The Wave Lottery, Explained

The Wave sits in Coyote Buttes North on the Arizona-Utah border, and its permit is one of the hardest to win in the country: only 64 people across 16 groups are admitted per day. It is a pure lottery with no cancellation market, so Permit Ranger does not watch it. Here is how it actually works, and the nearby permits we do watch.

How The Wave lottery works

Two lotteries feed the daily quota. The advance lottery on recreation.gov runs four months ahead: apply during the calendar month, results early the following month. The daily lottery runs in the recreation.gov mobile app two days before entry and is geofenced: you must be physically near the Kanab/Page area to apply.

Each application covers one group. Fees are a non-refundable application fee plus a per-person recreation fee if you win. Odds in peak months are commonly reported in the low single digits.

What Permit Ranger watches instead

Lottery applications have no availability grid, so there is nothing to poll and no honest way to "alert" on The Wave. What we do watch is the neighboring Paria Canyon and Coyote Buttes area overnight permits on recreation.gov, including Paria Canyon and Buckskin Gulch, which cover some of the same wilderness and do have real cancellations.

Frequently asked questions

Can Permit Ranger get me a permit for The Wave?

No, and no service honestly can. The Wave is awarded purely by lottery with no cancellation resale. We watch the nearby Paria Canyon overnight permits instead.

What is the difference between Coyote Buttes North and South?

North contains The Wave and uses the lottery described here. Coyote Buttes South has its own daily permits with better odds and a similar landscape.