Havasupai & The Grand Canyon 4K (2024) [Part 1]: Philly to The Hilltop Trailhead to Havasu Falls 

This trip finds 4 of the noBear Crew heading out on our 1st trip of 2024.
This was a special one.
Havasupai is literally an oasis deep within the Grand Canyon. Travertine creeks and falls, insanely blue azure water, gorgeous canyons... it’s a veritable paradise on earth.
Permits are extremely hard to snag. Reservations are handled by the Havasupai Tribe. Whereas getting a permit on “traditional” National Park land is hard enough, trying to get one of the 400 spots in Havasupai is no joke.
A national Park campground permit may cost $15 a person. A Havasupai permit, which must be used for the entire 4 days, runs just north of $435 a person! That’s just to be able to pitch a tent for 3 nights.
Suffice it to say, it’s not your normal camping trip.
But it’s worth every penny. This is the definition of a bucket list trip.When you see what the video looks like, you’ll understand why.
Whether it’s the infamous Havasu Falls, the treacherous Mooney Falls descent, the remote solitude of Beaver Falls, the all day adrenaline rush of Hidden Falls cliff diving, or the grotto-filled etherealness of Navajo Falls… this is a backpacker’s paradise if you’re a fan of water.
We flew from Philly to Vegas on Tuesday May 14th, and took the 4 hour drive to Grand Canyon Caverns Inn. This is where you’ll pick up all of your permits and paperwork for Havasupai.
The following morning we woke up early, and drove the 60 miles to the Hilltop Trailhead. Gorgeous views at the top of the Grand Canyon’s Rim will get you super excited for the adventure to come. From here you will park your car, and begin the 12.5 mile hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and out to the Havasupai Campground.
The hike out is almost all downhill. When you finally reach the bottom, after a mile+ descent, you will drop into the canyons. From here it’s about 7 miles until you arrive at the town of Supai… the most remote village/settlement in the contiguous United States.
It’s an absolute trip, after hiking 10 miles, to see a fully functioning town in the middle of nowhere at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Please refrain from filming in the town, out of respect for the Havasupai people. You are guests here, and you are lucky to be able to share their wondrous land.
After you pass the village, it’s a good 2 miles until you reach the iconic Havasu Falls. We can’t even begin to explain what it’s like rounding the trail only to see this unbelievable sight standing right before you. It doesn’t look real!
After you’ve gathered yourself, it’s only one more mile to the Havasupai Campgrounds.
Sites are first come first serve. The likelihood of you getting a 5-Star site the day you arrive is super slim. However, most people choose a site that’s open and then scout out a site with a group who is leaving the next morning. Talk to people, and see what their plans are. Most people are awesome, and will help you snag their spot when they leave in the morning. Remember, those people likely did the same thing on their first day… so they will likely be super helpful.
A few tips: wake up early on that second day to get your preferred site. People tend to hike out as early as 1am on their last day to beat the heat. Be ready to move your site at a moments notice for this reason. Secondly… pace yourself. There is a lot to do in 3 full days, but it can seem overwhelming. It isn’t. You can see literally everything (barring maybe The Confluence hike, as it’s an all day affair) without killing yourself. Next… make SURE you set an alarm for 1 am at least once to check out the Dark Sky designated stargazing. It’s ridiculous. Especially flanked on all sides by canyon walls and waterfalls. Lastly… leave early to night hike out on your final day. The sun usually peaks over the rim of the Grand Canyon at Hilltop around 8:30am. Trust us… you want to be at the top by then. That last mile is a bitch! It’s basically a 2,500 foot elevation gain over a mile. Pace yourself, and make sure you have lots of water for that section.
Anyway, we can’t stress this enough… this trip is worth every moment of planning, every single cent spent, and every effort to get there and back.Like we said… this is the literal definition of a bucket list trip. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments. We are pretty good about answering all inquiries.
Keep an eye out for our second grouping of videos to follow shortly. We paired Zion National Park with this trip, and we got to do some incomparable stuff there. It should also be an amazing series.Thanks for coming along on this ride.
As always, enjoy… and we hope our content inspires some of you to walk on some of the same paths.
Sincerely,
noBear (Buldo, Evan, Drew, Austin, Connor, Steve, & Will)