Havasupai Gardens Gear Checklist
Havasupai Gardens Campground, still called Indian Garden in older trip reports, sits 4.8 miles below the South Rim on the Bright Angel Trail, in a stand of cottonwoods by a small creek. It is the easy camp of the Grand Canyon: year-round drinking water, a ranger station, toilets, and a metal food can at every site. People who wrote about it pack for a short first night and a long next day, with a headlamp for the Plateau Point walk, camp shoes, a backup way to treat water and layers for a climb out that can turn cold and wet.
What shapes your gear on Havasupai Gardens Campground
- Where it sits
- The park places the campground along the Bright Angel Trail, 4.8 miles below the South Rim. It has a ranger station, an emergency phone, year-round drinking water and toilets, and mule trains stop to rest there.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas
- How the trail splits
- An Outbound trip write-up counts 1.6 miles to the Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse, 1.5 more to the Three-Mile Resthouse and 1.7 more to camp. The park lists water at those two rest houses from May to September and at the campground all year.
From The Outbound: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and Bright Angel Campgrounds and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
- Stay limit
- A permit allows up to two nights at the campground per hike. From November 15 to February 28 the corridor limit rises to four.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Permit
- Plateau Point
- The side trip is 1.5 miles each way over mostly flat ground. One write-up says each leg takes 25 to 30 minutes, and a November 2015 pair spent about an hour and a half on the point.
From The Outbound: Indian Garden Campground via Bright Angel Trailhead and Bird and Hike
- Last-minute permits
- In-person visitors can ask for one-night permits to this campground, sold no more than a day ahead and offered only from March 1 to November 30. The park says availability is not guaranteed.
- The climb out
- The park says uphill takes about twice as long as the same distance down, and that most first-time hikers climb at about a mile an hour. A May 2019 family found the last day cold, wet and the hardest of three.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions and Take a Hike!
What the agency requires on Havasupai Gardens Campground
A backcountry permit for the night
To camp at Havasupai Gardens, Bright Angel or Cottonwood campground you must hold a backcountry permit.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas
All food, toiletries and plastics in the metal can
Every site has a picnic table, a pack pole and a metal food storage can. The park says all food, toiletries and plastics go inside, and using the cans is mandatory.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Food Storage
No fires
Fires are prohibited throughout the backcountry, so any hot dinner needs a stove.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
A zip bag for toilet paper away from the toilets
Where a toilet exists you must use it and put in only human waste and toilet paper. Where none exists, used toilet paper is carried out.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
What hikers carry on Havasupai Gardens Campground
A headlamp each
A write-up of a two-night trip tells campers to bring one for the walk back from Plateau Point at sunset. A 2003 trio left their river camp in the dark by flashlight and reached the silver bridge about when they could see without it.
From The Outbound: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and Bright Angel Campgrounds and Grand Canyon Explorer (kaibab.org)
Camp shoes for the point and the creek
The same write-up has hikers swapping to camp shoes before the Plateau Point walk. In November 2015 a pair took their boots off on the smooth rock at the point and walked around freely.
From The Outbound: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and Bright Angel Campgrounds and Bird and Hike
A backup way to treat water
The park says pipelines break at any time of year and suggests boiling, tablets or a filter even on corridor trails. One hiker climbing out refilled at the campground and stayed 35 minutes to eat and rest.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions and Arizona Wanderings
Traction for the top switchbacks in cold months
An Outbound write-up says the upper switchbacks can get very icy and traction devices, though not necessary, are very useful.
From The Outbound: Indian Garden Campground via Bright Angel Trailhead
A warm layer and a shell for the climb out
A family with a 7-year-old met rain and freezing cold on the last day of a May 2019 trip. The park lists rain as most likely in July, August and winter.
From Take a Hike! and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
Food you plan to finish in camp
A November 2015 pair on a layover day ate their extras so there would be less to carry out. They also had hot oatmeal and extra coffee for a slow morning.
From Bird and Hike
A stove for dinner
A 2003 trio claimed a shaded site with a shelter, stored food in the metal boxes, walked to the point and came back just before dark to a stove-cooked meal.
From Grand Canyon Explorer (kaibab.org) and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
11 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Havasupai Gardens Campground
Your full pack on the Plateau Point walk
The 2003 trio claimed their site with the packs and went out without them, and said even then it felt uphill both ways after three days of hiking. The walk is 1.5 miles each way.
From Grand Canyon Explorer (kaibab.org) and The Outbound: Indian Garden Campground via Bright Angel Trailhead
A tight schedule for the climb out
A hiker climbing the Bright Angel Trail took many breaks on the last three miles of switchbacks and said they forced a slow pace. The park suggests budgeting about double the time it took you to get down.
From Arizona Wanderings and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
Counting on water below camp
A write-up of the walk down to the river camp says there are no water stops between this campground and Bright Angel Campground, so carry what you need before you leave.
From The Outbound: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and Bright Angel Campgrounds
Gear questions for Havasupai Gardens Campground
Do you need a bear canister at Havasupai Gardens Campground?
No. The park puts a metal food storage can at every site and makes using it mandatory. All food, toiletries and plastics go inside.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Food Storage
Is there drinking water at Havasupai Gardens Campground?
Yes, the park lists drinking water there year-round. Pipelines can break at any time, so the park advises carrying water and a way to treat it.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas
Is Havasupai Gardens Campground the same place as Indian Garden?
Yes. The park calls it the campground formerly known as Indian Garden, reached from Grand Canyon Village by the Bright Angel Trail, so older trip reports use the old name.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Permit and Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas
How far is Havasupai Gardens Campground from the South Rim?
The park puts the campground 4.8 miles below the South Rim on the Bright Angel Trail. One trip write-up splits that into 1.6, 1.5 and 1.7 miles between the trailhead, two rest houses and camp.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Backcountry Trails and Use Areas and The Outbound: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and Bright Angel Campgrounds
Can you have a campfire at Havasupai Gardens Campground?
No. Fires are prohibited throughout the Grand Canyon backcountry, so bring a stove or plan cold meals.
From Grand Canyon National Park (NPS): Hiking Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- Backcountry Trails and Use Areas · Grand Canyon National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Backcountry Food Storage · Grand Canyon National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Hiking Frequently Asked Questions · Grand Canyon National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Backcountry Permit · Grand Canyon National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Grand Canyon Backpack Day 5 (November 20, 2015) · Bird and Hike · Blog
- Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike, Sept 13-21, 2003, day three · Grand Canyon Explorer (kaibab.org), Bill Huggins · Trip report
- South Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails, Grand Canyon (May 10, 2019) · Take a Hike! · Blog
- Indian Garden Campground via Bright Angel Trailhead · The Outbound · Blog
- Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and Bright Angel Campgrounds · The Outbound · Blog
- The Grand Canyon: Hiking the Bright Angel Trail · Arizona Wanderings · Blog