What Is “The Wave” And Where Is It?
The Wave is a pretty awesome sandstone formation in the desert southwest in the state of Arizona. It is located in the Coyote Buttes North section of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument that spans Arizona and Utah. It might be considered one of the wonders of the United States. Wind and water erosion teamed up to create this awesome and pretty unique sandstone formation.
The Wave is located in a pretty remote section of Arizona and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. From the town or Page, Arizona or Kanab, Utah you’ll need to drive along highway 89 and turn down House Rock Valley Road. From the parking area on House Rock Valley Road, it is about a 3 mile hike out to The Wave.
Even 10 or 12 years ago, hardly anyone knew The Wave was there. Today everyone knows it is there. The hike out to The Wave requires a permit. Those permits are hard to get. They are also getting very expensive to get thanks to ever increasing “lottery fees” that Booz Allen collects from anyone who wants to try to get a permit for The Wave.
What Is It Like To Travel To And Photograph The Wave?
If you want to go to The Wave, you’ll need to get a permit. There have been more people who want to go to The Wave than permits available for years. There is now a lottery for permits. One lottery offers permits four months in advance and a second offers next day permits for The Wave. It has always been difficult to get permits for The Wave but the BLM in combination with Recreation.gov and Booz Allen Hamilton continue to steal more and more money in “lottery entry fees” from people who want to go to The Wave.
In order to get a permit you’ll need to enter one of the two lotteries mentioned above. Your chances of winning are almost zero and you’ll have to pay $9.00 every time you enter the lottery. This lottery fee keeps going up and up and up. If you entered enough times to win, then on average it would probably cost you anywhere up to $500 in these “lottery fees” to get a permit to hike to The Wave. Booz Allen is becoming the Ticketmaster of the US National Parks.
Assuming you can get a permit, you’ll probably spend the night somewhere between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. There are plenty of hotels and more going up all the time. There are campgrounds around and lots of BLM land. This means there are plenty of places to camp or sleep in your car for free. The BLM Stateline Campground is one of those places but in recent years it has become a zoo.
Ideally you’ll want to get to The Wave parking area at Wire Pass fairly early to maximize the amount of time you have to spend out in the Coyote Buttes North permit area. Lots of people just hike out to The Wave and back for a quick selfie but there are all kinds of awesome sights and rock formations out there if you spend a whole day out there hiking and exploring.
If you get a permit, before you head down to the Wave, you’ll want to check the conditions of House Rock Valley Road to see if it is even passable. If it has rained recently, it may be impassable and you may have to abort your hike to The Wave. Getting stuck on that road is no joke. When dry, it is usually passable with a regular passenger car if driven slowly and carefully. When the ground is saturated, even a high clearance 4wd vehicle may get stuck on it. Check with the BLM rangers when you pick up your permit. They should be able to tell you what to expect.
The hike to The Wave is about 6 miles round trip. The terrain is rugged and a mix of rolling sandstone terrain and sand dunes. There are some markers to help you find your way but it is nothing like a paved trail that you’d encounter at most state or national parks. The BLM will provide you with a list of landmarks to look for as you hike out to The Wave and back.
To prepare for the hike you’ll want to carry a lot of water with you and have more in your car for after the hike. It is a good idea to carry some survival gear with you in case something happens out there or you get lost and end up spending the night in the desert wilderness or Coyote Buttes North. Bring some food as well. Though you might not often hear about them, people do die on the hike to The Wave more frequently than you might imagine. Hiking to The Wave in the dead of summer can be and is deadly many years.
The hike out and back is moderately strenuous. The amount of time you can spend out there and the area you will be able to explore will depend on your fitness, the weather on the day of the hike and how much water and food you bring. It sucks to have to carry a gallon or more of water on a such a hike but if you want to spend the full day exploring Coyote Buttes North you should bring that much or more.
