Permits: Permits for either the North (area where The Wave is located) and South Coyote Buttes are required. Permits and permit information can be obtained at Coyote Buttes Permits. There are separate permits for each area. Twenty people are allowed into each permit area per day. Ten permits are issued on-line and ten via a lottery that occurs the day before the permit is valid.
On-line Permits: for the South Buttes are usually easy to obtain, just follow the links to the South Buttes calendar and select an available date. You can apply up to four months in advance of your trip date. For example, for a South Buttes January 15 go to the permit page starting on October 1, Permits first become available at Noon MST (or daylight time when DST is in effect) on the first. South Buttes dates are easily available throughout most of the year. For the North Buttes there is a newly instituted online lottery. Again the lottery opens up three months in advance of your trip date. You have the whole month to apply however. The application fee is $5. On each application you can select up to three dates. The drawing is held during the week following the close of the lottery (i.e. during the week of November 1 in our example), and you will be notified via e-mail that week if successful.
Walk in permits: are issued at either the Paria contact station or Kanab BLM office one day in advance of the permit date. Permits are issued in Kanab from mid November to mid March from Monday to Friday. Weekend and Monday permits at Kanab are issued on Friday since the office is closed on weekends. If you are hiking alone your chances for a permit are better since there are relatively few single hikers looking for permits. For example if permits were already issued for two groups of four and a single, and you are the only single left you will get a permit.
Location: The Wave is located in the Arizona Strip - the area between the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Southern Utah. Nearest towns are Page, AZ, and Kanab, UT. For photographers Page is usually the better place to stay, as you can visit Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend while there. If you do not have a permit already though you can get a walk-in permit at the Kanab station between Mid November and Mid March. Kanab also is more convenient if you are flying into Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. Kanab has better access to Bryce Canyon, Zion NP, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Page has better access to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Waputki NM