Discovering Havasupai: Arizona’s Hidden Waterfall Oasis
Ahhh, so you’ve discovered the one-of-a-kind beauty of the turquoise waterfalls in Havasupai. I bet when you first saw the video, you thought- “is this real?” YES, yes it is. Come with me to discover the waterfalls of Havasupai in Arizona.
The four main waterfalls of havasupai are havasu falls, mooney falls, beaver falls, and little navajo falls.
HOW DO YOU GET TO HAVASUPAI?
Havasupai is on tribal land and you can’t go unless you have permits. Previously, on February 1st at 8:00 AM, permits would open online for the rest of the year. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the land was closed. Permits went online and people were allowed to sell their permits on the Transfer Board.
We purchased our 4 tickets off the Transfer Board in late 2020 and finally got to use them on April 1-4, 2023. You can still purchase permits on the Havasupai Reservation page each morning. I’ve seen people get permits online and go on their hike a few days later.
HAVASUPAI IS LOCATED IN THE WEST PART OF THE GRAND CANYON, BETWEEN PHOENIX AND LAS VEGAS. YOU NEED A PERMIT TO GET HERE.
Once you get your permit (or if you already have one), you can finally hike to Havasupai! Havasupai is located between Phoenix and Las Vegas, on the West portion of the Grand Canyon. It requires a 10-mile hike and 3 nights in the canyon. TICKETS cost about $400 per person.
ARE ALL OF THE HAVASUPAI WATERFALLS IN THE SAME PLACE?
Not at all! This was something I wasn’t expecting. I don’t know what I thought, but I didn’t realize the waterfalls are separated by multiple miles! Here’s an idea of the order of the waterfalls.
Havasupai waterfalls
1. LITTLE NAVAJO FALLS
Navajo Falls is the first waterfall you’ll see on your 10-mile trek into Havasupai. You’ll see it to your left (can’t miss it) past Supai Village, 9.2 miles into your hike.
I love how wide this fall was. Definitely spend time to go to the bottom. We spent an hour or so swimming and walking under the falls. I fell in love with the ferns hanging behind the waterfall.
NOTE- There are also FIFTY FOOT FALLS in this same area, upstream. There wasn’t signage and I didn’t know it was there, but it looks similar.
I highly recommend taking time to swim in these falls. There are a lot fewer people here than at the other falls, and the waterfall spray isn’t so strong. It was so refreshing.
2. HAVASU FALLS
Havasu Falls means YOU MADE IT. You’ve completed the 10-mile trek. It marks the beginning of the campground and being able to take your backpack off finally, haha.
Because it’s so close to the campground, you can spend a lot of time here. We visited Havasu Falls every day. It used to only have 1 fall, but now it’s a two-part waterfall. It’s cool how it changes over time. Havasupai had significant flash floods in March 2023 and the falls were completely brown. Crazy how nature changes. I highly suggest visiting at night and watching the moon and the stars too.
Take time to explore this area. One area I found particularly special was the right side of the falls. There’s a little arch cave and standing under it and on it was really special. I love all of the ferns in the area.
Many people swim in Havasu Falls, but I found the waterfall spray too strong to want to swim. I suggest bringing a light jacket, whatever the temperature is.
NEED HELP PACKING?
I made a detailed packing list in my post- READ THIS NEXT.
3. Mooney falls
This photo says it all. I mean come on- the turquoise water pouring off the rugged red rock, continuing on to a calm stream. Ahh. Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls are separated by about 0.9 miles, which is where the campground is. You can observe Mooney Falls from the top OR decide to take the adventure to hike down it. To climb down it, you’ll need to climb through caves and then down wet chains and ladders along a steep cliff.
MOONEY FALLS DESCENT
I won’t go into much detail on this portion of the hike now, but I created a more detailed post on the Mooney Falls descent HERE. Check it out!
4. BEAVER FALLS
Beaver Falls is the most secluded waterfall in Havasupai. It is 6 miles round trip from the campground. Once you descend Mooney Falls, you’ll hike along the creek and make multiple water crossings. This waterfall is unique in that it’s secluded, and it has multiple tiers. It’s so fun to explore each level. We hung out here for an hour or so and swam. NOTE- you can continue onto the Confluence with the Colorado River.
READ THIS NEXT
I go into details and what to expect when hiking to Beaver Falls in my post HERE.
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE HAVASUPAI WATERFALLS
Hiking to Havasupai and all of its waterfalls was one of the MOST ADVENTUROUS things I’ve ever done. The caves, the ladders, the water crossings, the caves, etc. It was so much fun! Check out my other Havasupai posts before you go!
