Coyote Buttes North & South

Coyote Buttes is located in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument on House Rock Valley Road.

The Wave (Coyote Buttes North) is a rock colored in "chocolate, caramel and vanilla" that was shaped by wind and water. This is an absolutely beautiful place.

This place is fragile, access is limited to 64 people per day since january 1st 2021. The choice of visitors is done at a lottery that assigns 64 permits. There are 2 possibilities.

The first option is to register online 4 months in advance (link here)For example, to obtain a permit for June, register online in February. The draw takes place in the first days of the month following registration (early March to resume our example). This lottery, costing 9$, allocates only 48 permits and/or 12 groups. You will receive an email telling you if you have won and in this case the instructions to get the permits. If you are selected, a additionnal fee of 7$ per person is required.

The second option, called daily lottery, is also done on the internet (link here). The registration to the lottery must be done 2 days before the date of the permit between 6am and 6pm (for example for a permit on April 4th, the registration is done on April 2nd). The result is known the same evening around 7:15 pm. The payment must be done before 8am the next day (April 3rd for our example) and you have to pick up your permit at 8:30am (April 3rd). Registration can only be done from a cell phone from the Recreation.gov Mobile App which you can download here. Registration does not work from a computer, even if it is a laptop. In order to register you must also be within a certain geographical area of The Wave at the time of registration. You must be located, roughly, between Zion NP in Utah and Page in Arizona (precise map to download). A maximum of 16 people and/or 4 groups will receive a permit.

It is no longer possible to go to Kanab the day before the permit to attend the draw.

Access to CBN does not require a 4WD unlike Coyote Buttes South.

Coyote Buttes South is made up of 2 sectors: Cottonwood Cove and Paw Hole. We only know, for the moment, Cottonwood Cove.

Like CBN, access is managed by a draw and 20 permits are issued per day. The difference here is that the lottery runs on a first come, first serve basis and you have to register 3 months in advance (link here). You must be connected on the internet on the 1st day of the month at the time of the opening of the lottery (watch out for the time difference). This lottery allocates only 10 permits. Participation to the lottery costs $9. To this, must be added the permit which costs 5$ per person.You have the result in a row. Be careful to be on time, the availability is filling quickly. For the other 10 permits, you must go to the office of the BLM Kanab and register, alone or in groups, in the morning before 10:00. The draw takes place at 10:00, after the one for The Wave, for a visit the next day.

The access path to CBS is quite sandy, we advise you to go with a guide or to have a real 4WD. For our part, in september 2017, we made the visit with Paria Outpost & Outfitters, specialists in the area. We combined CBS with White Pocket. This outfitter can also guide you to CBN. In April 2022, we rented a Wrangler Rubicon to go there by our own means. We camped there to enjoy the best lights at sunset and sunrise.

Tip : temperatures are very high in summer, often above 95° F. The region is relatively desert, there is very little shade. It is therefore necessary to provide a lot of water: about 3 liters per person. Also, if the weather forecast is not good, do not go on the House Rock Valley Road, because several washes are to cross, including Buckskin Wash, which become rivers.

Coyote Buttes North - The Wave

Length and duration of the hike 2,8 miles one way

2 hours

3 to 4 hours

9$ for the lottery

7$ for the permit per person

Because of the heat, start the ride early in the morning to enjoy a bit of freshness. Heat rises very quickly and there is no shade throughout the hike. (5,6 miles roundtrip). In addition, you will arrive around noon at The Wave, best time for photos. Walking is difficult in places because it is in sand.

The trailhead is on the opposite side of the road (East) from the car park. At the beginning, walk in a wash (the same as the one to go to Buckskin Gulch) but we leave it after 0,5 mile and go up on the right on another path. After a few yards, a register is installed in a panel. It must be signed as you enter and will have to be on your return. During our visit in 2007, we had no indication of the path and no indication of direction was reported there. During the draw, a ranger gives a map photo for guidance. Be careful to get landmarks because there is no card for the return. The walk is sometimes on sand, sometimes on gravel or rocks. The last few yards are quite hard because you go up in sand.

Access : access to the car park to The Wave is from US89. From the Glen Canyon Dam, take US89 north for 33 miles. Take the track (easy) to the left just after the sign "House Rock Valley". Attention this track is quite easy to miss because it is in a long curve of US89. Follow this track, named House Rock Valley Road for 8.3 miles to the parking on the right side of the road. You can also arrive from Kanab. From the building of the BLM in Kanab, take US 89 South for 37.5 miles and turn right on the House Rock Valley Road.

Coyote Buttes South

Length and duration of the hike 4,2 miles loop - 2h30

4 to 5 hours

9$ for the lottery

5$ for the permit per person

GPS trail to dowload

Section Cottonwood Cove

The access to the site is done by a sandy trail but it is not very long. Then, free to walk around as you wish. There is no trail. A GPS is useful in order not to get lost. For our part, in september 2017, we made a kind of loop of 4,2 miles and we had a very good overview of the place. In april 2022, we hiked about 3 miles.

Access : between Page and Kanab on US 89, take the House Rock Valley Road for 16.3 miles. Turn left (GPS N36 ° 54'52.3 '' W112 ° 03'05.6 '') on the BLM 1079 for 1.3 miles then continue to the left (GPS N36 ° 54'38.5 '' W112 ° 01'50.1 '') on BLM 1079 for 1.2 miles, then right (GPS N36 ° 55'27.0 "W112 ° 01'02.3") for 2.8 miles and finally left (GPS N36 ° 55'37.9 '' W111 ° 58'10.6 '') for 2.2 miles.