How to get in02 pathsLottery
The Wave
Coyote Buttes North day permits are a monthly advanced lottery plus a tough daily draw.
Day trip
HikeModeratePhysical effort · Estimate
Moderate — A solid outing — fitness helps, but it is not alpine epics.
Short desert miles, but heat, sand, and navigation matter.
Editorial estimate of the typical trip — not lottery hardness, and not an Official agency grade.
Good fitDesert hikers willing to play both advance and day-before lotteries for a short, fragile hike.
Usually notGroups that need a guaranteed date or cannot hike in heat and sand.
Lottery type
Advanced Lottery
How you get in
No % yet
Agency has not published odds
BLM awards up to 48 people / 12 groups per day via Advanced Lottery; daily lottery adds more. No agency-published overall success % yet — we will not invent one.
When to apply
Advanced lottery (apply all month for dates 4 months ahead)
Official timing
Apply during calendar month M for entry month M+4. Drawing ~1st of next month at 9am MT (BLM).
We checked 2026-09-22
The managing agency (and Recreation.gov when the product lives there) is authoritative for dates, fees, and whether registration is open. We summarize — always confirm on the official page before you apply.
If you miss this window, try these instead:
- Daily lottery (geofence)
- Coyote Buttes South / nearby Vermilion Cliffs hikes
Lottery type
Daily Lottery
How you get in
No % yet
Agency has not published odds
Up to 16 people / 4 groups per day via Daily Lottery (BLM).
When to apply
Daily lottery (2 days before)
Official timing
Apply 6am–6pm local on a mobile device inside the geofence, two days before the hike.
We checked 2026-09-22
The managing agency (and Recreation.gov when the product lives there) is authoritative for dates, fees, and whether registration is open. We summarize — always confirm on the official page before you apply.
If you miss this window, try these instead:
- Coyote Buttes South / nearby Vermilion Cliffs hikes
Backup options
Nearby or alternate ways in if these draws miss.
- Daily lottery (geofence)
- Coyote Buttes South / nearby Vermilion Cliffs hikes
Field notes
All field notesPlaybooks for the confusing parts of applying — not live calendars.
- Party size and group capsThe Wave lottery group size — and other daily people caps
- Day-before lotteries and rolling releasesWhat a day-before lottery is — and how rolling timed entry releases work
- Desert and Sierra when you have one weekDesert day-hike lottery or Sierra overnight permit — what fits one week off
- How to read a place pageHow to read a park permit page before you apply on Recreation.gov
Dates, group rules, a backup, entry day — the apply checklist is under Before you go
The managing agency (and Recreation.gov when the product lives there) is authoritative for dates, fees, and whether registration is open. We summarize — always confirm on the official page before you apply. BLM / Recreation.gov Coyote Buttes North; advanced + daily lottery mechanics are official. Historical odds often summarized by BLM — confirm before marking confirmed. About Official / Estimate / Not confirmed yet