Camping at Havasu Falls: What to expect (Havasupai Campground)

Last updated on December 12th, 2025

Curious what to expect while camping at Havasu Falls? We’re sharing all about the Havasupai Campground, how to find a good campsite, and more!

Yay! You’ve scored your permit for Havasu Falls and for three glorious nights you’re going to call the Havasupai Campground your home, as you explore gorgeous waterfalls and swim in some of the brightest blue water we have ever seen.

While we were SO excited for our Havasupai trip, we had one big concern: camping.

And it’s not because we don’t love camping. In fact, it’s the opposite! We love backpacking, but we typically opt for hikes that are pretty secluded, with only a handful of other people around. So knowing that there would be up to 300 people in the Havasupai Campground with us made us a bit leery of the experience. Would it feel like a zoo? Are we going to have people right next to us? Is it going to be loud at night?

But we are happy to report that it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, we really enjoyed camping at Havasu Falls! 

However, there is a lot to know beforehand to ensure you have a positive camping experience. And in this guide we’re sharing everything to know about the Havasupai Campground, including what amenities it offers, the different types of campsites, tips for finding a good spot, and more!

About the Havasupai campground

The Havasupai Campground is the only campground that you can camp at during your Havasu Falls hike. It is a 10 mile hike (one way) from the Hilltop Trailhead, but the campground itself is about a mile long, starting near Havasu Falls and ending close to Mooney Falls. Which means that your hike to your campsite could be closer to 11 miles.

The Havasupai campground is located along the Havasupai Creek and is truly a beautiful campground, with lush trees, bright blue water, and towering orange cliffs on either side.

In the campground you’ll find a mix of campsites on the water and others more tucked into trees and against the canyon walls. But despite needing a permit for camping at Havasu Falls, the campground is first come, first served. With no designated campsites. You essentially just find a spot to pitch a tent and that will be your home for the night. 

Because of this, we were envisioning tents right up on each other. But that’s not always the case! There are definitely areas to have some privacy, which we will share more about in a bit. 

But first, you may be wondering about the amenities when camping at Havasu Falls. Quite possibly most importantly…are there bathrooms at the Havasupai Campground? And are they clean?

Havasupai Campground Map

Amenities at the Havasupai Campground

While the Havasupai Campground is pretty bare bones, it does offer some amenities that we typically don’t get on our usual backpacking trips!

Toilets 

There are 4 bathrooms spread out in the campground, one in the beginning, two in the middle (one on each side of Havasu Creek), and then one at the end of the campground, close to Mooney Falls.

Each building has three to four composting toilets, which are in their own individual rooms. Because they are composting toilets, each toilet room has a bucket of shaved cedar wood that you’re supposed to scoop and put into the toilet when you’re done. Unfortunately, some toilets didn’t have a scooper, which made this harder. 

The bathrooms also have a trash can, which should only be used for bathroom trash, like feminine hygiene products. These are NOT intended for your camping trash, backpacking meal bags, water bottles, or food wrappers. You MUST pack these items out with you!

“Having access to a toilet is great,” you may be thinking. But are they clean? And for the most part, we’d say yes! The toilets seem to be cleaned daily. On our first day, one of the toilets was FULL. Like, to the brim (pretty disgusting!), but the second day it was completely emptied. While toilet paper is provided, we suggest bringing some of your own, as they did run out in one stall.

Fern Spring

Although the Havasupai Campground is located on Havasu Creek, you will need to filter or boil water from the creek to safely drink it. However, there is only one drinking source that doesn’t need to be filtered in the campground, Fern Spring, which is located towards the beginning of the campground. 

The further you walk into the campground the further you’ll be from the spring, so keep that in mind when choosing your spot. Since we camped right by the third bathroom, we had to walk decently far to fill up on fresh water. So we did a mix of filtering the Havasu Creek water and making a daily trip to Fern Spring for freshwater.

Picnic tables

As we mentioned, the “campsites” are basically just land that you can pitch a tent on. However, some sites do have picnic tables. While not necessary to have, it is very nice to have a solid place to sit, cook, and hang out after a long day of hiking.

The picnic table spots are definitely popular, but if you don’t get a picnic table, make friends with your neighbors and they may let you share!

What are the campsites like at Havasu Falls?

Not all campsites at Havasupai are created equal. Some are located right on Havasu Creek, some are tucked into little nooks, and some are right out in the open. Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect when it comes to the different camping options at Havasu Falls.

Waterfront sites

On top of Mooney Falls

Another prime camping area, although it lacks shade, privacy, and a picnic table is at the top of Mooney Falls. If you continue past the third bathroom and go almost to the trail down to Mooney, you’ll find some areas where you could pitch a tent among the rocks. While you will likely have people walking by your tent throughout the day and you won’t have any protection from the sun, you’ll have a pretty epic view of Mooney Falls.

