Large-scale cross-bedding is common throughout Zion National Park. The cross-bedding is typical of ancient sand-dune deposits of the Navajo Sandstone. During Early Jurassic time (about 202 to 176 million years ago), the region was part of a great sandy desert, probably similar in size and scale to the ergs (dune fields) of the modern Sahara Desert or Arabian Peninsula (Blakey, 1994).

Coyote Buttes and The Wave

The Wave is the premier photographic destination in the US Southwest. It is located in the Coyote Buttes North area of the Utah Arizona border. In addition to The Wave Coyote Buttes North contains many other spectacular rock formations. These include The Second Wave, The Alcove, Top Rock Arch, Melody Arch and the Grotto, Sand Cove, and Fatali’s Boneyard. The Wave is best photographed from mid-morning to early afternoon so as to minimize the extensive shadows; the other areas listed above are best photographed mid-late afternoon.

A permit issued by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is required to see The Wave. Only 64 people per day (48 permits granted three months in advance and 16 permits granted one day in advance) are allowed in the area and demand far exceeds supply. During the most popular months (April, May, September, October) there can be an estimated 300 people applying for the sixteen daily permits. In the other months you usually have much less than a 50% chance of getting one at the daily lottery. Your chances are better if you’re going alone, or in December – February.

A six mile round trip hike in required to get to The Wave. Since there is no trail to The Wave you should be able to use a map and compass or GPS to help with navigation. The BLM provides a map with your permit and instructions on getting to The Wave, and there are a small number of cairns on the way. Over the past five years five people have died on the way to/from The Wave. If you are not sure about your navigation skills I strongly suggest you hike in with a guide or a friend with these skills. Do not go alone. If you use a GPS be sure to mark the Wirepass trailhead and other key points along the route. Stay with your party. Four of the five fatalities were heat related, so if you go in the warmer months bring plenty of water, at least four liters, and preferably more.

Permits

In order to visit The Wave you need a permit for an area called Coyote Buttes North. Online permits and permit information can be obtained from recreation.gov. At most 64 people, 16 groups are allowed into Coyote Buttes North, whichever comes first. Permits for a total of 48 people, 12 groups maximum are issued via an online lottery held three months in advance. Permits for another 16 people, 4 groups maximum are awarded via an online lottery held two days in advance.

Advanced Permits

Advanced permits for Coyote Buttes North are very difficult to obtain. Demand greatly exceeds supply. All Advanced Coyote Buttes North permits are awarded by lottery held on recreation.gov. The lottery opens up four months in advance of your trip date. You have the whole month to apply. For example, for a January 15 permit you would open the Advanced lottery page in September. The fee to enter the on-line lottery is $9 per group.

Wave permits are non-transferable except for up to three specific people you list when you apply for the lottery. These people are called “alternate permit holders”. If you win a permit and are stopped by a ranger on your hike to The Wave either you or a listed alternate permit holder must be present with your group. If not your group may be ticketed. Alternate permit holders must have an account on recreation.gov.

You may only apply once per month to the lottery. If you try to apply more than once at checkout you will get the message “You have excellent taste! However, you are only allowed to submit or be listed as an alternate permit holder on 1 lottery application or hold 1 active permit(s) reservation at a time.” Note that if you list someone as an alternate permit holder they cannot apply for a permit that month as well. If there are several people in your group each can apply to the lottery separately provided you do not list the other members of the group as alternate permit holders.

On each lottery application you can select up to three dates. The drawing is held the day following the close of the lottery (i.e. October 1 in our example). Shortly after the lottery closes you will be notified via e-mail whether you were successful or not. If you do not receive a notification by the 2nd of the month check your spam folder. If you still haven’t received notification it is likely you typed your email address incorrectly on the application. In this case you should call the BLM at (435) 688-3200 or email them at blm_az_asdoweb@blm.gov for a status. If you win the lottery you will have to pay an additional $7 per person fee for the North Coyote Buttes permit.

