Hualapai Hilltop, Grand Canyon Village

Yes, the falls are breath taking, but I am ashamed to have giving my money to Supai. This 11 mile hike should have been full of natural wonders and fascinating geology; instead it was 11 miles of fecal matter and abused animals. The first mile down the switch backs we encounter the fresh corpse of a horse that had falling off of the cliffs, while carrying the belongings of lazy tourists. The animal was discarded and left on the trail. The sight and smell is indescribable. Once we reached the village the sights did not get much better. There were hundreds of emaciated horses, mule, and donkeys. The animals have opened wounds and the scars of old wounds, many were tired on 3 ft. ropes to random make shift structures. The streams running though the village are littered with trash. If I would have known that experiencing the canyon and falls meant that I would be financially supporting this level of disregard for the animals and landscape I would have never gone.

I am not writing a review for Haulapai Hilltop as that is a dry, ugly site and is only the way in. My review is based on my experience with my family in Havasupai Canyon. This is the third time we've vacationed here. The last time we were here was in 2007 prior to The Redlands dam breaking and flooding Havasu Canyon. We wanted to see the changes(Navajo Falls is greatly missed and Rock Falls is a splendid new additon).I too am jaded by by the commercial guide companies setting up camp in Havasu Canyon and hope the Supai Tribal Council puts a stop to this and replaces them with Supai native guides. Many thanks to Lorin and Fidel(and many others) for sharing their experience and history with us. Your friendship is greatly appreciated.. I hope The Ram Dancers will some day perform at Dartmouth in Hanover NH!! Dartmouth was originaly a college for Native Americans and there are opportunities for further education there. I am glad that the Supai are intensely involved in the recovery project and saw much being done to halt the erosion and damage from the flooding in 2008. This is not a fancy vacation, don't expect room service. This is a roughing it adventure with plenty of great hikes to waterfalls and swimming holes of blue green waters. I love it here and hope to return again and again for the rest of my life. This is truly a gem in the desert.

the Hualapai have attitude toward outsiders after holdding our bus up for 20min. on september 29, 2010 for no reason.our bus was held at the ranch longer than need be, they will never get out of this mess thier in with an attitude like that.....

This is an amazing area that gets busier each year. There is a supposed 150 person limit on how many people can be in canyon each day. But with recent use of the canyon by non local commercial guiding companies this area easily has over 300 people per day. The most unfortunate thing about these services is that they do not employ any locals or provide any type of benefit for the Supai community, other than paying the fees that each person is required to upon entrance. People listen, this place is very easy to find your way around, there is a pack horse service for your gear so you don't have to carry anything down or up. Why eliminate every variable? Are we that lazy we cant cook for ourselves? This is a very controlled area, have we completely lost our sense of adventure that we need a guide to control everything. This trip can easily be done by the most novice of hikers, just be sure to have enough water. Go head plan your own trip and fun will follow! By planning your own trip more of your dollars go to the locals( guide companies receive a discount on large groups) thus supporting a more sustainable and local operation, now go have fun! The locals are very friendly and much more interesting than the city slicker guides that clog the canyon with large groups. I hope the Tribe is considering ending these operations and starting one of their own

We drove 3 hours to this place out in the middle of knowwhere to hike to the falls only to discover the tribe had made a decisiion to cancel all reservations for the month due to fear of getting swine flu. I had called one week earlier to confirm my reservations and was not even told they were considering canceling. Many people got their vacation plans ruined by this. They did tell us we could come back next month and go down. How stupid is that. I'm sure everyone was there from out of state and took vacation time off. We're from Iowa and can't just fly out there next month. I couldn't believe they couldn't give us a call or even an appology. I wouldn't take the chance on trying to go again.

The Hualapia Tribe that runs the West Rim clearly doesn't funnel the canyon income into the tired, run-down ticketing portable, the depressing, rip-off gift shop or the gravelly, unpaved, unkempt grounds at their staging area that sports nothing but a parking lot of helicopters and victim's cars. It's $20 just to park, folks, and that gets you nothing but lonnng-distance misty views. But if you opt to try and snap off a zoom pic, they threaten that they will confiscate your camera. WTF? You are forced to pay at least $30 a person just to get to the canyon on a motorized coach and if you want to go out on that new Skywalk, it's another $30 bucks. We had driven for two hours but were delighted to say, Piss Off, we'll see it from another rim! The rims run by Park Services are wayyyy better. Save your dough from propping up what feels like money-grubbing opportunists.

This place is absolutely gorgeous, you will never see falls and the color of them anywhere Very spiritual and the best place to get away from the busy lifes we all have, you will be very relaxed. It is an excellent place for nature lovers. I went in May and in August of the same year, it is nicer in May because the water is emerald green and in May is darker because of the constant rain. I wish I could go every year-best place to disconnect from everything. At night all you hear is the water from the river and the waterfalls and the sky is beautiful-no lights, no telephone, no cellulars. Just you and nature. Is a perfect place to medidate about your life and make positive changes. There are miles for you to adventure and make sure you bring a camera, wet shoes, a jet boil and frozen gatorade. You may also stay at the small hotel at the village. The food at the cafeteria is pretty good. Buy some good hiking shoes, a good walking stick, sun tan lotion, lots of water and some can food and you will have the time of your life. Make sure you are physically prepared, coming up is very strenous, IS WORTH IT!!!!

The only reason to go there is if you are hiking down to Supai or Havasu Falls, etc. The hike is an outstanding experience. If you are not hiking, DO NOT GO THERE.

i hated it. there was nothing to do. i recomened not going. stay away from it. it is so boring.

I'm a hualapai indian and i have relocated to oklahoma. i miss the view and the history of the place. it's quite peaceful.