Private nooks

If you want some privacy, not all hope is lost at the Havasupai Campground! There are a handful of spots that are tucked into nooks along the canyon walls, with some trees surrounding them. This is what we personally chose!

Most of these will have a picnic table and can fit between 1-3 tents. Depending on what other sites are available, you may have to share the nook with strangers, but there definitely are some spots that can only fit one group.

While not as scenic as the waterfront sites, the privacy is a huge perk!

Open areas

In our opinion, the worst spots at the Havasupai Campground are the more open areas. This is a larger patch of dirt where 15-20 tents can be set up. We saw a lot of these areas between the first and second bathrooms. You may have a picnic table here and possibly be close to the water, but you will have people walking by your site constantly to get to and from the waterfalls or Fern Spring.

How to choose the best campsite (for you!) at Havasu Falls

The beauty of camping at Havasu Falls is that there is truly no “best” campsite. Everyone will have different priorities of what they want in their campsite. For us, we really wanted privacy and a picnic table and we were willing to sacrifice a waterfront spot for that. While others will want a waterfront spot and a place to put up a hammock.

Here are a few questions to keep in mind as you’re hunting for a campsite:

• Is there a picnic table?
• Is it in the shade?
• Does it have any privacy?
• Is it flat? Watch out for rocks and roots!
• Is it safe from the water?
• How far is it from a bathroom?
• Are there trees to set up a hammock?
• How far is it from Fern Spring? Are you fine filtering water from the creek instead?

Also keep in mind, if you camp closer to the beginning or end of the campground, this will affect how much additional hiking you’ll have. For example, we camped at the very end, so we were just minutes to Mooney Falls and had a shorter hike to Beaver Falls and The Confluence, but we had a further walk to Fifty Foot, Navajo, and Havasu Falls, plus an additional mile to hike on our hike out.

Tips for getting the best campsite at Havasu Falls

Arrive early

Our top tip is to arrive at the Havasupai Campground as early as possible! Since around 100 people hike in per day, this will give you an advantage over the others. We started our hike just around sunrise (just before 6 AM) and made it to the campground by 11 AM. Although we probably would’ve gone faster if we hadn’t been filming the experience.

As tempting as it is to stop at the waterfalls on the way in, DON’T! Go straight to the campground to find a spot and explore the waterfalls later.

Do a loop

When arriving at the Havasupai Campground, don’t pick the first spot you find. We suggest doing a loop to see what all of your options are. While this may mean missing out on earlier sites if they get snatched up while you do your loop, you’ll likely find a better spot further down.

Look between the second and third toilets

Before camping at Havasu Falls everywhere we read said that the best campsites were between the second and third toilets. And we agree! This area has a wide mix of types of campsites, including spots on the water, plus some waterfront spots across a bridge, tucked even further back from the main trail.

Stay away from the canyon walls

You may think staying close to the canyon walls would be a good idea for shade and potential cover from rainfall. But the walls can be dangerous. Rainfall can cause rocks and debris to become dislodged and fall. This has injured campers in the past, including before our visit in 2024. If you do pick a site near the canyon walls, try to give yourself some space from them.

Look for trees

If you can find a spot with trees, this not only will help with cover from the sun, but also rain (if it happens to rain), plus a spot to hang a hammock, if you bring one.

There is only about 5-6 hours of direct sunlight in the canyon, which is in the middle of the day. It gets pretty warm when the sun is shining, but is very comfortable when in the shade.

Just make sure to avoid camping under dead trees. The wind can be strong in the canyon and cause branches to fall. So if any trees look dead, try to stay away from those.

Scope out better campsites

One very popular tactic in the Havasupai Campground is to scope out better campsites. Everyone is required to put a tent tag on their tent, which has the dates of your visit on it. So what people do is creep around the campsite, find spots that they like better than their own, and look at their tag (or ask them) to see when they are leaving. And then the morning that person is leaving, they will pack up their site and move to that spot.

Since people leave to hike out very early, you will need to wake up early to move sites. We personally did not do this, but saw many people shuffling around!

Our experience camping at Havasu Falls

As we mentioned above, we started our hike from the trailhead around 6 AM and arrived at the campground around 11 AM. Once arriving, we walked the entire 1 mile campground looking for a campsite. There were many options to choose from, but we had a few priorities (privacy and a picnic table) that made the pickings more slim for us.

We had seen a spot right by the third bathroom. And when we say right by, we mean our view was of the bathroom 😂 that we were hesitant on since who wants to camp right by the bathroom?

