Yes, There is a Town at the Bottom of the Grand Canyon

Visit the Only Village Inside the Grand Canyon

by Michele Lent Hirsch/Smithsonian.com/November 2015

If you haven’t visited the village of Supai, there’s probably a good reason: The only town inside the Grand Canyon, it’s located deep inside a 3,000-foot-deep hole. The only way to get there is by hiking, riding an animal or taking a helicopter. In fact, it’s the most remote town in the lower 48 states—and it’s well worth the inconvenience.

Because it’s so remote, it’s also the only place in the country that receives mail deliveries by mule. Two hundred and eight people lived in Supai Village in 2010, according to the U.S. Census, and all of them get their mail by “mule train”—a series of linked mules carrying packages and letters. Each parcel that makes it out of Supai has a special postmark—one that’s well known to backpackers, who often mail out (or mule out) their heavy packs via the postal service rather than drag them back up eight steep miles.

Supai is part of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, and the place where the Havasupai population has lived for more than 1,000 years—though the tribe has had to fight to retain the use of their own land.

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Carol Duff, MSN, BA, RN

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.

She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.

• Carol’s Archives 2009-2013