How to Snag a Permit to Havasupai

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Maybe you’ve seen this same waterfall floating around social media. Over and over, backpackers and hikers are posting this magnificent turquoise waterfall on their Instagram pages. In fact, it is one of the most recognizable waterfalls in Arizona! And after seeing and hearing about how wonderful it is, you kinda wanna check it out too, right?

Before I get started, I just want to give a shout out to my lovely friend, Jasmine, from Pearls of Jasmine .Her super amazing guide helped me book my reservations last year, and I am eternally grateful. She is also an amazing blogger, so check out her page as well!

Hello, this is Havasu Falls. It is one of four grand waterfalls located on the Havasupai hiking trail, smack dab at the bottom of Havasu Canyon on the Havasupai Indian Reservation.

Okay, I just threw a lot of Havasu- words at you. If you want to know the whole story (which I recommend before visiting), click here ! But here’s the short version. This is where to find this particular waterfall.

United States of America -> Arizona -> Havasupai Indian Reservation -> Havasu Canyon -> Havau Falls.

But here’s the thing: You need a permit to actually hike into the canyon to get to the waterfall. Kind of similar to needing a permit to hike Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, except these canyons are not part of the National Park system.

‘BUT KAY! ISN’T IT PART OF THE GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK???’

No. Although the reservation is located next to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Havasu canyon is physically an extension of the Grand Canyon, Havasupai is NOT part of the Grand Canyon National Park. The waterfalls (and the trail) are located on PRIVATE LAND. It is in the Havasupai Reservation, maintained by the Havasupai Tribe that live there.

You will NEED a permit to see it. But, fret not, it’s not impossible to get! Let me give ya the scoop.

Getting the Permit

Permits go on sale FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR on February 1st. Let me repeat that again. If you want to hike Havasupai ANYTIME this year, you’ll need to try to get a permit on February 1st. Before we go any further, I just want to let you know the hike into the canyon to the campground is 10 miles ONE WAY.

10 miles.

Do you still want to go?

Alright, let’s move on.

You cannot tackle the Havasupai trail on a day hike. I’m not doubting your capabilities, but actually, it is not allowed. All permits into the canyon require are a set 3night/4day reservation.

But before it is even February 1st, do yourself a favor and create an account on their website. It will save you an insane amount of time when February 1st rolls around and you have to FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE -errr, I mean. Try to get your preferred dates.

Create your account here. https://www.havasupaireservations.com/public/signup

While you are creating your account, you can also add a payment method to your account. It will speed up the reservation check-out process on Opening Day. I highly recommend doing this. Literally, these permits sold out FASTER THAN BEYCHELLA (which I also went to). Getting Havasupai permits were 100x more stressful. They basically sold out in 6 minutes flat.

On Opening Day (February 1st), sign into your account before 8:00am Arizona Time. Then, at 8am, the page will automatically refresh and you will be able to click the “Make a 2019 Campground Reservation” button.

Starting 2019, there are a few changes, I’ll list them below!

NEW FOR 2020

• All campground reservations are now 3 Nights / 4 Days. In prior years, you used to be able to only do 1 night.
• Campground reservations (and reservation spots) are now transferable. SO BOOK FIRST and if your boss refuses to let you go – then quit. KIDDING, then you can transfer them to someone else.

• All Pack Mule reservations are now online. There has been some controversy over the Havasupai horses and mules that I would like to address.

When I visited Havasupai, I personally did not witness any animal abuse or neglect towards these animals. A lot of these witness are dated in the early 2010’s, so conditions certainly could have changed. That said, these are also work animals that provide a livelihood for a community with almost 40% of the population living in poverty.

This is just my outsider perspective, but I wouldn’t expect the animals to have show-pedigree awarded coats. For all you animal lovers, please also show the same compassion towards the people of Havasupai as well.

• Reservation dates run from February 1, 2019 through February 29, 2020

• Trip / travel insurance options are now offered. Group sizes are also limited to 12 people, as opposed to 20 before.

The Process

I don’t want to scare you, but when I say the reservation process is fast, CHILEEEEEE I mean those permits go FAST. Here’s how it went for me.

Last year (2018) also had online reservations. I didn’t want to use a whole vacation day just to get a spot, so I told my coworkers to LEAVE ME ALONE for a bit and opened the webpage. My credit card was ready, along with a calendar marked with the dates I could go. I had about 6 four day weekends I could do before the summer season, so I had a moderately flexible schedule. At the opening time, the page refreshed and BAM – I hit make a reservation.

I must have been one of the first people on the site. All the dates were open and available. IT FELT GREAT. I selected my first pick dates, then went to the checkout page. Approximately 48 seconds later, I hit submit.

******DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE *******

UMMM?? Say what?? I was taken aback, but okay, understandable, there’s probably HUNDREDS of other people trying to get that same sweet weekend in May before the temperatures start souring. When I went back to the website booking and about 1/3 of the dates were now taken.

I put in my second choice. Quickly typed in all my card and billing info at checkout. Hit submit.

******DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE *******

By now, about half of the dates were taken. Now it’s about 4 minutes from opening. Third choice. Fourth choice. ALL HAD THE SAME RESULT.

******DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE *******

Only the months shouldering winter and the summer months (late June, July, August, early September) had dates that would work with my schedule. I tried in my fourth choice, a weekend in early March. I typed in my checkout info at record speed and hit submit.

AND I GOT A RESERVATION!! It was possible the most nerve-wracking thing I have ever done, including the time I went skydiving. However, I had to stick to my weekend availability (Sunday-Wednesday) because I did not want to request time off from work. If I could take ANY day, I probably would have more options. That said, by the time 10 minutes had passed, only dates in summer were left.

