The Wave, AZ

The Wave is one of the most unique and beautiful places I’ve been. It’s also very remote so it's not so easy to get there. The difficulty is not the trail by itself, but getting the permit. So, finally the day came…let’s see if it’s as gorgeous as we think it will be. December 28th, the day we finally saw Wave...my dream come true. Let's start from the beginning!

We stayed in the hotel (Holiday Inn Express) in Kanab. We didn’t want to lose a minute of day light, so we hit the road pretty early (around 6 am). On the way to the Wave we were able to admire the beautiful sunrise above the southern Utah desert. After driving for 40 minutes, east route 89 we bear left into House Rock Road. The road goes south and is off-road. At this point, we were happy that we had a Jeep Cherokee. Any other 4 wheel drive would be good as well. The road to the Wave is just the beginning. If you want to explore Coyote Buttes South you would be driving a lot on the unpaved roads. In both parts of the park you need 4 wheel drive, an experienced driver, and high clearance that are a must.

After 8.3 miles we got to the Wire Pass parking lot. Surprisingly, we were the last ones. We knew that, probably we wouldn't be the first ones, but definitely. we didn't think we would be the last ones. No wonder, this region you can explore for hours so, get there as early as possible.

There are two trails from the Wire Pass parking lot. One goes to the Wave, the other to Buckskin Gulch canyon, that is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the southwest United States. There are no marked trails, to neither the Wave nor Buckskin Gulch. You can walk wherever you want, but you better have a GPS with you to know how to get back to the car. I think, GPS is the most important thing you will have with you. As I said there are no trails, there is a limited number of people (around 20) that go there and the area is huge. So as you see it's very easy to get lost. Remember that this is a prairie so at night the temperature can drop really low. There are no trees, so forget about having a fire, and of course, there are a lot of wild hungry animals that wait for easy prey. 

To hike to the Wave you need to get a permit. There is a limit, and only 20 people can visit the Wave a day. 10 permits are issued 3 months in advance as a result of the lottery. The other 10 are issued as a walk-in lottery. You can find more details under this link.
We got a map together with the permit. It's not very detailed but it has pictures that can help you navigate. Getting to the Wave you can go in the direction of the big hole (slot) in the rocks that are far away. However, on the way back, definitely make sure to use GPS. The trail looks different when you go in a different direction. There is also more to explore than just the Wave. The map that you get will not show you those. I advise you to spend a couple of hours at home to read some blogs, analyze Google Maps (satellite view) or Google Earth, and plan everything in detail. As I mentioned earlier, GPS is a must on this trip so, you can localize other attractions by the GPS coordinations. Remember, this is probably the first, and the last time you will be there, so plan it well.

The first 0.5 mile of the trail to the Wave, goes on a dry wash. Then it's a sharp right, and the trail goes straight to the top. So, we climbed and we got to the prairie (desert) landscape, covered with small plants called holly. We even saw some snow from time to time. The trail was easy to find because you mainly walk on sand and there were some footprints. Even though there can only be 20 people a day, we saw quite a lot footsteps. It looked like there was hardly any snow or rain to wash it out. After a mile, the trail bears right and goes through the rocks. The is the part where you don't see footprints. The rocks were dry and the slate structure made it easy to climb. This is the first part where you are glad to have GPS. On the whole 3-mile trail there are only two marks. The first, is right on those rocks, and that's how we knew to turn right. Then, the trail goes straight, and you can go in the direction of the hole in the rocks. We decided to explore more, and we didn't follow the trail. We wanted to see Pool Cove, White Castle, Sadlle, and Brain Rock.

White Castle is a rock formation with white color rocks at the top. Those rocks didn't resemble a caste, when I first looked at it. You have to enter and be surrounded by rocks for it to feel it like a castle. The place between rocks is called Pool Cove. When you stand there the rocks around you looked like a fortress, just like a castle. When you don't have a chance to go here you can also see it from the top of the Wave.

