Havasupai Point Grand Canyon

Good info in here! Ants. Good to know!

 

I don't know if I told this story on TW or not. It might be in my actual trip write up but I'll write it again.

We saw 7 trucks, including an F350 on our way there (My truck had issues with trees being to low or close together sometimes so I'm amazed that the 350 made it. They were on their way out. When we got there, there was absolutely nobody. It was the kind of silence that is uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, I love camping and being alone with my girlfriend, but I also love people and meeting new people. For this reason, I was kind of hoping that somebody else would be around.

Anyway, I was slightly on edge because, since there were no others, I wanted to be extra careful to take measures that we didn't get stuck out there. My father had also spent hours before I left letting me know how I would die out there. That didn't help.

So we go to bed around 9 since it was dark and we had eaten and hung out a long while. I woke up just before sunrise because I wanted to watch it. I get up to go to the bathroom, climb down the ladder, and BAM. There is a truck about 30 feet from mine. This truck had to have gotten there in the middle of the night since I was up while in the tent until about 12am. I was amazed it didn't wake me up. First thought was "oh shit. It is a ranger, we must not be allowed to camp here." I approached the truck and noticed that it was completely empty. Nothing in the bed, nothing in the cab, no owner in sight. So now I'm stressed. There is a man who snuck up here, parked next to me, watching me in the bush. My mind is thinking there is a person hunting me haha. I looked around for an owner for about 10 minutes and decided that the area was safe and the owner must have been a backpacker using this as a base camp and had already went down the cliff.

I was carrying a weapon which actually calmed me down because I always tell myself to keep a level head when I have one on me so as not to make a snap decision that was the wrong one.

Then the owner shows up. He had gone down the cliff to watch the sunrise. This guy looked nice enough. He had the mountain man look about him, bald head, full beard, hiking gear. I was on edge when I first started talking to him. I remember that he had his shirt tucked in. He went to fix the back of it but leaned toward me while he did it and I thought "Oh great, he's reaching for a gun." He didn't and ended up being an awesome guy.

I know that most people I will ever meet camping or wheeling is gonna be somebody awesome that shares the same interests as me, but I always gotta prepare for the 1% that is not. We were just in such an easy place to rob us of everything we had haha. I am glad that I kept my cool and ended up talking to the guy for a good 2 hours.

Anyway, that is my really long story of the one person I saw.

 

Yeah it is! haha

There is a sign that says "Cattle Wash"

When you tell the guy at the gate that you are going to the point, he will put your route on your permit.

 

makes me wonder where the other trucks were headed to..

 

They were headed away from the point. I think they were camping the night before and were heading home. It's really hard to pass people out there.

 

I am always armed in the back country. I *always* assume everyone else I meet out there is too. Not only for self protection, but protection of entire family.

 

I agree. Especially in AZ I always assume that everybody is armed. Normally, I love that. When around a crowd, I would love if every single person was carrying. Makes it really hard for that one guy to cause harm when there are 20 who want to stop him.

That was just a very real experience for me because it was my first time really thinking, I might need to fight. I don't want to, but I'm not letting them get to my girlfriend haha.

 

Hi everyone,

FYI: For those considering the drive to Havasupai Point, please be aware of a couple of things. First, camping permits are absolutely REQUIRED from Grand Canyon National Park to camp here. They can be obtained at the South Rim backcountry office prior to your departure, or you can request them ahead of time by printing the permit request and faxing it to the number found on this page: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/backcountry-permit.htm. This is IN ADDITION to paying the Havasupai's $25 to cross their reservation for access to Grand Canyon National Park. Paying the Havasupai gate keeper is not sufficient to camp in Grand Canyon National Park! Next, camping in the Havasupai Point area is at two designated sites. The nearest to the point is about 1/2 mile back along the road and is called Ruby Point (the backcountry camp use code is SE2 for your permit application) and the furthest is called Signal Hill (backcountry camp code SE1), which is about one mile away. Both of these sites can accommodate small campers. There is NO camping allowed at the point!! There are NO fires allowed in Grand Canyon National Park!! Please don't camp right on the point. The point is the attraction site in this area and should be kept free for day use, picnicking, sunsrise/sunset photography, etc. There is a major trail into Grand Canyon right next door (Bass Trail) so it gets more visitation than you'd think. Grand Canyon rangers also periodically patrol the area so if you're camping sans permit or have a fire expect a ticket! Any questions, please let me know!