But after walking around for a while, hanger was setting in, so we decided to go back to this spot. Since we planned to be out doing things most of the time, we figured we wouldn’t be at the campsite much anyways. And while the bathroom proximity was not ideal (from a smell perspective), it was mega convenient, and the spot had great privacy, with trees all around the sides and back. Plus, we had a picnic table and no one else could camp in our nook. 

Was it the best campsite at Havasu Falls? By most people’s standards, no. But for us, it worked out pretty perfectly! We didn’t plan to be at the campsite much anyways. And when we were, the smell ended up being minimal (only when a gust of wind came) and we were super close to Mooney Falls, which we got to enjoy coffee at one morning.

Despite there being 300 people at a time in the campground, it was shockingly pretty quiet. 

During the day we noticed that most people were out and about, exploring the different waterfalls, so the campground felt pretty empty, minus the tents. And right after sunset every night, the campground quieted down, with just the sound of the creek rushing through. Even in the mornings, with people up very early, either hiking out or going on a day hike, it was a very peaceful and respectful environment.

What to bring to the Havasupai Campground

Food storage

You are required to properly store your food in the Havasupai Campground. While there are no big threats, like bears, there are many creatures, like squirrels, who will do just about anything to get your food. You can either use a bear can or hang a rat sack or bear sack. It is important to keep your food and any items with scent (including toothpaste, toiletries, etc) in this food storage mechanism.

Just make sure to bring some paracord to hang the sacks! Some sites will have a clothesline or cord, but others won’t, so be prepared.

Headlamp

You definitely will need a headlamp, for walking around camp at night, plus hiking in and out of the Havasupai Campground. Ideally you bring one with a red light, so you don’t blind others or shine into people’s tents.

Food & water

To see all of our backpacking food suggestions, check out our Havasupai packing list! But here is a rundown of the meals and types of food you may need to bring. Don’t forget to bring lots of water as well! We love storing our water in our CamelBak 3 liter bladder and Katadyn Water Filter Bottle (which lets us fill up and filter easily).

• Breakfast for 3 days
• Lunch for 3 days
• Dinner for 3 days
• Coffee 
• Snacks
• Money for fry bread (bring $20 minimum per person, more if you want to buy drinks)

What not to bring

To keep this an amazing experience for all hikers, the Havasupai Tribe does not allow some items to be brought on the Havasu Falls Trail. No alcohol, drugs, drones, weapons, floaties, speakers, dogs, or campfires are allowed. Small cooking stoves are allowed, though.

Havasu Falls Campground FAQs

Is the campground busy?

Technically, yes. There are up to 300 campers a night (100 people per each entry day). However, there was a constant flow of people coming in and out, which made it feel not too bad overall. Plus, people are out doing things all day, so it only felt busier at night. But once the sun set, everyone was very quiet.

How private are the sites?

This varies! You can find more private sites, with trees surrounding you, but there are many sites out in the open. Finding a private site takes a little bit of effort and may require sacrificing a picnic table or a view.

Are the sites designated or assigned?

There are no assigned campsites, all sites are first come, first served. You can camp just about anywhere inside the campground that has matted down ground, where it looks like someone has camped before.

Do all sites have picnic tables?

Not all sites have picnic tables, but it did seem that at least half did. If you end up with a site that doesn’t have a picnic table, you could get friendly with your neighbor and ask to share theirs. We personally are SO glad we had a picnic table. Since we didn’t have room for our chairs, it was very nice to have somewhere to sit and eat.

How do I store my food?

To store your food you’ll need to either bring a bear can or a rat sack you can hang. There are small critters in the campground that will chew through things to get to your food. 

We lugged in our heavy duty bear can, since that is what we owned already, but most campers had a sack that they hung from a tree or clothes line. 

Can I move sites?

Yes! As we mentioned earlier, this is a common strategy that many campers use to get a better site on their second day of the trip. Just make sure you scope out who is leaving when and get an early start to beat someone else to it!

Is it safe to leave items during the day?

Generally, yes. While theft has happened in the past (one group recently reported having their chairs stolen), for the most part, no one is going to want to lug out more gear than they brought, so theft tends to not be an issue. We recommend bringing all valuables with you on day hikes, putting loose camping gear in your tent, and zipping up the fly of your tent, so no one can tell if you’re inside of not.

Are campfires allowed?

Campfires are not allowed in the Havasupai Campground. In the past this has been allowed on rare occasions, but do not plan to have one. You can bring a propane camp stove to cook food though!

Camping at Havasu Falls soon?

Pin this guide to the Havasupai Campground to prepare for your trip!