“The Wave”
Coyote Buttes North, aka “The Wave“, is a highly photogenic geologic marvel located at the border of Arizona & Utah. It is believed to be formed over millions of years ago due to desert sand dunes compacting and forming striped sandstone. It was relatively unknown until a Windows Wallpaper, and a German movie “Faszination Natur” featured it. It is now one of the most popular spots for landscape photographers. In order to protect it’s fragile nature, only 20 people are allowed to hike up this spot each day, 10 through the online lottery, and 10 others through the Walk-In lottery. Below is an account of my experience doing “The Wave“.
The Lottery
It was a stifling hot July afternoon in Austin, Texas when I sat down sipping my coffee, staring bewildered at an email declaring me the winner of an online lottery to the ‘The Wave‘. In normal circumstances, this would have been cause for rapture & celebration – it was only my first time ever applying for the online lottery, and at the time I was applying, there was a less than a 7% odds of winning it.
However, these were not normal circumstances. Just a couple of hours earlier, I had received two back-to-back emails (lest there be any strand of hope left remaining) which with equal certainty, declared I had unfortunately lost the online lottery! I knew something wasn’t right.
It took the overlords at the BLM a full 7 days to clear up the confusion. My premonition turned out to be depressingly right. In an effort to improve reliability & availability of their servers, BLM moved their online lottery program to three separate servers to create redundancy. From what I can gather is a spectacular rookie IT error, their lottery program was run thrice, consequently declaring 930 of the 4700 online applicants winners for the month of October 2011, when there should only be 310.
Not one to give up easily, I applied again in a few days, this time for the month of November, 2011. It also helps that each online lottery application thankfully costs just $5. The online lottery runs on the first of every month for a hike date that is a full four months away. On August 1, I finally received the good news! I had won the online lottery to hike the Coyote Buttes North on Thanksgiving day with another friend.
The Hike
After winning the online lottery, you have until two weeks (the 15th of the month) to pay the $7 per person hiking fee. If you do not pay up in time, your tickets will be forfeit. The Permits and the instructions with photographs arrive via mail later.
“Why instructions with photographs“, you may ask?
The Coyote Buttes North or “The Wave” is a 3 mile hike from the trailhead & is managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), and not the NPS (National Park System). Unlike the NPS, the BLM prides in keeping the land it manages perfectly remote and wild, and without any development for tourism. In other words, there are no markers, signs, arrows, or anything to point to where the Wave is located. Even if a tourist leaves behind a cairn (rocks stacked atop each other) for remembrance, BLM rangers are known to dismantle them.
The instructions that arrive via mail, with photographs of landmarks at set intervals on the hike are your only map & guide. In fact, with just 20 people allowed per day to “The Wave” (10 via online lottery, and 10 through Walk-in lottery the day before the hike), you might be the only person here when you hike.
The trailhead for “The Wave” is the Wire Pass Trailhead, accessed via a 10 mile dirt & gravel road called the ‘House Rock Valley Road’ from US 89, midway between Kanab, UT and Page, AZ. The trailhead itself is located in Utah, while “The Wave” is located just past the border in Arizona. This also forms the trailhead to the popular Buckskin Gulch nearby.
The hike itself was uneventful. We saw just 4 other people the entire time we were there. For a seasoned hiker, this hike does not pose any issues. However, for the inexperienced, do be cautious. Your view of the milestones going in, is very different from your view hiking out. It helps if you periodically stop and look back, and maybe take photos. You will be in the desert all day long; sun exposure is high here and there are no facilities for water. Do not forget to pack ample water for the hike.
Useful Info
General Tips
- Winters are less sought after. Your chances of winning on a walk-in lottery on Friday in Winter is higher since the draw is held for Saturday, Sunday and Monday collectively on Friday. However, at the same token, snow conditions can inhibit your chances of taking photos of “The Wave”.
- The trailhead is accessible via a 8 mile dirt and gravel road called the ‘House Rock Valley Road’ that is accessible via two wheel drive vehicles. However, rain conditions could make the road impassable, or require a 4WD vehicle.
- There are no facilities in this trail. Carrying supplies, especially water, to last the hike is a must.
Online Lottery
- Lottery is held on the first of every month for hiking permits four months out. The Table below has some useful information for you to consider.
- It costs $5 for the online lottery application (cost is per application, not per person).
- The max group size cannot exceed 6 people.
- You can only turn in one application per month, and cannot be on other people’s application for that month.
- If you win, you have until the 15th of the month to pay $7 per person for the hiking permit. If you do not pay by the 15th, you forfeit your win.
- Click here to apply for the online lottery.
| For a Hiking permit between | Apply for online lottery between | Online Lottery is run on | If you win, pay for hiking permit by |
| January 1- January 31 | September 1 – September 30 | October 1 | October 15 |
| February 1 – February 28 | October 1 – October 31 | November 1 | November 15 |
| March 1 – March 31 | November 1 – November 30 | December 1 | December 15 |
| April 1 – April 30 | December 1 – December 31 | January 1 | January 15 |
| May 1 – May 31 | January 1- January 31 | February 1 | February 15 |
| June 1 – June 30 | February 1 – February 28 | March 1 | March 15 |
| July 1 – July 31 | March 1 – March 31 | April 1 | April 15 |
| August 1 – August 31 | April 1 – April 30 | May 1 | May 15 |
| September 1 – September 30 | May 1 – May 31 | June 1 | June 15 |
| October 1 – October 31 | June 1 – June 30 | July 1 | July 15 |
| November 1 – November 30 | July 1 – July 31 | August 1 | August 15 |
| December 1 – December 31 | August 1 – August 31 | September 1 | September 15 |
Walk-In Lottery
Contact:
- If you do not win the online application, you can still try the Walk-in lottery held the day before the hike.
- From March 15 to November 15 permits are issued every day of the week excluding national holidays.
- During the winter months i.e. November 16-March 14), weekend and Monday permits are issued on Friday.
- The BLM office where the lottery is held is located in Kanab, UT and the draw is held at 9AM Mountain Time. Here’s an example of how the draw could go:
- The first number is chosen and it appears to be a party of 6. That wipes out 6 of the available 10 slots right away. Four more left.
- Next number chosen is also a party of 6. Since only 4 slots left, the party has to decide if they want to drop 2 people out of their group of 6, or forfeit. The party decides to try another day, and stick together.
- Next number chosen is a group of 4. Lottery is now complete.
- If you do not get chosen, you can come back and try again the next day. BLM will save your application for a day, so no need to fill out another application.
Trailhead from Kanab, UT
The trailhead is accessed via a 8 mile dirt road off of US 89, midway between Kanab, UT and Page, AZ.
Kanab to Wire Pass Trailhead
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