Paria Canyon: Coyote Buttes Wilderness


Coyote Buttes

Incredibly, she sails the truck down the road, and when we hit the bottom, we break through mud. We go through this sort of thing for four miles, and now I wonder, how do we get back? When we get to a creek, Betty says, “There’s another way out.” She is thinking the same thing as me. “Really?” I say, relieved.

Can you visit The Wave in Arizona?

You must have a permit to visit Coyote Buttes North (The Wave) and Coyote Buttes South. Permits are available for day use only. There is a daily limit on permits. Permits for Coyote Buttes North (The Wave) are offered through a lottery.

You can get them issued on the day before you wish to hike. We can also arrange an overnight shuttle to the South Coyote Buttes area for a camp-out and pick you up the next day for the tour. Although Coyote Buttes is day use only, you are allowed to camp in the parking area outside the wilderness boundary or at the nearby campground. We can provide multi-day tours and overnight camp-outs for professional and amateur photographers. On the way to the House Rock Road, she shows me a number of gullies, slot canyons, and desert roads which she says, “are virtually unknown.”

Coyote Buttes South versus the Wave and Coyote Buttes North

But walking into the ‘Wave’, the entrance to Coyote Buttes, is an experience like no other. This structure of yellow, red and orange sandstone is sculpted into shapes that are so brilliant, so strange, they seem unreal, unfit for this world. Soon, though, the sand gives way to slickrock, and while I can no longer make tracks, the geography starts to make sense. I realize too, that up here on the slickrock, I see occasional footsteps in pockets of sand.

She knew that there would be a second lottery shortly afterwards, issuing permits to Coyote Buttes South, which many claim is just as impressive as The Wave, only less-known. The trailhead for the Wave is already well marked on the gravel road.The Wave is situated on the Paria Plateau, Coyote Buttes North in Arizona, close to the Utah border. Getting there is easy on the gravel Rock House Valley Road.

How to Hike The Wave in Coyote Buttes, Arizona, in 2023

Because there isn’t just one main feature everyone visits South https://www.wave-accounting.net/ disperses other hikers. On most trips, we don’t see another person there. We did the White Pocket / South Coyote Buttes tour, and the Peek-a-Boo / White Wave tour.

  • However, the gravel Rock House Valley Road is in good condition.
  • The small parking lot to the left of the signs is Lone Tree Access point.
  • And climate change favored a certain vegetation, and with an ecosystem out of whack, this brushy vegetation feeds too many rabbits, and they are everywhere.
  • If there is snow, the area will be inaccessible due to the road conditions.
  • The Paw Hole area of Coyote Buttes South is easier to access, but it’s not as visually stunning as Cottonwood.

Like its counterpart to the North, which contains the Wave, South Coyote Buttes Tour in the Paria Canyon Wilderness is a vast expanse of colorful slickrock sandstone with lots of sand in between. All listed tour durations and pickup times are approximate. Please allow minutes of pickup time flexibility for unforeseen circumstances and varying pickup logistics. A lunch meal is included on all tours of 6+ hours. You will get the most out of your trip if you splurge on a guided tour and let yourself be stunned by the scenery and the vivid display of colours.


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