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Hiking Forum The Ultimate Southwest Vacation includes Coyote Buttes, The Wave, Paria Canyon and Vermillion Cliffs National Monument!
Stay in Mt. Carmel Jct., the heart of the parks, and visit
the treasures of the Southwest.
Zion Park 12 miles
Grand Staircase 9 miles
Sand Dunes 11 miles
Dixie Forest 22 miles
Cedar Breaks 45 miles
Red Canyon 47 miles
Coyote Butte 57 miles
Bryce Canyon 60 miles
North Rim 85 miles
Toroweap 90 miles
Plan your Paria Canyon vacation
with our Utah and Arizona maps.
In these pages you will find insiders information on the best
Coyote Buttes hikes. This detailed
guide includes road maps, permits, park maps, pictures, trail beta, backpacking,
history, fees, geology, flora, fauna, campgrounds.
Utah!
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Paria Canyon Directions
From Mount Carmel Junction, drive 17 miles to Kanab. Leave Kanab, drive 40 miles
east on Highway 89. The turn-off is located on the south (right side coming from
Kanab) side of the road. Its between mile markers 25 and 26, at a curve in the
road, at the end of a guard rail. Turn at the unmarked dirt road. This is House
Rock Road.
Cottonwood Teepees in the South Coyote Buttes
has incredible colors and an huge variety of whimsical formations.
South Coyote Buttes Formations
36°57.405N
111°58.793W
5789'
Top of Cottonwood Teepees
36°57.687N
111°59.280W
5933'
Stateline Campground
It's 10 miles to the Stateline Campground from Highway 89. There are only 4 spots,
so if you want to camp, get a spot early. It's first come first use. Two of the
camp sights are in Utah and two are in Arizona. There is no water, but there
are vault toilets.
Coyote Buttes Special Permit Offices
Arizona Strip Field Office: 345 East Riverside Drive St. George 435.688.3200.
Kanab Office: 318 N 100 E 435.644.4600
Paria Contact Station: Located south of Highway 89 between mile post 21 and 22,
between Kanab and Page, Az.
Suggested
Gear: A sturdy pair of shoes are recommend to hike in Paria Canyon. Quality
shoes will help grip the rocks and prevent injury. Experienced hikers like the
Sportiva Exum Ridge. This shoe is great for hiking, bouldering and canyoneering.
Beta: Coordinates, trail and canyoneering information by Zion
Park search and rescue veteran team member, Bo
Beck and www.zionnational-park.com author Tanya Milligan.
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South Coyote Buttes
Paria Canyon contains the spectacular Coyote Buttes Special Management Area.
The notorious sandstone buttes sit at the bottom of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument and the upper section of Arizona's Paria Canyon-Vermillion
Cliffs Wilderness.
Photo Album: Paw
Hole - Cottonwood
Teepees
Trail Map: Trail
Map South Coyote Buttes
Day Hike: Yes. No overnight camping inside the hiking
route.
Trail Distance: Varies. South Coyote Buttes is an exploration
of an area rather than hiking to a destination.
Average hiking time: 4 hours
Trail Usage: Limited to 20 people per day. Group size
6 persons. Dogs can go with a permit. (Dog permits do not count as part of the
daily hiker limit.)
Difficulty: Moderate
Sun Exposure: Full sun. There is no shade and the dark
red rock and sand will reflect the sun and amplify the effects of heat, Carry
at least 1 gallon of water per person in the summer.
Permits:
Required. Limited to 6 in a group. Day use only. Apply for an online permit or
pick them up in person. Choose Coyote Butte South. Cost is $5 per person. Walk-in
permits are available by applying in person for next-day hikes. From mid-March
to mid-November permits will be issued at the Paria Contact Station. From mid-November
to mid-March, the Contact Station is closed and permits are issued at the Kanab
Field office.
Trail Conditions: 4WD is needed to get to the South
Coyote Buttes trailheads. Even with a 4WD the soft sand road is impassable if
wet.
Trailend: Same as trailhead
Best Season: Spring and Fall. Hot in the summer, when
the weather cooperates this is a good winter hike.
Off the beaten path: Yes
Restrooms: Vault toilet at the Wire Pass Trailhead
and the Stateline Campground.
South Coyote Buttes
The fragile and more remote South Coyote Buttes is as magnificent as the North,
but it's lacking the popularity of the Wave. In Coyote Buttes, two-hundred
million years of twisted sandstone has been contorted into caverns, arches, waves,
domes and thin, fragile fins of rock. Be careful not to walk on the fragile rock
formations of South Coyote Buttes. Unlike the harder layers in the north section,
the south has thin fins of fragile rock throughout. Walking on them breaks the
fins, destroying much of the unique beauty of the southern section of the buttes.
House Rock Road
Continue past the Wire Pass Trailhead (8.3 miles from Highway 89) to the Utah
- Arizona state line. This is the border of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument in Utah and the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona.
Continue on House Rock Road. The next trailhead is Notch, (unmarked) an alternate
route into "The Wave." The turn-off for South Coyote Buttes is 17 miles
(unmarked) from Highway 89 and its on the left side of the road. If you get to
the Honeymoon Trail sign, (18 miles) you have gone too far.
Cottonwood Cove Access
A high clearance 4WD is required for this sometimes rocky and very sandy
road. The first landmark is Lone Tree Reservoir located at .2 miles past the
turn-off. Don't expect water there often, but a lone Juniper tree sits at the
dry hole. Shortly after the tree is a welcome sign to Vermillion Cliffs National
Monument, then farther down the road a sign for Coyote Buttes.
Paw Hole Trailhead
The parking area for the Paw Hole route is 2.5 miles. If the roads are dry,
it might be possible for a high clearance
2WD to make it to the trailhead. Past the trailhead 4WD is a must. The road
is lined with junipers, sage brush and purple, red, orange and white wild flowers.
Cottonwood Teepee Trailhead
Continue past the Paw Hole parking area. It is 2.5 miles to the Paw Hole parking
lot, then another 3.25 miles to the windmill junction. It is another 2.5 miles
to the Cottonwood Teepee parking area. The distance from the turnoff at the
House Rock Road to the Cottonwood Teepee parking is 8.25 miles. The road at one
time went farther, but its been washed out now and travel farther is impossible.
Leave any gates as you found them please.
Cottonwood Teepees
Hike over the desert sand to the foremost rock formation to the left (northwest)
side of the road. There is no established trail. Be sure not to step on the areas
with fragile fins. These delicate formations found throughout the South Coyote
Buttes, break easily and permanently. Cottonwood Spring is below the formations,
in the wash with a single Cottonwood Tree. Both the North and South
Teepees can be seen at a distance from the Cottonwood Teepees. Be sure to take
a camera and lots of film! Spectacularly distorted rock formations with fragile
windswept layers prevail like an elegant layered dessert. The vivid display of
colors is courtesy of generous mineral deposits. Rounded domes and flat capped
formations fill the desert. Fossilized dunes of sand show off a wonder of weird
patterns.
Cottonwood Teepee Exploration
North and west from the parking area are large hoodoos or teepees. Hike toward
the Cottonwood Teepees. To the west - northwest is Cottonwood Cove and to the
north are the North and South Teepees. The rock at the Cottonwood Teepees is
exceptionally delicate so take care not to step in those areas where it will
break.
The Queen
Head back to the parking area and beyond to the grove of hoodoos. A rounded,
towering hoodoo, dubbed, unofficially, as the Queen, is the main show in the
sandstone formations to the right of the road. The name depicts the rock's similarity
to a chess piece.
South Coyote Buttes Paw
Hole
North Coyote Buttes The
Wave
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