The Wave in Arizona, is a very special place located in Coyote Buttes North area just over the Utah/Arizona border. In fact, you start the hike in Utah on the Wire Pass Trailhead. The Wave is such a special place that the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) limits the number of people that can visit this spectacular formation to 64 people per day. In fact, you have to get a permit to hike to The Wave through a lottery. Permits through the lottery can be done in person or online. We had better luck trying online, in fact we got permits our first try online, but we were very lucky and that is not the norm. We tried in person the year before, but we leave empty handed. For more information on applying and to apply for permits, check out The Recreation.Gov page. The hike is about 6 miles round trip and has a few places with inclines and declines that can get slippery due to sand and steepness. There are a few signs along the way, but BLM provides you with a map and directions from the trailhead to The Wave when they send you your permit(s). They do this to cut down on people wondering about trying to get to The Wave without permits. In fact, there is a fine up to $10,000 USD, a month in jail, and the possibility of being permanently banned from BLM and all National Parks for hiking The Wave without a permit. And yes, they do have people out there checking for passes. For more in depth information on The Wave, go to The Wave Info page. This was an amazing experience and I recommend you apply online and keep applying for permits until you get your opportunity to experience The Wave.
The night before our hike and the night after, we stayed in Kanab, UT, which is about an hour drive to the trailhead. We left the hotel around 05:30am so that by the time we arrived at the trailhead it would be around dawn. When we arrived, there was a few other people who already started the hike. There is a path to follow at the start of the trailhead, but after half a mile or so there is no longer a trail to follow and you have to use the map. We got sidetracked at one point. We were supposed to hiking up over a saddle, but we weren’t paying attention and flowed a dryed out creek bed instead. This side track cost us about 40 mins or so by the time we got back where we were supposed to be. There are markers to help keep you on the correct path, but they are spaced out and you need to keep an eye out for them. Once we made it to The Wave, there was a handful of people there, but that changed quickly as it got later in the day. As you would expect, the best time for taking pictures is early morning and later in the evening before sunset.
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