Coyote Buttes North Lottery Schedule

 

Apply between	for a permit during
January 1 – 31	May
February 1 – 28	June
March 1 – 31	July
April 1- 30	August
May 1 – 31	September
June 1 – 30	October
July 1 – 31	November
August 1 – 31	December
September 1 – 30	January
October 1 – 31	February
November 1 – 30	March
December 1 – 31	April

Daily permits

If you are unsuccessful in getting an “Advanced permit” for Coyote Buttes North, and are in the Southern Utah / Northern Arizona area, consider getting a “Daily Permit”. Daily permits are issued one day in advance of the day you wish to hike in to The Wave. Starting on March 15, 2022 you can apply for the daily lottery at https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4251909 two days in advance of your desired entry date. There is a $9 fee to try for a permit. You can only apply via your phone or connected mobile device (e.g. tablet). You cannot apply via a dekstop computer. The GPS on your phone must be on. You must be within a “geofenced” area in Northern Arizona/Southern Utah to apply. The area includes the towns of Kanab, Page, Big Water, Fredonia, Glendale, and Jacob Lake among others. You can download a full resolution map of the geofenced area in a variety of geocoded formats below:

GeoTiff – Avenza

KMZ – Google Earth

Rmap – Oruxmaps

SQLite – Locus

MBTiles – GaiaGPS

GeoPDF

You can load this map onto your phone’s GPS software to see whether you are in the geofenced area.

The procedure to apply for a daily permit is as follows:

• Applications for the Daily Lottery must be submitted from within the designated geofence, according to the following schedule.
• Day 1 – Application: Apply between 6 AM and 6 PM two days ahead of the desired entry date on recreation.gov. Lottery results are sent out at 7:15 PM that evening. A window will open to accept winning lottery applications.
• Day 2 – Safety Briefing: Successful applicants must accept the permit and pay fees by 8 AM Utah time and be onsite at a permit pickup location at 8:30 AM local time for a safety briefing. Local time may be different between pickup locations. During Daylight Savings, 9:30 in Utah is 8:30 in Arizona (except the Navajo Nation). There are two permit pickup locations, one in Page and one in Kanab. To pick up your permit in Kanab go to The Kanab Center, 20 N 100 E, Kanab, UT 84741. To pickup your permit in Page, go to Page-Lake Powell HUB, 48 S Lake Powell Blvd, Page, AZ 86040.
• Day 3 – Permit date: Permit-holders have the day to explore Coyote Buttes North.

The new “Daily Permit” system is more user-friendly than the old walk-in lottery. You no longer need to be present in Kanab at 9:00 AM the day before you wish to hike to The Wave. You only need to be in the general area of Page and Kanab. You can go out for an early morning photoshoot or sleep-in if you wish. There is one downside, the $9 per group fee to enter the lottery. the walk-in lottery was free.

Additional information about permits can be found on Coyote Buttes permits webpage.

When to Go / Climate

December – February

It is “relatively” easy to get permits in December, January and early February, especially through the walk-in process. Permits are hard to get around the Christmas and Ne Years holidays so avoid these times. There is a good chance there will be snow on the ground in the winter months. Snow makes hiking difficult and photographing the patterns in the red rock chancy. If there is snow you may be limited to shooting southern exposures such as The Boneyard and Sand Cove. Average cloud cover is also high in the winter months, and House Rock Road is often muddy and difficult or impossible to drive on. The South Buttes are even higher in elevation than the Wave, about 6,200 feet, or four degrees cooler. This makes snow even more likely in the South Buttes, and it will last longer. I have been to Cottonwood Cove when the north facing exposures had over a foot of snow on them.

March – May

These are good months to visit, especially April and May when cloud cover is low and temperatures moderate. Getting a permits is very difficult. Average wind speed is highest in the southwest in the Spring. The wind comes from the Southwest in this area all year round peaking in the afternoon. Sand Cove runs North – South and forms a natural wind tunnel. This makes good photography of Sand Cove and The Boneyard difficult in the Spring. Average cloud cover is low during May.

June

A very good month to go to The Wave if you don’t mind the heat. Cloud cover is low as is precipitation. The best month for night photography as the Milky Way stretches across the sky.