Though the number of daily permits for The Wave has increased in recent years, they are still fairly limited. It isn’t the same “wilderness” experience it was 10 years ago but is till pretty good despite the increase in daily permits and people out there.
In addition to water and food, be sure to bring extra camera batteries and memory cards if you will spend the whole day out there and not just hike out to The Wave and back.
Once you’ve had your fill out at The Wave, you’ve got a 3 mile hike back that is fairly rugged and not that well marked. The lighting near sunset can be pretty awesome out at The Wave but you’ll need to balance the photos you might get at sunset with the increased difficulty of finding your way back through the desert to your car. In addition to heat stroke, people die from falling off cliffs out at The Wave. Be sure to bring a flashlight or at least have a flashlight app on your phone to help find your way back.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of The Wave In Coyote Buttes North?
All it takes to get a cool photo of The Wave is to get there. The Wave itself is best photographed in afternoon light in the summer. That’s when you get a photo like the one here. The Wave is in full sun and there are no shadows across it unless there are clouds in the sky.
Even at The Wave formation, there are TONS of different compositions. In this photo, it look like there is a bit of an ocean wave or some surf coming in from the left side of the fame. When you are out there, do lots of exploring, take lots of photos and come up with some unique compositions!
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing The Wave At Coyote Buttes North?
Literally any kind of camera will get a good or even great shot of The Wave. Just hike out there, pull out your phone or camera and take a photo. If you want files that will make for great wall art prints you’ll want something with a larger sensor like a DSLR or a mirrorless camera. For either of those you’ll want lenses that will go from as wide as 16mm or 17mm to around 100mm or more depending on the compositions you come up with.
The area outside of the actual Wave formation is massive and can lend itself well to panoramic photos. If you have the gear and don’t mind carrying the extra weight of a panoramic head and a tripod your photo collection may be enhanced if you haul that gear with you out to The Wave.
What Is The Story Behind This Photo Of The Wave At Coyote Buttes North?
The first time I went to The Wave was way back in 2011. Thirteen people showed up for the lottery and ten permits were awarded. On every subsequent trip to the Kanab, Utah or Page, Arizona area of Utah and Arizona, I went back to the Kanab BLM office to try to get another permit to hike out to The Wave. Back in 2013 when this photo was taken, there were decent sized crowds that would show up for the in person next day lottery but over the years I did manage to get four more walk in permits for The Wave. That was probably out of more than 50 tries.
At this point in the 10 year road trip, I was on a tight budget. For the most part I always was. In 2010 I got stuck in a massive snowstorm going from Cheyenne, Wyoming Motel 6 to Sandy Utah. The snow was piling up and visibility over the mountain passes was near zero. I had to get off the highway. The nearest exit had only a convenience store so I had to sleep in the car. It wasn’t the most comfortable way to go but it was free. It was at that point that a light bulb went off in my head. If I could sleep in the car, then I could go ANYWHERE for just gas and food money. If you can sleep for free, that saves anywhere from $750 to $3,000 per month or more!
On this trip to The Wave and the surrounding area I slept in the car in random spots around Page, Arizona, Kanab, Utah and Escalante. While trying to get permits for The Wave at the Kanab BLM office, I’d often sleep in what Kanab considered a truck stop. It was nothing like you would find along I-70 but there was overnight parking for 5-10 trucks. I’d pull in around closing time, get some food at the truck stop and pick a spot in the back that wouldn’t block or take up a spot for a truck.
It took multiple in person lottery entries to get a permit for The Wave and I spent multiple nights sleeping at the truck stop there. The in person lotteries were part of the excitement. Everyone would pile into this little BLM visitor center and fill out an entry form. Once the entry deadline passed there would inevitably be a few more people who showed up late because of the time difference between Arizona and Utah in that area. Sometimes they would just have a hard time finding the place. They’d be quite disappointed that they’d missed the lottery deadline.