If you like to hike and scramble, you can go further to Raven (another rock formation). We didn't go there because the trail is really steep, almost vertical. We went to see Saddle, instead. It's still steep to get there, but when you use your legs and hands it's worth climbing there. The view is amazing and you are above other rocks. Going down is always worse than hiking up so most of the time we were sliding down. Just a few steps away we saw other amazing rocks. This time we didn't have any doubts that this was Brain Rock. The rocks look just like a huge brain...like a dinosaur brain. ​

Again we got back on the Wave trail. We were so excited to see the Wave that from this point we chose the shortest way. It was easy for us to navigate because our GPS had a trail to the Wave. The trail is not boring at all, and we still saw great rock formations that we made up names like: Dinosaur Ribs, Wind and Sand drawings, Satellites, Sphinx, or Neons.

After another mile the GPS told us that we just crossed the state border. Now, we were in Arizona. The trail went further. It was still a pretty easy trail and we were walking on rocks and sand. The last half mile went straight to the top. The trail was steep on sand and rocks, but when you reached the top...you reached the Wave.

Wow...wow...wow...and one more time wow...

That was our reaction when we saw the Wave. We knew from the beginning that this was it. The perfect wave structure made by sand and wind. That was my dream and I couldn't be happier. One or two years ago I saw a picture of the Wave. I did some research, found where it was and since that time it was on my mind. I am do happy that my Mom won a permit and we could be there with her.

So what exactly is the Wave? The Wave is the area where water, wind, and sand change rocks to a structure that looked like a perfect ocean wave. I was so glad that they limit the number of people who could get there and that the trail was not easy to be found. First of all, it's really fragile, because it's sand stone and breaks easily. Secondly, you can really enjoy the place, explore, and relax without a big crowd. You can spend hours there and I definitely didn't want to go back. I could spend hours there just taking pictures and admiring what nature can do. I was hypnotized by it's beauty. 

The Wave has more to offer. After a quick lunch on the Wave, we started to explore more. We hiked higher, further, and we found more rocks that looked like brain or neons. Neons are the rocks with few layers. Each layer has a different color that makes them really colorful. They resemble neons to me and the whole area looks like Mars. Maybe this is the place where some movies were shot.

We heard that behind the main Wave is the Second Wave. So, of course, we went to check it out. The GPS was useful again, and we found it pretty easily. The Wave II is a little bit different. Of course, it's still worth seeing it. The area seems to be smaller, but the single wave is longer.

It was time to go back. It was already 3pm and Darek still wanted to see the dinosaur's tracks. Together with mom I went straight back to the car, and Darek took another trail to see the tracks. It was easy for us to find a way back as long as we were on the sand. Unfortunately, when we got to the rocks we got lost pretty quickly. The trail looked different from this perspective. Luckily we had a walkie-talkie and we met with Darek who had GPS. So definitely, don't even think about going there without a one. 

How was the dinosaurs' tracks? You only can find them when you know exactly where to look. The trail to the tracks goes through a very narrow canyon, that is on the left hand side when you come back from the Wave. You go through the canyon to reach the wash. Then, you have to hike up until you reach the place where the tracks should be. Darek found them and agreed that this looked like Dinosaurs' tracks. Dinosaurs were there 160 million years ago. You can continue your hike further because the trail will merge into the Wave trail. That's how we got together again and got back to the car. It was getting dark and we wanted to get to the car before dusk. 

We safely reached the car, but it wasn't the end of our adventures. On the way back to the highway we met a lady who was looking for her son that went on a hike. Unfortunately, we didn't meet any lonely hiker. So we hoped that he reached the parking lot safely. Then we saw some deer. A few of them run in front of our car. Darek wished that were wolves, but I definitely preferred deer.

That was the end. Then just back to the hotel. This time we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Page. We met our friends who will go to Wave in next 3 days. We know that they will come back with one word describing the whole experience...WOW. Because there is no other words to describe this unique beauty.