Havasupai Waterfalls

When you’re in the Havasu Canyon the highlights are the waterfalls, and they’re spectacular. There’s a beautiful river (Havasu Creek) running through this canyon with the most vivid turquoise water. They fall through the canyons in the most beautiful way you can imagine. This water stays a consistent 63-70 degrees Fahrenheit all year so we even got to swim in it!

The first falls we passed were the New Navajo Falls (which are barely visible in this top picture). They’re the falls on the upper left falls. They were created after the flash flood in 2008 that rerouted the way that the water flows. They are also referred to as the Upper Navajo, and then the falls on the bottom are referred to as the Lower Navajo Falls or the Rock Falls. They’re absolutely spectacular.

Upper and Lower New Navajo Falls

Sitting on the edge next to the Lower Navajo Falls

The 2008 flash flood didn’t only create new waterfalls, but it also took away one of the waterfalls. The original Navajo Falls is completely dry, and you can see from the shape of this cliff how spectacular these were. One Havasupai woman I spoke to told me that they were her favorite falls.

The remains of what was Navajo Falls

A peak at dinner-time in our campsite

Havasu Creek Running through the campground

My favorite waterfall in the canyon was Havasu Falls. It wasn’t the biggest, widest or longest, but it was the most beautiful one I thought. The way it comes out of this beautiful orange and red cliff and the water falls into this clear and beautiful turquoise ponds below.

My dad and me in front of the falls

Havasu Falls and its runoff

A view of the falls from the top

A Panoramic of Havasu Falls from the hike back up the hill

The last waterfall we made it to was Mooney Falls. (There’s also Beaver Falls, but we didn’t make it down to that one.) We could hear this waterfall as we were approaching, and it looks pretty similar to Havasu Falls, but it’s even taller! It’a a truly spectacular sight. The hike down is really interesting. In fact, the name ‘Mooney’ comes from a miner who plummeted to his death while trying to hike down. Now, though, it is much safer because it’s fully equipped with chains and ladders bolted into the cliffside. It’s kind-of intimidating to look at, but it’s actually quite fun! It’s very short, and you go into portions of the cliff. It’s definitely worth it.

My dad and me at the top of the falls

At the bottom of Mooney Falls

Mooney Falls through the chain on the way down

Chains and Ladders

My dad and me on the way down

Using those Chains and Ladders

This canyon is truly spectacular and completely worth a visit. I would love to go back and make my way to Beaver Falls and then to the Colorado River. This is something that I would highly recommend, and even though it’s a pretty popular destination, it isn’t something that’s crazy crowded. According to the Havasupai website, they really limit the number of visitors into the canyon, so they only get about 12,000 visitors a year. If you’re looking for a secluded, gorgeous hike this is the place to go.

For more on the hike into Havasu Canyon, read my post about it.  You can find that here.

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