TAKING A KID TO HAVASUPAI

Havasupai was such an amazing trip for our entire family! We tried for three years to get permits before we were actually successful. While we were planning our trip, we noticed there wasn’t a lot (or any) information about hiking to Havasupai with a kid. We’re here to tell you it is totally do-able! If you’re thinking about hiking to Havasupai and wanting to bring your child with you, hopefully this information will help!

WHY WE SAID YES

Looking on their website, www.havasupaireservations.com, it says in several places that it is strongly recommended against bringing children.

We’ve been hiking with our daughter since she was old enough to ride in a child carrier backpack, so she is pretty comfortable in it. Part of any adventure for us is doing it together as a family; so going without her just didn’t seem like an option. Before Havasupai we had never gone on any major hikes with her, so we were still a little unsure. We did a lot of research, read many blogs, and looked at as many pictures of the hike as possible. Orry and I discussed it in detail, what would be worst case scenario? What would we do if things went bad? What options did we have? The answers to these questions would be different for each family. A few things that gave us some peace of mind: 1) the option of getting a helicopter flight out 2) each “worst case” we came up with really didn’t seem too extreme 3) we know ourselves and our daughter very well. Ultimately, we decided she would go with us.

It is, however, easy to see why bringing children is not suggested. The hike down into and out of the canyon is a moderately strenuous one. There is also some dangerous terrain down in Havasupai; for example, the hike to Mooney Falls is a difficult one. If our daughter was not of the age that we could have carried her on our back, our answer might be different. If she were above the weight rating for the child carrier, she would’ve had to hike in and out on her own accord at her pace. However, if your child has trained and goes on many hikes with you, I totally encourage you to bring them. We did see a group of middle school aged kids that hiked in and out of Havasupai, and we thought that was so awesome. I actually hiked out alongside a few of them. Hearing each one talk about how they were so happy to be there and would remember that trip forever was so inspiring!

PERMIT

We did buy a permit for our two-year-old daughter. To our knowledge, nowhere on the website has an age cut off for purchasing a ticket, it just simply says permits required for everyone. We did hear (word of mouth) from other campers that under a certain age is free; but again, we did not see this information listed anywhere on the Havasupai website.

GEAR FOR KID

First of all, we have to say we could not have hiked to Havasupai without getting a mule. Since Orry carried our daughter down on his back, that would’ve left me to carry all three of our gear for three nights… and I’m just not that awesome.

We really didn’t bring any “special gear” for our daughter at Havasupai, with the exception of our child carrier. The weather in the canyon is so unpredictable, we highly suggest bringing rain gear that would cover both you and your child (if using a child carrier). An important thing to remember with a kid is hydration. Our daughter had her own water bladder for both the hike in and hike out, and we also brought her favorite drink (Capri Suns) to both encourage fluids and as a treat. We also brought a few macaroni and cheese containers for her because we knew MREs might start to get old, and we brought her favorite outdoor chair. She loves playing in our hammock so it was a for sure item to bring. I will say that there is a lot at Havasupai to entertain a kid with: water to swim in (weather depending), running around the campground, horses and mules to look at, and plenty of people to talk to. One item you do not want to forget would be a lifejacket, swimsuit, and water shoes for your child for swimming in the water. Just as with any overnight trip, bringing a few “favorite items” can sometimes be a life saver.

MOONEY FALLS

For us, this was a big question about our trip, would we hike to Mooney Falls with our daughter? In the end, our answer was no. We hiked to the top as a family, and Orry decided to hike down by himself to scope out the trail. If you are unfamiliar, the hike down to Mooney Falls is considered dangerous and requires hiking down two tunnels as well as steps and ladders while holding onto chains. Water from Mooney mists onto the bottom part of the climb, making the rocks and ladders wet and therefore slippery. However, we will say it is not as wet in the morning time. We made the decision to see how far we felt comfortable with Etta Rose in the child carrier. Around 3/4 or more of the way down, we approached the log that has juts cut into it for steps. It was here that we decided it was not worth it. There are chains that you can hold onto while down climbing, but we made the decision we weren’t willing to take the risk. A child carrier pack is quite heavy, and the thing you’re carrying on your back moves. We made our attempt during the middle of the day, and if we had tried in the morning time, we may be telling a different story. Ultimately, we decided we would hike down to Mooney Falls individually while the other stayed at the campsite with our daughter. Honestly, we 100% have no regrets with this decision. Before we hiked to Havasupai, we were pretty much dead set we could make the hike down to Mooney together as a family. Sometimes it just isn’t what you expect, and our trip was no less spectacular.

OUR ADVICE

Start the hike early! Our daughter was still sleepy for the first part of the hike, which seemed to work to our advantage. By the time she was really starting to wake up, we were crossing paths with many people hiking out of the canyon and mule trains. We also suggest not stopping. I think if we would’ve stopped and gotten her out, she probably would’ve been reluctant to get back in the pack. Do bring your kid’s favorite snacks and/or drinks. Bring wipes and diaper rash cream! Our daughter is completely potty trained, and we ended up using both for one reason or another. Bring a few small toys. For example, our daughter loves headlamps. We knew we would both be using ours a lot in Havasupai, so also brought hers for her to play with. Bring clothes for all temperatures. We hiked down mid-May, and the warmest the temperature reached was in the mid 60s. The following week, temperatures spiked hot. As I’ve said before, you never know what canyon weather is going to do. Lastly, stay positive!

Please reach out to us if you are thinking about hiking to Havasupai with a kid! If we had gotten to talk to some one while we were planning our trip, I think we would’ve felt a lot more prepared going into it. We are happy to answer any questions!