Thanks and have a good one,

Bill DeG.

 

Thanks for the info. It was so hard finding info on the point and where to camp before going. Super sorry if I broke any rules. Glad to hear that people can be more informed and I can be better informed next time I go!

 

@bill.degrand are you a ranger? How do you know so much about this?

Just curious because I had a ton of trouble finding info on it. Mind if I copy and paste your post into the first post so more people see it?

 

Hi @SixthSnail

No, I am not a ranger. However, I spend quite a bit of time hanging around Grand Canyon and know the place very well. To sorta corroborate what you said, in my experience it seems there is a bit of confusion with regard to camping around Havasupai Point. So just thought I'd help out with a bit of info. A Google search led me to this page. There is also an FJ page that has posts of folks camping out there but I can't become a member there for some reason. Anyone here know how I can get a post on that page by chance?

Please, feel free to put the info up top so folks can see it. If anyone has anymore questions about this or other GC topics please fire away!

Thanks again.

 

Here are a couple of maps to help visualize it. These are pictures I took of my Trails Illustrated Grand Canyon East map (

$15 Grand Canyon East [Grand Canyon National Park] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map) (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map, 262)

https://www.amazon.com/Canyon-National-Geographic-Trails-Illustrated/dp/1566954940).

The first map I have highlighted the driving route in red. You can see that the road briefly passes over Havasupai Reservation land, which is where your $25 fee comes into play. You're on the Reservation for just over one mile when you very briefly cross back into Kaibab National Forest land (by the way, there is a small spot to camp off a short spur road back in the trees that is on this piece of Forest Service land - no permit required! 14-day limit) before entering Grand Canyon National Park.

The second map is a detail of the South Bass area. Most of the point is backcountry use area SEO, but that probably doesn't pertain to what most folks reading this post will want to do (unless you want to camp right off the road somewhere en route to the point). As you'll notice, the very tip of the point has three designated camping spots - SE1 (Signal Hill), SE2 (Ruby Point) and SE3 (South Bass Trailhead), all of which back right up to the rim of Grand Canyon and have great views. Notice there is no designated camping right at Havasupai Point, for reasons I've mentioned above (its the attraction in the area). If you get SE1 or SE2 you are guaranteed to have the camp to yourself as they are designated for one small group each (1-6 people). South Bass Trailhead is an excellent consollation, however. There are two groups designated to camp here (one small and one large, or two small) so you may share the spot with some backpackers. SE3 is also great because there is a great trail into the canyon there that you can hike. No permit required for dayhiking, but if you want to go backpacking an additional permit is required.

Hope this helps everyone! Happy trails out there!

 

Is there any way around Havasupai land? My girlfriend and I thought we found a road but didn't want to get lost haha

 

None to my knowledge. Unfortunately.

Some old topo maps show roads skirting the reservation boundary, but they are now closed.

 

Is SE3 where those 2 cabins are? I remember passing by some cabins or some type of shelter when I went. We got a spot at SE2 but ended up camping at SE1 with some people we met. Love that place and will most likely be going back.

 

No, SE3 is right at the rim of the canyon. Those two cabins you passed are a historic park ranger station. It has been out of commission since the 60's, I believe. Looking at the map I posted above, the ranger station is located right about where the "P" is in "Pasture Wash."

 

Got it. Question, South Bass trail is the trail that takes you to the bottom of the Grand Canyon correct? What is the 1 way distance from South Bass to the bottom of the canyon and elevation difference on that trail and is there a water source at the bottom?

 

Hi @chowwwww

Here is some info for the South Bass Trail: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/South_Bass_Trail.pdf

 

@Shmellmopwho

 

Thanks homie