Hike to the Confluence: Havasupai to the Colorado River

The first time I hiked to Havasupai I didn’t even realize it was possible to hike to the Confluence, and to be honest I’m not even sure I knew what the Confluence was. But as I hiked to Beaver Falls on the second day of our trip and saw a few exhausted hikers coming from the distance, I knew that we had overlooked something. When I asked where they were coming from, they had said they hiked all the way to the Colorado River.

So what is the Confluence?

The confluence is the area where the Little Colorado River and the Colorado River meet in the Grand Canyon. In other words, you can witness the merging of the bright blue waters of the Havasu Creek to the browns of the Colorado. The confluence hike has become more popular due to the incredible scenery surrounding it, with it’s high canyon walls and the chance to see some of the packrafters coming down the Colorado.

If you’re looking to make the hike to the Confluence yourself, here’s what you need to know:

The hike to the Confluence starts from the Havasu campground, meaning you must have permits for Havasupai first. Typically hikers will hike the 10 miles down to Havasupai campground, set up their tent for the night and head to the Confluence the following morning. It is a full day hike and you will want to start early.

Stats for the Confluence hike:

Distance: ~16 miles round trip

Elevation Gain: 2975 ft (mostly the waterfalls), it’s pretty flat after Beaver falls.

Any special gear: No, but I highly recommend Teva sandals for the stream crossings.

Other tips: Download the Confluence hike on Alltrails ahead of time, it is easy to get lost if the sun is going down on the way back

The Confluence Hike

You will start out early by leaving the campground and heading down Mooney Falls. Take your time on the way down, the chains and ladder are soaked from the falls and this area could get crowded.

Once you touch ground at Mooney, you will head left (away from the fall) to find the trail continue onward. Multiple stream crossings will follow, where you will be able to see the path on the other side of the stream to continue on. This is where the Teva sandals come in handy.

You will eventually hit a beautiful meadow with canyon walls on both sides. Continue on to a few more stream crossings, and up some dirty ladders and then you will be at Beaver Falls.

You can either head down to the hill to see Beaver falls or continue on route to the Confluence. If you want to go straight to the Confluence, stay high. If you go down to see Beaver, make sure to climb back up the same way to get back on the Confluence trail. We got a little confused here.

Eventually you will hit a few switchbacks that take you back down to the water. This part is hard to find on the way back so make a mental note of what this area looks like. There is another stream crossing after coming down the switchbacks that is pretty straight forward. And from here on out, it’s mostly flat and easy. The stream crossings keep coming and depending on how much water there is, they could bit waist deep.

Finally we reached the tunnel! Which I knew meant we were almost there.

After the tunnel we continued on for a bit and then found an area where we could scramble down to the water. Luckily when we visited the Colorado wasn’t flowing heavily so it was easy to walk around the Confluence. I would be careful here during your visit if its high season.

We had a late start so had the place all to ourselves. Pretty incredible. But just remember, you have another 8 miles to go to get. back to your campsite. 🙂