Coyote Buttes North ♦

August 15, 2017 tarannosaurus

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Arizona → Coyote Buttes North

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona

Distance: varies depending on sites visited

Elevation Gain: varies, can be substantial

Time Required: 1-4 hours, in addition to the time spent hiking to and visiting The Wave

Red Tape/Notes: Permits for the area are awarded based on a lottery system, and they’re not easy to obtain, since this area is where The Wave is located. Apply for a permit here (4 months in advance), or you can show up in person (8:30am at the BLM office) for the last-minute walk-in lottery if you’re going to be in the area anyway (these permits are issued for the following day).

What’s Nearby?: The Wave

Most people who get a permit for The Wave will simply hike out to The Wave, say “oooh aaaah” and take some pictures, then leave. All these people are seriously missing out. There’s a ton of other great stuff nearby if you’re willing to do some additional hiking – and why wouldn’t you? You’re not likely to get to come back all that often seeing as you had to ransom your first-born to get here in the first place. Tom actually liked some of the other places more than The Wave (particularly The Alcove…I believe his precise words were “This hike should be called The Alcove Hike which happens to pass by The Wave“). Here’s a brief run-down of some of the other things in the area (for specific details on how to get to these places, check out this great website which gives additional details on these and other places and gps coordinates for all of them, along with tips on how best to photograph the spots – it’s super helpful!):

Dinosaur Tracks – again rather like a treasure hunt; I love searching for tracks and it’s so exciting when you find them!