I’m not sure how I came across this but there was an article on Go-Nomad.com that reminded me of something that people need to realize. When you hike to Havasu Falls on the Havasupai Reservation, you aren’t hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
I’ve had to explain this fact to many clients who were coming to Arizona to hike to the canyon bottom and wanted to get the “full Grand Canyon experience.” Most of these folks eventually decided to go the National Park instead once this was explained.
Just like with those clients, I want to take a few minutes to let everyone know the scoop about Havasupai because if your goal is to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out you should consider hiking in the National Park instead.
Don’t get me wrong, I love going to Havasu Falls. It’s a beautiful location, with waterfalls that you wouldn’t expect in the middle of the desert and a turquoise blue water that’s unbelievable. We ( Just Roughin’ It Adventure Company) lead guided tours into both the Grand Canyon National Park and Havasupai so we have nothing to gain from swaying you in one direction or the other. All I’m attempting to do in this post is to educate you so that when you travel across the country or around the world to visit the Grand Canyon, you get the experience you desire.
Havasu Falls is located in the Grand Canyon in a large tributary canyon on the south side of the Colorado River. It’s on land that is west of the Grand Canyon National Park and takes about 3 and 1/2 hours to drive from Grand Canyon Village in the park to Hualapai Hilltop which is the trailhead for the Havasu Falls hike. From the trail head, its an 8 mile hike to the village of Supai, the tribal home of the Havasupai Tribe, and another 2 miles from the village to the campground situated between Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls. The falls are incredible and you can swim in the pools below each of the falls.
Although you are deep in the canyon at this point, you are still 700 vertical feet from the bottom of the canyon at the Colorado River. In order to reach the bottom at point where the Havasu Creek meets the Colorado, you have a 14 mile round trip hike from Mooney Falls which involves some mild climbing, route finding skills and at least 10 creek crossings in knee deep to waist deep water. In other words, this route can be difficult and most people never get far beyond Mooney Falls. I’ve hiked to the bottom of the canyon from Havasu Falls many times but I also know that I’m in the minority when it comes to that experience.
Another misconception about the Havasupai hike is that you will get the amazing expansive views that you see in photos and on the Travel Channel. Those views are found in the National Park and not at Havasupai. You definitely know that you are descending into the canyon but you are not able to see clear across to the North Rim of the canyon like you can when you hike the Bright Angel Trail, South Kaibab Trail or most of the other major trails on the South Rim in the National Park.
Please forgive me for this simplified explanation but hopefully this helps you get a better idea of what both locations have to offer as a hiking destination. There are other things that factor into where you choose to go such as availability of camping and your hiking ability since hiking the National Park is more difficult than hiking to Havasu Falls.
One factor that has been a decision maker for many people I speak to about coming to the Grand Canyon it that this may be the only time in their life that they will get here and they want to say that they’ve hiked to the bottom and back. In the end, these people chose a backpacking trip to the bottom of Grand Canyon National Park.
