Havasu Falls - The Grand Canyon - Supai, Havasupai Reservation is now reopened
One waterfall is lost, another has taken a different course and new ones have formed after summer flood waters of 2008 swept through the area and forced the Havasupai Tribe to close the popular tourist destination to outsiders.
Getting there
The trailhead begins at Hualapai Hilltop. Hualapai Hilltop can be reached at the end of Indian Road 18 which is 68 miles north of Route 66. Beware of cattle and wildlife on Indian 18 - especially after dark!
The Parking Area is known as Hualapai (Walapai) Hilltop. This is where the trailhead is. There are no permanent services of any kind, i.e. gas, food or lodging - although at times there may be drinks and snacks available from vendors. There is no water available for hikers. Please don't forget to bring water for the hike and fill up your tank with gas.
Reservations for popular times of year fill up sometimes a year in advance, make your reservation as soon as possible. All the info you will need can be found at the Havasupi Tribes website.
At this time, all reservations must be made via telephone.
Camping:
1-928-448-2121
1-928-448-2141
1-928-448-2174
1-928-448-2180Lodge:
1-928-448-2111
1-928-448-2201Elevation Change
5,200 feet at Hualapai Hilltop. Loss = 1,995 feet (Supai = 3,205 feet)
The Hike
The hike is considered moderately difficult. The hike starts off steep and winds down switchbacks for at least a 1 ½ miles. The trail is rugged and rocky. You can arrange pack mules to carry your gear down to the villiage but you will need to make reservations for this and plan on being there no later than 12 noon Arizona time or you will loose your deposite.
The trail carves through a narrow canyon as you make your way to the village. Please Carefully Listen for and Watch out for the mule pack trains that frequent the trail during tourist season and DO NOT wear headphones. When a train comes by, please move as far as possible to the uphill side of the trail. Hikers standing close to or standing on both sides of the trail makes it extremely difficult for packers to ensure your safety. And DO NOT reach out to touch the pack horses as not all horses are tame.
The trail can be hot, dry, and dusty. Remember to carry water with you-at least 2 liters of water or more if necessary. Children are advised not to hike in the canyon without a chaperone at anytime.
As you near the village, you will hear and see the creek water. Please follow that downstream and make sure you cross the bridge to connect to the trail leading to the village. Please stay to your right all the way!
My Havasu Falls Travels
We left Dallas Texas at 5pm and drove all night straight to the Hualapai Hilltop. We made it there by 10am Arizona time. So that was a long non-stop 19 hour drive. We got all our gear ready along with the camera gear and we set out on our way. A 10 mile hike into the canyon to the campsite.
We were going slow since we were so tired from the drive. Everyone was passing us, even the fat people, but they had no gear to carry. We did make it in time to have our backpacks carried by the pack mules but I was still lugging around 25 pounds worth of camera gear. I go to Utah and hike sometimes twice a year but I at least give myself a day to recover from the long drive. We did not have as much time this trip so we had to make the best of it and waste the remainder of the day getting to our campsite.
For most of the day we saw the helicopter carrying people down to the village. Many times along that long hike I had wished we had done this. But they were all pussies and missed out on a lot of great scenery.
I took my wife with me on this trip. She was a real trooper for the hike. I am usually by myself on these trips but she had seen photos of the waterfalls and really wanted to go. She has been on a couple of my Utah trips so she knew in advance how difficult this hike would be.
By mile 6 we were getting really tired. We would ask people coming out of the canyon how much further to the village and kept getting the “only two more miles to go” from people. This seemed to continue forever.
Finally we came to the small creek with trees everywhere so we knew we were close. We then saw a marker on a rock that said the village was only two more miles away. The wife and I looked at each other and from that point on we joked that everything was just two miles away.
Finally we made it to the village. There was a small store at the entrance so we stopped and got some Gatorade. I slammed mine immediately since I was feeling dehydrated. We both had camelbacks with two liters of water but it just didn’t seem to be enough.
I had read on many other websites about the native people and how un-friendly they were. Also read about how much trash was around the village. The natives were very friendly to us. All said hello and were very helpful. So these reports about them were false. The trash on the other hand was very disappointing. The village is filthy.
I have been to a lot of native peoples villages. My father and I have traveled a lot to the Indian villages of Mexico. All have some areas where you can see a little garbage. But the Supia village was the worst I have ever seen. I really wish they would make a major effort to clean up there environment. We all have grown up hearing how the land is sacred to them but you could not tell from looking. I was really disappointed in them for letting it all go to shit like this.
We finally made it to the campgrounds. I was worried about finding a spot close by since we were dead tired by this point and we hobbling along the trail. The campgrounds were two miles from the village. And with all the people that passed us and the helicopter fly overs I saw, I was worried about finding a good spot. But luckily we had one waiting for us close to the natural spring where people get their water.
The next few days I spend hiking up and down the trails taking photos and swimming.
