I'd love to hear about anyone's experience of hiking to Havasu Falls. I've searched on line but have not found answers to the following questions:
1. What is the trail like and how long does it take to hike to the falls? (we're novice hikers)
2. Is there a place (cabins?)to stay in the Indian Village area along the trail or are the camp sites it?

TTT

My husband did that hike a couple of years ago, and loved it. I'll ask him to post an answer tonight.

I've been down there five times so hopefully I can help.

1. If you're a novice hiker I would allow a good 4.5-5 hours to get there. That's assuming you have the mules carry all of your stuff. My first time down there I was a total novice and did the backpack thing..not fun. The first 1.5 miles of the trail is a switchback down the canyon wall. From there it's pretty much flat as you walk the canyon floor.
2. Yes, there is a lodge in Supai. The fact that it's still another two miles from Supai down to the falls would prevent me from staying there though. It's not a bad two miles to the falls(downhill), but having to trudge back up those two miles after doing a lot of rigorous playing all day isn't appealing.

Hints:
-Decide when you want to go and BOOK EARLY. I believe there is a 200 person limit down there. I've gone on both Memorial Day and July 4th weekends. If you're novice I wouldn't go in the dead of summer..you're at about the same elevation as Phoenix. It's HOT down there!
-Drive up to the trailhead(or Peach Springs) and then head out at the hint of sunlight. The earlier you start out the better your hike will be....BUT...
-If you have mules taking your stuff in, pack a smaller backpack with water, food, water shoes(wear your bathing suits under your clothes). The mules don't leave the trailhead until 11am so your stuff won't get down there until 4pm. You need to take some stuff yourself or you will SOL. At least you can go swimming while your stuff is catching up to you.
-There is a restaurant in Supai that you can grab a bite at. There is also a small grocery store. You'll spend about a half hour in Supai checking in.
-When hiking back out...LEAVE BEFORE SUNRISE!! The hike out is not nice, especially for novice hikers. Remember that switchback you came down on the way in? Well, now you have to hike back up, and it's the last leg of the hike.
-There is a fresh water spring down at the campground.

Hope this helps. I'll peek back in to see if you have any other questions.

It's not a walk in the park, but it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I can't wait to go back.snarla

Snarla, thanks for all the great advice! I do have a few of other questions:
1. You mention mules, how does one contact and/or sign up for this and approximately what is the cost?
2. Where or who do you contact to make a reservation to camp and/or see about the lodge? (web site?)
3. Assuming we use the mules to carry our stuff, is this a hike a 10 yr. could make with their parents?
PS: We are novice hikers but avid runner,bikers, swimmers so my wife and I are both in very good shape (if it matters)

That's a great place to hike. I agree with everything that snarla wrote. I don't have any contact information with me right now, so I can't answer those questions. We backpacked down (slowly) and I'm pretty sure we took more than 5 hours (6-7?) but that included a couple of long breaks. On the way up, we decided to use the mules and just talked to the guy at the stables the day before we were leaving. (Without packs, the hike up was much quicker than the hike down.) I'm sure my 10-year-old could do the hikes, since he has done similar ones at a higher altitude. The trail is very wide and smooth to the campground. Note that if you are coming from sea level, you will have to consider the altitude. If you don't want to hike, I think you could rent a mule to ride, but that sounds really uncomfortable to me. They also had a helecopter taking passengers up and down if you wanted to do that. I don't know if it runs all the time though. And it costs more than hiking. Have fun there.

Charlie

ttt

Hey again...

I found these two sites on the tribe:
http://www.itcaonline.com/Tribes/havasupa.htm
http://www.kaibab.org/gc/supai/gc_supai.htm
*I've called them on several occasions and that seems to be the best way to contact them for camping reservations.

To answer your questions...
1. Mules: The tribe handles everything.
2. See links above
3. I've seen lots of kids down there. As long as he's in good shape I don't see a problem.

My second trip down there I got a stress fracture in my foot and had to take the helicopter out. It was a really cool ride and a nice way to get to the top in about five minutes. But I had to sit and wait for the rest of my group that hiked about..5 hours!

Oh..you CAN'T add anything to the water down there that isn't biodegradable. Buy Dr. Bonners soap for washing dishes and bathing. And be ready for outhouses..

The people down there are amazing. You really get a sense of just how primitive their lives have been, yet they thrive.

I echo the comment about it being warm at the bottom. Our boy scout troop went one Easter (40 yrs ago - yikes!). We camped at the top and it was COLD. It took a couple of miles hiking to get my feet thawed out. but at the falls, it was warm enough to go swimming.

What I remember most about the hike was how dusty the trail was. We had mules take all our gear and don't remember it as a tough hike. In fact, we mostly jogged out on the return trip.