HikeArizona.COM

With social media really getting more people involved in backpacking, this is the first year I've NOT been able to secure camping reservations at Havasu Falls / Supai for my summer hiking season. I spent 3 days trying to get through and all the tribe had open was a few dates in September after the holiday.

In my experience, I only recall ONE weekend where the campground was totally packed; all the other times there were plenty of spaces.

So, taking out the "cheap" factor - has anyone EVER been turned away by the tribe for showing up without reservations? I know there is a 100% penalty for showing up without, but at this point I don't care - I really like the 11 mile hike (except the 1st mile, sometimes I feel like other hikers are "pushing" you down the hill since they are all in a hurry).

-nate

@trekkin_gecko
I wouldn't say "like" to that quite yet. You still have to get through on the phone to make the reservation unless you want to make separate reservations for consecutive nights. To do that you get hit for all the non-camping fees twice, which add up to a whole lot of money. And since the payment is processed through a third party vendor, there's no way for the tribe to refund the difference when you arrive. But if money is no object ...

The site also shows when there is still room for additional "campers" even though there are no more "sites" remaining. Again ... something that can be resolved over the phone if you ever get through.

@chumley
maybe the online system will eliminate some of the phone volume
I was "liking" your investigation, rather than the actual system

trekkin_gecko wrote:@chumley
maybe the online system will eliminate some of the phone volume
I was "liking" your investigation, rather than the actual system

and I ditto that too

I'm planning on making this a day hike. Does anyone know if I will get turned away at the reservation if I show up to request a day-pass/camping pass for 1 night (even if I don't camp for the night). I'm going on a Sunday in April 2017 probably.

@dmdechristofaro
They're booked until next year. They had an extremely high drop rate last year on reservations. This year they required payment upfront. It will be interesting to see if attendance jumps drastically.

New rules state no day hiking anymore, you must camp. Not sure if that means you can't actually do it in a day or you are required to buy the camping permit.

NO DAY HIKING ALLOWED
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL HIKERS AND CAMPERS.
No Alcohol
No Drugs
No Drones
No Weapons
NO Rock Climbing
No Jumping from Waterfalls
No Nudity, Appropriate Clothing Requested
No Night Hiking
No Hiking During Flooding, Find High Ground

Long story short...
if you planned on day hiking to drone yourself jumping off the falls naked while sipping tequila... no dice

A friend of mine just did a daylong trail run into the falls. But he left very early so that it was still dark when he got to the village and there wasn't anyone around to check for a reservation. A bit covert and under the radar was how he did it without getting busted. In years past he found that a cash donation in the village would make people look the other way when he did his annual run to the falls and back in one day.

@SpiderLegs Brilliant - this is actually what I was planning on doing. Running or jogging to beaver falls beginning at around 4am. Thoughts?

@dmdechristofaro - My friend is a pretty fast ultra runner and was clocking 8-8:30 minute miles as an FYI. Think he started at 3:30 or 4:00 AM.