What Is The Coyote Buttes “Control Tower” And Where Is It?
The Coyote Buttes South “Control Tower” is a wild sandstone formation in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona. It is in a remote section of the monument that is difficult to get to. It requires a special permit that didn’t used to be terribly hard to get back in 2015 when this photo was taken but may be much more difficult to get now.
This formation is located in the Coyote Buttes South section of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. In order to get there, you will need to drive some roads that can be really gnarly and require good driving skills through deep sand and rocky roads or you will need to be prepared to park farther away and hike through those sandy roads. If you’ll be parking and hiking to this area you’ll probably need to be prepared to hike 10 miles or more. There are tour guides that operate in this area but they’ll charge you at least $200 per person for the day.
What Is It Like To Travel To And Photograph The Coyote Buttes Control Tower?
The trip to Coyote Buttes South is probably made mostly by people who try to get a permit for The Wave and do not succeed. The Wave has gained worldwide fame over the years. Every hiker, outdoor adventurer, blogger and worthless “influencer” wants to go there. More fame and more demand for permits to The Wave begets more demand for permits to The Wave. The drive and the hike to The Wave is relatively easy compared to the drive and hike to Coyote Buttes South.
If you want to go to Coyote Buttes South you’ll first want to determine if you can go and if you really want to go. Do you want to spend $200+ per person to take a tour out to Coyote Buttes South or want to end up hiking 10 miles or more to avoid having to spend $200+ on a tour? Do you want to do either of those things for an area that is not The Wave or do you want to spend the time and money doing something else in the area like a tour of Upper Antelope Canyon that is a very scenic and much easier hike?
If you do want to endure the tour expense or the long hike then you’ll need to try to get a permit for Coyote Buttes South. There are walk-in next day permits and permits offered several months in advance. They are easier to get than permits for The Wave but as noted above, Coyote Buttes South is on a whole different level of difficulty or expense than the hike to The Wave.
Coyote Buttes South is accessed from a few different places all of which branch off of House Rock Valley Road. House Rock Valley road is just about in between Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah. You’ll want to stay in either one of those towns if you plan to go search for the Control Tower in Coyote Buttes South. If you are more adventurous, you can probably find a place to sleep in your car or camp closer to Coyote Buttes South but you cannon spend the night in Coyote Buttes South. The permit is good from 12am to 12am so if you went in after midnight I guess you could technically be in there for most of the night.
The Coyote Buttes South area is fairly large and has cool formations including the Control Tower all over the place. If you have time to wander around, you can find lots of them. One benefit of coughing up the $200+ to take a tour is that the tour guide will be able to more efficiently guide you through different areas and formations that may be of interest to photograph.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of The Control Tower In Coyote Buttes South?
Once you figure out if this adventure is for you, you figure out where you will spend the night and are lucky enough to get a permit you are ready to embark on the journey to Coyote Buttes South! Tour guides don’t generally get you there for sunrise and since I opted for the shoe leather express option and wasn’t gong to hike all this in the dark I didn’t get there for sunrise or stay for sunset either.
Assuming you won’t be there for sunrise or sunset, that is perfectly OK. The unique landscape and the sandstone formations that decorate it are plentiful. The landscape is amazing everywhere you look. To get a cool wall art quality photo of The Control Tower you just have to find it. If you wander around enough, chances are you will come across it. Alternatively you can probably find the GPS coordinates in a book somewhere.
To get beautiful shots, all you have to do is hike, keep your eyes open and shoot. If you take your time and a tripod you’ll be able to come up with endless compositions and probably unique perspectives on what you see out there. If you can go on a partly cloudy day, some clouds in your photos can add more depth and texture to your photos. If not, the landscape along will provide plenty of opportunities for great photos.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing The Control Tower At Coyote Buttes South?
When deciding what camera gear to take to photograph the Control Tower and the rest of Coyote Buttes South weight may be a primary concern depending on how you will get there.
Ideally, you’ll want to have a decent DSLR or mirrorless camera with a lens range that goes from as wide as 16mm or 17mm up to 100mm or more. For more flexibility you may want to take some longer lenses. In my opinion, 200mm is likely the longest lens you will have any use for. If you don’t plan to make any large prints or will just be posting to social media then something as simple as a cel phone or basic point and shoot camera could be sufficient.
Anytime I go on a photo excursion I ALWAYS take a tripod. It makes me slow down, take more time to frame up shots and ensures that the camera will be stable and the photos nice and sharp.
The Coyote Buttes South landscape is vast. It is a place where panoramic shots can help capture the full landscape. If you’ve got older panoramic photo gear designed for DSLR cameras like the heavy duty metal panoramic head from Nodal Ninja that I have, that will be A LOT of weight to carry in. If you are taking a tour it will be easier and more practical to take this type of heavy duty gear in. When I went I took a Canon 5D MK III, a large carbon Induro tripod, a 17-40mm lens, a 24-105mm lens, a 50mm lens and a 70-200mm lens. That was on top of tons of water and other supplies. Admittedly, that was A LOT of weight to hike in and out with but I wanted to make sure I had whatever gear would help get the best quality photos and files while out there.
