This post is part of the “Havasupai – The Land of the Blue Green Waterfalls” series.
After you hike the 10-mile trail from the Hilltop, you make it to the Havasupai campground. Here are some quick hints and what to expect during your stay here. Make sure to follow the campground rules and enjoy your stay!
The Campground Entrance
The campground entrance is surrounded by a wire fence, to keep animals such as the mules from venturing into the campground sites.
If you hired a mule to carry your bags to the campground, this is where you will pick the bags up (and drop them in on your check out date). Wheelbarrows are available here for you to borrow and carry your bags to and from your camping site.
The campground keeper’s cabin is here too. By that cabin you will also find tables with leftover supplies and reusable stuff that other camps left before they departed, such as dried food, propane bottles, buckets and water carrying containers. If you forgot to bring something, that would be a good place to try to find it.
The Campsites
Campsites are available everywhere along the 1-mile long campground, all the way from the campground entrance to Mooney Falls. It works on a first-come first-serve basis, and there are plenty of picnic tables for almost all sites. The earlier you get here, the more choices for campsites you will have, as campers leaving on that day will be gone by 8:00am for the hike back to the Hilltop.
Pick your campsite based on your preference and needs. Mine is usually to stay within a 1-min walk to a restroom, as I usually have to get up in the middle of the night to pay a visit to it (yeah, it is an old age thing). I try to combine that with the proximity to the water spring (200 yards from the entrance) and along the creek. But regardless, there is no wrong choice. You will be able to find a nice spot to rest at night and enjoy your stay by the waterfalls during the day.
Drinking Water Supply and Restrooms
A natural fresh water spring is available at about 200 feet from the campground entrance on the canyon wall opposite to the Havasu creek. Check the campground website’s for more up-to-date information about the quality of the water before consuming it, but ifor all of my trips to the campground I was able to consume it without boiling. There are some minerals in the water that you will notice to float in the pan if you boil it, so in my case I prefer to filter the water before consuming it.
The restroom buildings are spread throughout the whole campground, on both sides of the creek. There is no running water or showers here. The toilets are made of composting bins, which work surprisingly well to minimize the odor. Restrooms are cleaned on a daily basis and toilet paper is provided.
Secure your Food
There are many little critters, such as squirrels, living on the walls of the canyon along the campground. And they know that campers are a good source of food. So, at night and when you walk away from your campsite, keep your food supply inside of a critter proof container (you may find several of those covered buckets from home improvement stores for reuse throughout the campsites) or a sturdy/waterproof bag suspended with cords from the trees.
All that you bring in, you will carry back out with you
Follow the rules of the campground and take all the trash that you produced during your trip back out of the canyon with you.
Keep that in mind as you pack your bags for your hike out to the Hilltop and firmly attach your sealed trash bags to your backpack. All future Havasupai campers, including yourself, will appreciate that.
Cheers!