Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a remote area of roughly 280,000 to nearly 294,000 acres in northern Arizona's Coconino County, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Proclaimed in 2000, it protects the Paria Plateau, the Vermilion Cliffs escarpment, Coyote Buttes (home of the famous sandstone formation known as The Wave), and Paria Canyon. It is also a release site for the endangered California condor.

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument protects a vast, largely roadless stretch of northern Arizona desert defined by towering, banded sandstone cliffs, deep canyons, and some of the most photographed rock formations in the American Southwest. Unlike a typical national park, it has almost no visitor infrastructure: no paved scenic loop, no large visitor center inside its boundaries, and only a scattering of unpaved roads that demand a properly equipped vehicle. Its best-known feature, a swirling sandstone formation called The Wave inside the Coyote Buttes North area, has become so popular that the Bureau of Land Management caps daily visitor numbers through a permit lottery, turning a visit there into as much a logistical challenge as a hike. Beyond The Wave, the monument also protects Paria Canyon, a long, narrow slot-canyon backpacking route, and serves as a release site for California condors reintroduced to the wild in the 1990s. For travelers willing to plan permits and pack in their own water, the reward is a landscape that feels genuinely remote even by Arizona standards, a sharp contrast to more developed stops like the Grand Canyon's South Rim just a couple of hours away.

The monument sits in northern Coconino County, Arizona, immediately south of the Utah border, between Kanab, Utah, and Page, Arizona. It is reached via US Highway 89 from Flagstaff or US Highway 89A, which runs along the base of the cliffs themselves through Marble Canyon, connecting toward Kanab. There is no central visitor center inside the monument; the managing Bureau of Land Management office is based in St. George, Utah, well outside the monument's boundaries, while permit logistics for the Wave and Coyote Buttes are often handled through Kanab or Page.

This is high desert country, with elevations ranging from roughly 3,100 to 6,500 feet, so conditions swing more sharply between seasons than in lower-elevation Arizona deserts. Summer daytime temperatures regularly exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit with essentially no natural shade across the exposed sandstone terrain, while winter can bring genuinely cold temperatures and occasional snow at higher elevations. Rain is infrequent but can turn unpaved access roads, including House Rock Valley Road, impassable when wet, since some sections include slick clay surfaces. Flash flooding is a real risk in narrow canyons such as Paria Canyon during summer storms.

Spring, roughly April through June, and fall, October through November, are generally considered the most comfortable and driest windows for hiking in the monument, including for the popular Wave hike. Winter can offer better odds in the permit lottery, since fewer people apply, but comes with cold temperatures and occasional snow or ice on access roads. Summer heat, often above 90 degrees Fahrenheit with no shade, makes for a genuinely demanding hike and is generally the toughest season to visit comfortably.

Long before it became a national monument, this land was part of the homeland and travel corridor of Indigenous peoples for roughly 12,000 years, and the monument today protects hundreds of ancient pueblo sites along with one of the largest concentrations of rock art found in any nationally protected area in the country. Spanish missionaries passed through in 1776 as part of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition, searching for an overland route between Santa Fe and California, and Mormon settlers explored the region in the 1860s, eventually establishing one of the first ferry crossings of the Colorado River nearby in 1871, the same year that geologist and explorer John Wesley Powell traveled through the area during his scientific survey of the Colorado Plateau. The modern monument was created far more recently, proclaimed by President Bill Clinton in November 2000 and placed under the management of the Bureau of Land Management rather than the National Park Service, a distinction that explains its comparatively undeveloped, permit-heavy character today. Conservation has also shaped its recent history: the monument was chosen in 1996 as a release site for captive-bred California condors, part of a broader effort to bring the species back from the edge of extinction, taking advantage of the area's remoteness and lack of human development.

The single most sought-after activity is hiking to The Wave, a swirling, banded sandstone formation inside Coyote Buttes North that requires a permit obtained through a lottery system well before you arrive. Coyote Buttes South offers a similar, less crowded alternative for hikers who do not secure a Wave permit. Backpackers can tackle Paria Canyon, a multi-day slot-canyon route that also requires an advance permit and careful planning around flash-flood risk. Wildlife watchers come for a chance to spot a California condor overhead, along with golden eagles, peregrine falcons, desert bighorn sheep, and pronghorn across the monument's cliffs and plateaus. Photographers are drawn to the Vermilion Cliffs themselves, especially at sunrise and sunset when the escarpment's banded red rock glows. Because there are so few developed trails or facilities, much of the appeal here is simply driving the area's rough backcountry roads, with appropriate vehicles, and taking in scenery that feels far more remote than Arizona's better-known parks.

The Wave, inside Coyote Buttes North, is the monument's most famous single feature, a compact area of swirling, cross-bedded sandstone that draws hikers from around the world despite its strict permit limits. Coyote Buttes South offers geologically similar wave-like sandstone formations with far fewer visitors and a separate permit process. Paria Canyon is the monument's premier backpacking route, a long, narrow slot canyon between towering walls that typically takes several days to hike end to end. The Vermilion Cliffs themselves, the dramatic, colorful escarpment that gives the monument its name, are visible for miles along US-89A and make for a memorable scenic drive even without leaving pavement. Lees Ferry, just outside the monument's boundary near Marble Canyon, is a historic Colorado River crossing point and the launch site for river trips through the Grand Canyon, making it a natural add-on stop for visitors already in the area.

