Gathering gear and packing is by far the most overwhelming part of a backpacking trip for a beginner. Havasupai was our first real backpacking trip and so we are beginners ourselves! We did do a ton of research in preparing for this trip as we wanted to make sure we were comfortable and not miserable while trying to enjoy our time in this beautiful place. In this post I’ll provide our final packing list for Havasupai, including what we couldn’t have lived without and what we didn’t need or use.

If you’re planning a trip to Havasu Falls, then you probably already realized that planning and prepping is half the fun, but also half the stress! So, what gear do you really need for Havasupai? The answer to this depends on a few things. First, whether you are staying at the lodge or in the campground. We stayed in the campground and so this post will be based on camping. Second, the time of year you go. We went in October and it was a little too cold at night for us to sleep in a hammock. We also used 3 season sleeping bags as opposed to lightweight blankets or sheets, which you may be able to get away with in summer. If you are sleeping in a tent, you’ll also need a sleeping pad. You definitely don’t want to sleep on the hard, cold ground. Don’t skimp out on the essentials as you want to make sure that you are comfortable, especially if you’re staying for multiple nights.

Of course, you’ll also need a plan for food. While there is plenty of food in the village, I wouldn’t recommend relying on that as your only food source because it’s a pretty strenuous 4 mile round trip hike from the campground. We went with freeze-dried meals because they are easy to pack and only required boiled water to make. Our favorite brand is Mountain House. We have a Jetboil to boil water, which you can rent as well. Just keep in mind you can’t fly with propane, even if its checked. So if you are bringing your own Jetboil, make sure you buy the fuel when you get there.

Here is our final packing list and some tips, including what we were glad we had and what we didn’t use. Again, this list is for October (3 nights/4 days), so probably applies if you are going in spring or fall. If you are going in the summer, you definitely won’t need warm layers.

Packing for Havasupai:

Gear:

Backpack
Tent (or hammock)
Rain cover/tarp
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad (if sleeping in tent)
Daypack (for hiking while down there and also for the hike in/out if you are using the mules or helicopter to bring gear)
Trekking poles (these are optional. I was really glad I had them, but I was also the only one in our group to have them)
Headlamp
Luminaid Packlite (lantern + chargers)
Water reservoir

Kitchen/Food:

Jetboil
Mountain House meals (they are 2 servings each so 2 per couple per day worked for us)
Instant coffee grounds
Cups or mugs (you can get collapsable mugs or we just took a few styrofoam cups)
Utensils (plastic reusable spork)
Snacks and cliff bars

Clothes:

Underwear for each day
Socks (including hiking socks for each day you’ll be doing a lot of hiking)
Sports bras (2-3)
tanks/t-shirts (2)
Long sleeve shirts (2)
Leggings (1)
Hiking pants (1)
Hiking boots
Water shoes (I have Keens and like them except that they take forever to dry)
Hat and/or Buff
Lightweight Jacket
Bathing suit

Toiletries:

Deodorant
Brush (I didn’t even pack a brush, but most females probably consider that essential)
Toothbrush/toothpaste
Toilet paper (Bathrooms can run out, plus good to have as tissues/napkins at the camp site. We just grabbed a roll before leaving our hotel).
Wipes (wilderness wipes, backpacking wipes, even baby wipes will work)
Antibacterial hand sanitizer
Body Glide anti-chafing stick (hiking in wet clothes…)
Insect repellent wipes
Sunscreen
Chapstick
Nail clippers

Medical/First Aid:

First aid kit
Bandaids and/or moleskin
Pain reliever such as Ibuprofen, aspirin, or alka-seltzer tablets
Prescription medications

Electronics:

Cell phone and charger
Camera and extra SD cards and batteries

Misc:

Documentation (boarding pass, license, passport, etc)
Cash (credit card machines were down when we arrived. And not all places take credit cards anyway)
Credit cards
Campground/Lodge reservation confirmation
Sunglasses
Lightweight quick drying towels
Water filtration system
Duct tape
Paracord/rope
Pocket knife
Odor proof bags or rat sack (something for food storage)
Re-sealable zip loc bags (these came in handy for garbage, for packing smaller items, etc. We used a ton of these).
Garbage bags (came in handy for covering our packs in the rain)
Playing cards (lots of down time – we had a ton of fun playing cards after dinner)

Packing Tips:

- Really try your best not to overpack. Every ounce of weight counts. It adds up fast.

Keep items you will need during the hike in easy to reach locations in your pack (chapstick, snacks, reservation documents, first aid).
If you bought new hiking boots, be sure to break them in.
Keep an eye on the weather as your trip approaches. If rain is in the forecast, make sure to pack a rain coat, a tarp or rain cover and garbage bags for your packs while you hike.
You can’t pack fuel on a flight, even if it’s checked. You can buy it at a Walmart or any camping store once you arrive.
Note that if you are going with a group, there is a lot of shared gear. This helps in splitting the weight.
If your water shoes have holes or places where rocks can enter, it helped to wear socks with them.
The only thing that we packed and really didn’t need was our hammock. I thought we might want to try sleeping in it or just hang out in it, but we never did and it was a little too cold at night.
While we didn’t really use sunscreen, insect repellent wipes, or anti-chafing sticks, I wouldn’t necessarily not pack these items because I’d rather have them and not need them since they are small and don’t add a whole lot of weight.
We almost ran out of Advil and we all brought some. That is the one thing (other than essentials obviously) that we really couldn’t have lived without!
The one thing that we didn’t have and wanted was portable backpacking chairs. We didn’t have room in our packs anyway (we had a 6 person tent…), but we didn’t have a picnic table for the first two days and we had to spend all our down time sitting in the tent. Not the end of the world, but it would’ve been nice to have chairs.
We didn’t pack a water filtration system and didn’t need it, but some would say it’s an essential just in case. If you are planning to hike to the Confluence, I believe a water filtration system is necessary. But, we just used the water spicket and actually bought gallons of water in the market in the village.