Within the half hour, they were COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.

All reservations are final and no changes can be made. SO DOUBLE CHECK DATES AND NAMES!! If you are Native American, good news for you – there are Native American discounts given upon check in (when you actually hike in), but you will need to provide valid reservation and identification.

Also, different from last year, there will be NO PHONE RESERVATIONS. Honestly, that’s a good thing. And don’t be annoying and try to call and sneak in a reservation, they won’t take it. Leave the phone lines open for ACTUAL customer service.

Costs

Officially, Pricing for 2019 is as follows, and includes all necessary fees, permits, and taxes:  

2019 Campground Reservation Pricing:

$100 per person per weekday night

$125 per person per weekend night (Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights)

ALL PERMITS ARE 3 NIGHT/4 DAY reservations starting 2019!

Helicopter Service: $85 one way

Pack Mule Service: $264.00 round trip/132.00 one way. Priority is given to round trip requests.

‘BUT KAYYYY THAT IS SO EXPENSIVE!! WHY ARE THEY OVERCHARGING EVERYONE!??!? ITS JUST ABOUT THE MONEY FOR THEM!!’

*record scratch*

So I’ve actually heard this complaint a lot from people. Yes, it is a lot of money. But also understand that hiking here is a luxury in the first place, you’re not going to DIE if you don’t get that Instagram shot. These permits provide a livelihood for the Havasupai Tribe. Maybe if they had all their original land, food supply, health, and stability before invaders took all of that, they wouldn’t have to charge.

But, yanno.

All reservations need to be paid in full when you reserve your permit. Different from previous years, reservations are now transferable! So the world is not over if something in your future changes and you are unable to go.

The Campground

So now that you’ve gotten the permit to see the falls, let’s talk about lodging. Most people (including myself), just camp at the campground. One, because it’s included in the permit price. Two, because they want to be close to the gorg scenery. You will actually pass a few of the waterfalls on the way down to the campground, including the iconic Havasu Falls. The campground is about a mile long, sitting along the Havasu Creek and located between Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls.

The campsites are ‘first come first serve,’ meaning that you can set up camp wherever there’s an open spot when you arrive. In my opinion, all the campsites were all very nice and flat, but here are a few things you might want to consider if you arrive early enough to have tons of choices:

• Distance from water source
• Distance from restrooms
• Proximity to creek
• Trees for a hammock
• Closer to either Havasu or Mooney Falls

There is a little faucet giving out clean water from Havasu Creek. It is SAFE to drink! In fact, it tasted better than the water we brought with us for the hike. Even the tap water in Supai is safe to drink. The restrooms are compost toilets, and they don’t smell, but there generally is more foot traffic around those campsite. All campsites also have a picnic table, but only some of them had two trees that were close enough to set up a hammock.

If you are not a fan of camping, there is also a lodge you can stay in. However, the rooms book up FAST. The reservations for the lodge are separate from the hike/camping permit, so in addition to getting the permit, you will also need to contact the lodge for room reservations. I do not have experience staying in the lodge, but it is located in Supai village. That is still about a 2 mile hike from first waterfalls and campground.

While there are no food services AT the lodge, there are two places to buy food in Supai. One is the cafe, and the other is the Supai store. The lodge has a fewwwww (very limited) hotplates and water heaters, and a microwave in the lobby for communal use. There are also grills, but you will need to buy charcoal at the Supai store.

The lodge has electricity (4 outlets per room) and WiFi! There is actually (limited) WiFi throughout the village, but none down at the campground.

Don’t want to hike alone?

Errr…so you want to go, but maybe you don’t have a group of friends who are down to hike 25 miles with you over a weekend. If you would rather hike in with someone, or a group, consider booking a tour into Havasupai!

I recommend booking a tour with Arizona Outback Adventures. You WILL still need to get a permit yourself and get to Havasupai, following the method mentioned above, but they will handle literally everything else.

You can find out more about their Havasupai tour here! Check their availability to plan which days you would like to reserve for your permit.

No Permit?

So let’s say you were not able to get a permit. Bummer. BUT! It is not the end of the world. Believe it or not…people DO cancel! Keep an eye on the dates to see if any days miraculously open up.

Seriously. They do.

Havasupai Prep

Now that you’ve got your trip planned, there are a few things you can do while you wait for your big day.

First of all – figure out how you’re getting there. Are you close enough to drive? Do you need to fly in? If you are flying in, the closest major airports are the Phoenix airport (PHX) and the Las Vegas airport (LAS). The Phoenix airport is 5 hours away. Las Vegas is, surprisingly, closer at 4 hours. I personally chose to fly into Las Vegas because 1) slightly closer 2) cheaper flight deals (from Portland) and 3) I wanted to see a bit of Route 66.

You might also want to prepare yourself for the hike in and out of Havasu Canyon. Honestly, it isn’t THATTTTT TERRIBLE of a hike (in and of itself), but it is very long. If you’re not used to backpacking…yanno, maybe do a hike or two before you go. Practice. Get your stamina up. If you hike kinda regularly, you’ll probably be fine.

HOWEVER, your gear will make all the difference.

Here is a complete Havasu packing guide!

Make sure your shoes you take are sturdy and have enough ankle support (trust me, it’s very easy to roll an ankle on surprise rocks!). Also, and this is a big one, MAKE SURE YOUR BACKPACK FITS. Mine didn’t, and I wanted to die. You can read about my hike in – and the struggle getting OUT -right here!

When in doubt, just go into any REI store (or any outdoor activity retailer) to get your bag correctly sized and fitted to your body.

Do you feel prepared for Opening Day?? Good luck snagging those permits! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

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