Whenever you go, figure out what your photography goals are, how much weight you are prepared to haul depending on how you’ll get there and if you want to be able to get high quality panoramic shots. Once you determine that, take the best gear you can! Don’t forget extra camera batteries and memory cards!
What Is The Story Behind This Photo Of The Control Tower At Coyote Buttes South?
The first time I was out in the Kanab/Page area of northern Arizona and Southern Utah I lucked out and got a permit to The Wave. 12 people showed up for 10 permits and I was lucky enough to get one of those permits. Over the years I’ve been to The Wave 6 times. That was out of probably at least 50 in advance and in person entries for a permit to The Wave. I did get a permit to hike The Wave on this trip in 2015 but also got a bunch of permits to go explore Coyote Buttes South.
When out in Kanab, Utah trying to get permits for Coyote Buttes I always tried to avoid spending money on lodging. Sometimes I’d sleep in my car at the “truck stop” in Kanab right across the street from the BLM office. Other times I’d sleep in random spots on BLM land. When I needed a break from sleeping in the car, I’d stay at the Grand Canyon Motel in Fredonia, Arizona.
The Grand Canyon Motel has motel rooms as well as what they call a hostel. The hotel rooms are OK while the “hostel” is more like a dilapidated migrant worker building. It was pretty dirty, not very well maintained but did have a functioning stove, heat and shower. The “hostel” was super cheap so I put up with the grossness so I’d have a bed, kitchen, shower and wifi. Since staying there I’ve always referred to it as the “cat pee hostel”.
When you pull up to the Grand Canyon Motel and approach the lobby door the smell of car pee was all around. Upon entering the lobby, the cat pee smell became overwhelming. It was like they filled nebulizers meant for essential oils with cat pee and turned them on high in the lobby. It was hard to keep a straight face. When you’re on an extended road trip and have months of travel expenses ahead sometimes you just have to suck it up if you want a bed and a shower after sleeping in the car for weeks on end. That’s what I did, just suck it up.
In the winter they close the “hostel” part but since it was spring the “hostel” was open this time. It was gross and dirty and the grounds still spelled like cat pee. There were some spring storms rolling through so it was good just to have a roof over my head that wasn’t the car or a tent.
While watching the weather from my humble abode, I picked a number of days to try to get permits to Coyote Buttes South. There wasn’t much demand for them so I was able to get back to back permits 2 or three times. If you think you’ll be able to get permits two days in a row then you can get one permit, go back the next day and get another permit. With two permits you can get a late start the first day, sleep somewhere outside the permit area but close to Coyote Buttes South that night. That saves 100 or so miles of driving and makes it possible to get a really early start the next day.
My entry point was at Paw Hole. After talking to the BLM folks, it sounded like I’d be able to drive partway up the road to Paw Hole, find a spot to pull off the road and cut the normal 2.5 mile hike in by a bit. That’s what I did. Since this would be a LOOONNG day, I carried more than a gallon of water. This was in addition to some food, four camera lenses, two DSLR cameras and an Induro carbon tripod.
I’d seen the “Control Tower” in some book somewhere along the way. That was one of the primary formations I wanted to get photos of. The photo highlighted in this photo is a panoramic shot taken with a Canon 5D MK II resting on a big heavy metal Nodal Ninja panoramic head sitting on the Induro tripod. The lens used was a Canon 70mm-200mm zoom which is also very heavy.
Fortunately the weather was pretty mild so the 10ish mile rugged hike wasn’t unbearable with all the weight of water and camera gear. It was awesome to find this formation I’d only seen in a book somewhere. There were TONS of other cool and bizarre rock formations out there too.
After spending a full day out there, I made my way back to Paw Hole a bit before dark. From there the sandy road back to the car was a bit of an exhausting hike at the end of the day. The deep sand can be tough to walk in for any sort of long distance. Fortunately it was mostly flat to downhill. Shortly after darkness fell, I was back at the car, exhausted but fulfilled and looking forward to another day of adventure around the Page/Kanab/Escalante area of southern Utah and northern Arizona.
In What Formats Is This Photo Print Of The South Coyote Buttes Control Tower Available?
This “Control Tower” print is available in sizes up to 108×36 inches on some materials. If you’d like a really large print it comes on a variety of papers and canvas in sizes up to 108×36. It comes on metal in sizes up to 84×28 and acrylic and wood prints are available in sizes up to 96×32 inches.
If you’ll be hanging it in an area with bright direct natural or artificial light then a matte finish on canvas or paper would be you best bet. If you’ll be hanging it in an area with more diffused light, the matte prints will look great there too. If you’d like a more shiny metallic finish then a glossy paper or canvas finish, metal or acrylic print will look great in an area with diffused lighting.
If you’re interested more in home decor then throw pillows, shower curtains or super soft Sherpa fleece blankets make great less expensive choices.
If you’d prefer something to use or wear on a daily basis there are a variety of apparent options available including t-shirts and sweatshirts, canvas tote bags perfect for grocery shopping and phone cases to decorate and protect your new cel phone.
If you’d prefer a brain teaser, there are 500 and 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles available as well.
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