others. We made short-term friends and learned where many people were from.  

What an outstanding trip from start to finish!

We were thankful to have Marshall and Bonnie experience it with us!

Until next time,

Debbie & Dale

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