Most visitors approach from either Flagstaff, via US Highway 89 north and then west on US-89A through Marble Canyon, or from Kanab, Utah, via US-89A heading east and south. The drive from Flagstaff to the Marble Canyon area near the monument takes a few hours, while Page, Arizona, sits closer, roughly 45 minutes from lodging at Marble Canyon. There is no public transportation into the monument, and once off the paved highways, most interior roads, including the main route toward Coyote Buttes, require a high-clearance vehicle, with four-wheel drive strongly recommended given how quickly conditions can change if it rains. The nearest regional airports are in Page, Arizona, and St. George, Utah, though most travelers fly into a larger hub such as Phoenix or Las Vegas and drive several hours to reach the area.

The monument itself has no gate and no set opening hours, since it is open, undeveloped public land, but permit-related offices, including the Arizona Strip Field Office, generally keep weekday business hours only, roughly 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Confirm current permit-office hours before your trip.

There is no general entrance fee for the monument itself, but hiking in Coyote Buttes North (The Wave), Coyote Buttes South, or overnight in Paria Canyon requires a separate paid permit obtained through a lottery. Reported permit fees and daily visitor quotas varied between sources found during research, so confirm current permit fees and lottery rules directly on the BLM or Recreation.gov website before applying.

A Wave or Coyote Buttes South hike typically takes four to six hours round trip; a full Paria Canyon backpacking trip runs several days.

Cliff Dwellers Lodge, a small, family-run property at Marble Canyon right along US-89A beneath the Vermilion Cliffs themselves, is one of the closest lodging options to the monument, with an on-site restaurant and guide services for fly-fishing and kayaking on the nearby Colorado River at Lees Ferry. It is also one of the last places to stay heading south before Jacob Lake, so it functions as a natural overnight base for Wave hikers arriving from that direction. Page, Arizona, roughly 45 minutes away, offers a much wider range of hotels and is a common base for visitors combining a Vermilion Cliffs trip with Lake Powell or Antelope Canyon. On the Utah side, Kanab has its own cluster of motels and is often used by visitors handling permit logistics or starting their trip from that direction.

Dining options directly around the monument are sparse, reflecting how remote the area is. Cliff Dwellers Lodge at Marble Canyon has an on-site restaurant serving its own guests and passing travelers, making it one of the only sit-down options along the immediate US-89A corridor. For a wider choice, most visitors drive into Page, Arizona, which has a fuller range of casual and sit-down restaurants, or Kanab, Utah, which serves a similar role from the north. Because services thin out quickly once you leave these towns, it is worth packing food and plenty of water for any day spent hiking or driving inside the monument itself.

Lees Ferry, just outside the monument near Marble Canyon, is a historic Colorado River crossing and the put-in point for Grand Canyon river trips, worth a stop even for visitors not rafting. Page, Arizona, about 45 minutes away, is the gateway to both Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, two of the region's most photographed landmarks, as well as Lake Powell's Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Jacob Lake and the Grand Canyon's North Rim lie a few hours further, offering a natural extension for travelers building a longer northern Arizona loop. Kanab, Utah, just across the state line, gives access to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and serves as another regional hub for permits and services.

There is no public transit into Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, so a personal or rental vehicle, ideally high-clearance for any unpaved roads, is necessary. The nearest small regional airports are in Page, Arizona, and St. George, Utah, though most visitors fly into a larger airport such as Phoenix Sky Harbor or Harry Reid International in Las Vegas and drive several hours to reach the area. Once in the region, US-89 and US-89A are the only paved highways serving the monument, with all interior routes to features like Coyote Buttes running on unpaved roads.

This is genuinely remote country with essentially no cell service, no water sources along most trails, and few other hikers to rely on if something goes wrong, so trip planning matters more here than almost anywhere else on this list. Carry at least three liters of water per person for a Wave or Coyote Buttes hike, more in warm weather, since none is available on the trail. Tell someone your planned route and return time before setting out, and check current road conditions before driving toward the trailheads, since clay sections of unpaved roads become dangerously slick after rain. Watch for venomous snakes and extreme heat, and never enter old mine features if you encounter them in the backcountry.

Bring a full-size spare tire, extra fuel, and extra water for the vehicle itself if you are driving unpaved roads toward Coyote Buttes, since services are far apart. For the hike, pack at least three liters of water per person, sun protection, a hat, and sturdy footwear suited to sand and slickrock. A GPS device or offline map is strongly recommended, since the Wave and Coyote Buttes South routes are largely unmarked and easy to lose track of on foot.

Apply for a Wave or Coyote Buttes permit well before your trip, since the process runs through an advance online lottery months ahead alongside a separate, shorter-notice lottery for people already in the area; rules and odds have changed over the years, so check the current Bureau of Land Management process rather than relying on older trip reports. If you are unsuccessful in the Wave lottery, Coyote Buttes South is a genuinely worthwhile backup with similar rock formations. Fill your gas tank and download offline maps before leaving Page, Kanab, or Marble Canyon, since cell coverage disappears quickly once you are off the highway. Because unpaved roads here can turn to slick, impassable clay after rain, check recent weather and road-condition reports before setting out, and be ready to change plans if conditions look risky.

For any emergency inside the monument, dial 911, the nationwide emergency number in the United States, though response times in this remote area can be long. For permit or visitor questions, the Arizona Strip Field Office can be reached at 435-688-3200.

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Bureau of Land Management - https://www.blm.gov/national-conservation-lands/arizona/vermilion-cliffs

This section is being updated and will be available shortly.

This section is being updated and will be available shortly.

This section is being updated and will be available shortly.