Havasu Falls has been on my bucket list since college. I was thrilled to cross it off last October and enjoyed every minute of our trip. I did a bunch of research on visiting the falls beforehand and though I found a lot of resources, nothing was conclusive. Hopefully this review will help you out.
As you can see, we left the kiddos behind on this one. It took a year of planning to get the stuff we needed (we had never backpacked before) and the reservations (which need to be made in January or February) plus childcare. We went with a fairly large group of about 20 and we hiked in on Thursday and stayed until Sunday which was plenty enough time to see all the falls, hike around the town, and rest. The only thing we didn't make it to was hiking all the way down to the Colorado River.
Everyone in our group hiked in, and though Manny and I also hiked out, others in out group opted to take the helicopter and horses. It was a pretty tough hike, but not impossible for any person with enough water and in pretty good shape (In our group we had from 8 to 60 yr olds). To exit the canyon, horses were the fastest (just barely) and they really should be booked ahead of time because they are hard to get last minute, hiking came in a close second. Helicoptering was by far the slowest (you have to wait in a long line. All the locals get to hop in ahead of the tourists so the line gets longer as you wait). If you helicopter plan on waiting until the mid afternoon or later even if you are there right as they open. You will spend most of the day waiting.
Everyone was so negative on the Havasu people, but we found that they really were not rude. The horses do look overworked, but overall it is what you would expect from a Native tribe living still in their close to natural state (definitely signs of the 21st century, but still very remote from civilization). Payment is a little tricky, people said it would be easiest to pay cash, but it wound up they took card just find. That being said, I would prepare for both as they can be unpredictable and you don't pay until you get to the VERY bottom.
Here are the falls we saw:
- Havasu Falls (pictured above)
- New Navajo Falls (see picture at the bottom)
- Fifty Foot Falls
- Mooney Falls (picture just below)
- Beaver Falls
One thing we did not read anywhere which really surprised me when we got there is the crazy traversing/ rock climbing you have to do to hike down to Mooney Falls (and then beyond to Beaver Falls). You pretty much scale the mountain with ropes/chains and wet ladders. Its pretty intense. That being said everyone in our party from old to young were able to do it.
The other Falls are all relatively close to Supai village and the campsite. The bathrooms were as my aunt said "some of the best latrines she'd encountered camping." I carried a freshette with me, which was super handy on the longer hikes.The campgrounds have water flowing through them so the campgrounds change based on flow. We stayed at the very end by Mooney and we found it was relatively quiet even when the grounds were fairly packed with people. We Saw a Proposal at Mooney! So it was packed the last few days. There are fresh water spouts to fill your water canteens.
For adventurists, this may not be the most hidden gem, but it is definitely one for the books.
