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Arizona

Coyote Buttes South

Permit-only sandstone in the Vermilion Cliffs: crossbedded domes, teepees and red hoodoos, with the desert still in bloom in early June.

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Crossbedded Sandstone, Coyote Buttes South, Arizona
Crossbedded SandstoneCoyote Buttes South, Arizona
Sandstone and Spring Green, Coyote Buttes South, Arizona
Sandstone and Spring GreenCoyote Buttes South, Arizona
Teepees and Wildflowers, Coyote Buttes South, Arizona
Teepees and WildflowersCoyote Buttes South, Arizona
Storm Light on the Buttes, Coyote Buttes South, Arizona
Storm Light on the ButtesCoyote Buttes South, Arizona
Red Hoodoos in Bloom, Coyote Buttes South, Arizona
Red Hoodoos in BloomCoyote Buttes South, Arizona

When

Early June 2025, the desert still green and in bloom, with a storm building over the buttes. Late spring and early summer can be hit or miss depending on weather and temperatures.

Getting there

Permit-only: as of 2026 the BLM lets in 20 people a day, in groups of up to six, half through advance permits on Recreation.gov up to four months out and half through a daily lottery you enter on your phone two days ahead; bring a printed permit, since phone copies aren't accepted. You need a high-clearance 4WD (the BLM says 2WD and AWD aren't enough), and the road to Paw Hole has deep sand that we could only get through in 4-high with some momentum. Take the route the BLM recommends, and stop in person at the BLM's Kanab Visitor Center (or the Paria Contact Station on US 89, when it's open) to talk about conditions. It's remote: we saw nobody at all.

About these photos

Coyote Buttes South in June 2025: crossbedded sandstone, striped domes, sandstone teepees and red hoodoos, all with wildflowers still holding on in the summer heat, and one frame of the buttes under a building storm.