July – August

I used to believe these were the worst months to go to The Wave. I now believe they are reasonably good, if you are prepared and can stand the heat. Average daily high temperature at the Wave is 101 ºF in July and there is little shade. If you go in July do not plan to be out all day. Either go in the morning when temperatures and cloud cover are lower, or go in mid afternoon if the weather looks cooperative. In 2013 there were three heat related fatalities at the Wave, and there was another heat related death in 2018. Go prepared. If you plan to stay the whole day you will need to find shade. A space blanket can help, you need to elevate it with hiking sticks, rocks, bushes, … A good place to find natural shade is on Toprock at the Alcove. Finally bring at least one gallon of water per person in July and August. You will need it. I have seen recommendations of nine liters per person per day when temperatures are this high! Keep water inside your pack so it stays cooler, and bring some of it in the for of ice. There is a good possibility of afternoon thunderstorms or even hail. Mornings are cooler, often clear, and have little wind. It’s likely you can get a good photograph in the morning, and if the weather cooperates you may get a great one in the afternoon! With luck there will be water at the Wave or in the water pockets south of The Wave. Water pockets won’t last long given the average July August temperatures though. If there are water pockets look for tadpoles and tadpole shrimp. If there’s a lot of water you may even hear toads croaking! (males calling for females). Permits, though still difficult, are easier to get than during the peak months.

September – November

Excellent months for visiting, Page and Kanab are less crowded than during summer vacation, and cloud cover and temperatures are reasonable. Permits are very difficult to get. The rest of the Southwest is also beautiful at this time of year with the Aspens changing in late September/early October, and the Cottonwoods in late October.

Another good source of climate information based on the Page airport data can be found at Weatherspark.com.

Getting to The Wave

There are two entry points to Coyote Buttes North, Wirepass Trailhead (WP) and The Notch. The Notch is no longer actively publicized by the BLM. The trail from the Notch is poorly defined. I strongly recommend access from the Wirepass parking lot. To get to the Wirepass trailhead take Highway 89 to House Rock Road. The House Rock Road turnoff is between mile posts 25 and 26 on Highway 89 in Utah. House Rock Road is normally passable by passenger cars. Do not take this road if it is wet. It is clay based and impassable even to 4WD vehicles when wet. When the road is muddy it is like driving on ice and there are drop-offs. When dry take House Rock Road for 8.4 miles to the WP parking area on the right. You can dry camp at the Wirepass trailhead, and a toilet is present. Better camping with fire pits, tables, and pit toilets is available at the Stateline Campground, one mile further south just off House Rock Road.

Begin your hike to the Wave by signing the trailhead register and crossing House Rock Road. Follow the well defined trail east for fifty yards until you enter the wash. Wirepass wash feeds into Buckskin Gulch, the longest slot canyon in North America. Continue walking down the wash. About .55 miles from the trailhead you will see a sign marked Coyote Buttes on the right. Turn right and follow the good trail up the hill and across the sage field. At the end of the field you will cross a wash. This wash also flows into the Wirepass slot canyon one half mile downstream. Total distance across the sage field to the wash is about .65 miles. After crossing the wash hike up the slickrock to a sometimes cairned saddle. If you have a GPS mark this location. You are now in the permit area. From here there may or may not be cairns and they may or may not be accurate. There are a small number of BLM sign posts in the area at critical locations, one can be seen about 50 yards east of the saddle. Note its location, on your return this marker will tell you where to turn to the west. From the saddle proceed south, after .35 miles or so you will see a twin butte with a downed barbed wire fence on its left (east) side, either go over the fence (easy but a little exposed) or walk around the buttes via their the west side. Continue heading almost due south aiming for the crack in the cliffs to the south. After another .8 miles or so you will cross another small wash, continue heading towards the crack in the Wall and go up the sand dune. There should be a clear trail up the sand dune unless it had been very windy overnight. You will shortly arrive at The Wave. It is about 2.8 miles in total from the WP trailhead to The Wave.

Returning to the trailhead

It is fairly easy to get back to your car, even at dusk. The small sign posts installed by the BLM will glow in the dark if a flashlight is shined on them. Make sure that when you return you do not try to cross the ridge too early after heading north. Look for the sign post referenced above, it will tell you when to turn to cross the ridge. It should be easy to cross over the small ridge; if not you have turned west too early. Conversely if you go too far north you will end up in or overlooking Wirepass slot canyon. If so turn around and try again. For an interesting story of someone who got lost on the return, see Trouble in Coyote Buttes. If you get lost or injured and need help try to gain elevation. You may be able to get a cell signal. I have gotten service via Verizon, and a friend via AT&T.

Your day at The Wave