Waterfalls in Arizona

The Grand Canyon, the Rim and the reservations — Arizona's waterfalls

Water works through three landscapes here: the mile-deep layers of the Grand Canyon, the travertine and basalt of the Mogollon Rim's edge, and the granite "sky island" ranges off the southern desert floor. Sixty-six named falls are recorded, and nearly half sit in Coconino County, home to the Grand Canyon, the Havasupai Reservation and the Navajo Nation's stretch of the Little Colorado.

Where the waterfalls are

The Grand Canyon and its side canyons hold most of Coconino County's listings: river-corridor falls reachable only by permitted boat or backcountry hike, the Havasu Creek drainage on the Havasupai Reservation, the lava-dammed Little Colorado on the Navajo Nation, and Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona. On the Rim, Gila County has a state park built around a travertine natural bridge, a fall in the Sierra Ancha, and another on the Fort Apache Reservation.

Farther south, desert ranges carry the rest: the Santa Catalina Mountains in Pima County, the Huachuca Mountains in Cochise County, and the Pinaleño Mountains in Graham County, home to Ash Creek Falls. Maricopa and Pinal counties hold the Superstition Wilderness's Reevis Falls; Apache, Mohave, Yavapai and Yuma counties scatter the rest across reservation land, the canyon's west end and the low desert.

Waterfalls worth the trip

• Havasu Falls, 100 feet on travertine-blue Havasu Creek, requires an overnight tribal reservation on the Havasupai Reservation.
• Grand Falls, 185 feet on the Little Colorado River, formed when lava from Merriam Crater dammed the channel about 20,000 years ago; the water runs chocolate-brown, and the Navajo Nation's Leupp Chapter has closed the site since 2023.
• Cheyava Falls, Arizona's tallest documented waterfall at 800 feet, drops in two roughly 400-foot cascades in trail-less Grand Canyon backcountry; its Hopi name means "intermittent waters," and it needs a wet winter to flow.
• Tanque Verde Falls, 70 feet in the Santa Catalina foothills, is reached by a 2-mile Rim Loop off Redington Road or a steeper half-mile trail to the creek.
• Carr Falls, 370 feet and ephemeral, is seen from an overlook at the end of Carr Canyon Road: 1.4 paved miles then 6.3 miles of steep dirt, high clearance recommended.
• Slide Rock, a 14-foot natural waterslide on Oak Creek, sits in a state park reached by vehicle only; no walk-in or bicycle entry.
• Tonto Natural Bridge Falls pours over a travertine bridge billed as the largest of its kind in the world; the trails down to it are under half a mile but steep.
• Cibecue Falls, 80 feet on Cibecue Creek on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, needs a one-day White Mountain Apache access permit from every visitor.

When to go

Havasu Creek runs close to 70 degrees year-round, but the tribe flags monsoon risk from June through September, and the park service closes the trail into the canyon above 115 degrees. Grand Falls peaks in March and April on snowmelt and thins by summer; Cheyava Falls needs a wet winter to flow at all, and Carr Falls runs only after rain.

Permits, fees and closures

Grand Canyon National Park charges $35 a vehicle, with no timed-entry reservation in 2026. A backcountry permit costs $10 plus $15 per person per night, and the noncommercial river permit needed to reach canyon falls by boat runs $110 per participant. Havasupai Reservation 2026 pricing runs $455 per person for three nights of camping or $2,277 per lodge room, plus $400 for a round-trip pack mule; there is no day-hiking option. Grand Falls allows no visitors under the Leupp Chapter's closure, except other tribal members visiting for cultural preservation. Cibecue Falls needs a $45 White Mountain Apache permit per person, sold online or at the Carrizo Service Station. Slide Rock charges $30 a vehicle from May through August 21, 2026, then $20 through the following April, and Tonto Natural Bridge charges $10 for adults and $5 for ages 7 to 13.

Safety

A flash flood killed eight people at Tanque Verde Falls in July 1981, and the Forest Service warns against entering that canyon when storms threaten or jumping into its pools. On the Havasupai Reservation, jumping or diving from Havasu Falls draws a fine and a ten-year ban, and flooding forced an evacuation in September 2025. Slide Rock's swimming area has no lifeguard and bans glass containers. Remote falls such as Carr Falls and Cheyava Falls lack cell service and marked trails; approach them cautiously after rain.