Once the lottery was set to begin, the BLM staff would put a bunch of wooden balls in one of those round wire balls with a hole for a ball to fall out. They’d spit the wire container until a ball fell out and announce the number. That lottery ball brought some dreams to life and crushed many more depending on what balls/numbers were picked each morning. For some people, one daily drawing was their only chance to get to The Wave. I had the luxury of spending as many days there as it took to win and win I did!
Once I got the permit, I filled out the paperwork, sat through the presentation and got the instructions and rules for hiking to The Wave. The rest of the day was free to explore the area. I’d hang out until the pizza buffet at Lotsa Motsa opened up and stuff my face for $7.00 or so and then head out to hike and shoot.
After a full day of hiking, shooting and exploring I filled up all my water bottles (usually at least a few gallons), made sure I had plenty of food and headed down House Rock Valley Road to spend the night sleeping somewhere down there so I could get an early start hiking out to The Wave.
After a fairly cold and mildly comfortable night sleeping in the drivers seat of the Subaru Outback, I got up early for the hike out to The Wave. Regardless of the time of year, it is a good idea to get really hydrated before starting the hike and to take a TON of water with you. Sometimes there is water to filter out at The Wave but often not. I started drinking water as soon as I woke up and continued to drink and drink and drink until my urine was clear. That’s more than a half gallon of water before even starting the hike.
At the time I was living on a diet that consisted of Pop-Tarts and Beffaroni or something similar. Fast energy with little to no prep and no mess was the goal. I downed a bunch of Pop-Tarts and was on my way.
At this point in the road trip I wasn’t into panoramic photograph yet. I was carrying a Canon 5D MK II and an assortment of lenses from 17-40mm all the way up to 400mm in case there was anything off in the distance to shoot. In all the trips out the The Wave and Coyote Buttes South, I’ve never seen anything other than a cow. There is really no need to bring long lenses on the hike.
With a TON of camera gear, A TON of water, some survival stuff and a bit of food I was off. At this point a maximum of 20 people were allowed to hike out to The Wave on any given day. Since this wasn’t my first trip out there and I was somewhat familiar with the hike, the terrain and The Wave itself I did a bit of wandering on the way out to explore areas off the main “path” out there is you can call it that.
A you can see in the photo, it was a clear, crisp, winter day with lots of sun. I’d hoped for some clouds to help balance out the photos and add more texture in the skies but it was not to be on this day. In this particular shot, it looks like the beach surf is rolling in from the left toward The Wave itself. Even though there is just one Wave formation out there, the sandstone textures and formations around it offer up lots of different opportunities to capture unique variations of The Wave if you look for different compositions.
Since this was a short winter day I didn’t wander too far from the main Wave formation but did wander around some. On every visit to The Wave I make my way over to what I call The Dragon and take some photos there. Sunset if the best time for that if the sun hits it directly.
Once the sun was almost down, I started the hike back. The hike back to the car always seems more difficult when it comes to route finding than the hike out to The Wave. Shortly after sunset I made it back to the car, guzzled some water, had some Beefaroni and stayed out in the wilderness for the night.
In What Formats Is This Photo Print Of The Wave Available?
This photo print of The Wave is available in sizes up to 40×60 inches on a variety of materials including paper, canvas, metal, acrylic and wood. If you’ll be hanging the print in an area with diffused lighting then something with a shiny or metallic surface would work well. This would include metal, acrylic or a glossy or metallic paper or canvas. If the print will be hanging in an area with brighter direct lighting then a paper or canvas print with a matte finish would work best. Matte prints look great almost anywhere while the more shiny or reflective prints look much better in areas with diffused lighting.
If you’d like something more along the lines of home decor, shower curtains, Sherpa fleece blankets, throw pillows and even towels can make excellent choices.
Canvas tote bags, cel phone cases and apparel make excellent choices if you want to have something wearable of handy for grocery shopping when the stores get rid of the plastic bags.
If you’re more interest in puzzles, this print is available on jigsaw puzzles that come in 500 and 1,000 piece sizes.
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