Coyote Buttes South is the little sister of Coyote Buttes North aka The Wave. To say the entire area is amazing doesn’t do it justice. No words can describe the in person experience. In today’s social media world I’m surprised more people don’t know about it. The North, in our opinion is a little more impressive with more varied terrain, but the South is still very impressive.

They only allow 20 visitors a day: 10 by advance reservations and 10 by lottery. Once again we lucked out and won the lottery. We only saw two other guides, both with small groups. Occasionally our paths would cross, but we felt like we had all the beauty to ourselves…the complete opposite of a National Park.

We used the same guide service as last year. We consider ourselves frugal folks, but hiring guides was such a good decision. The knowledge they impart makes all the difference. We definitely recommend Dreamland Safari Tours.

Orion was our guide. He’s from North Carolina and years later still has a heavy accent. He’s a self described bearded, tie-dye wearing Hippie that guides in flip flops. And yes, of course he’s in a jam band. His stories were fascinating.

The Coyote Buttes South are very remote and two hours from Kanab. If you’re familiar with the area, we drove a loop. From Kanab we drove south into Arizona on the 89A through Fredonia, then east past Jacob Lake, before Marble Canyon we turned onto House Rock Valley Road and passed where they release California Condors from the Vermillion Cliffs. A few more turns and many miles later, we arrived at the Cottonwood Cove trailhead where the hike started. When we left, Orion maneuvered us through lots of deep sand to a short second stop at Paw Hole. Eventually we ended up back on House Rock Valley Road, to the 89, and west to Kanab. 

I took over 300 pictures! It took a while to whittle it down to what you see below. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in years past; I never use filters on my photos. 

Such warm vibrant colors

The colors were constantly changing with the lighting.

 

 

 

 

This strange line continued for yards.

 

 

 

 

 

The Pillows

 

 

 

 

 

Strange formations everywhere

 

 

 

 

Horsethief Campground is the place to be in the Moab area. It’s a dry BLM campground. No water whatsoever and pit toilets, but great trail accessibility. The catch is, it’s very popular and first come, first served. So if you want to snag a spot, it’s best to be there mid morning. It’s 768 miles from our house. So we divided the drive into two stops: Virgin River Gorge and Green River State Park, which put us just a little over an hour from Horsethief. We snagged three spots for the group no problem. I guess all my stressing about getting a spot was for naught.

We spent six nights at Horsethief without going into the city of Moab. That makes me happy because the city is really congested. There was a total of six of us camping and biking. The Bennetts from the Central Coast and Marlene and Lauren from San Diego. Well six of us for one night. Lauren fell 1.25 miles into the first ride and screwed up her wrist. She finished the ride but her wrist was swollen, so the next morning she drove herself to the ER, and after that packed up and started driving home. She’s now in a cast.

Opal was home base. We all had post ride drinks and dinners together. It was reminiscent of the kind of camaraderie that took place decades ago on ski trips. We chatted about the trails, the challenging sections, and the beautiful scenery. The endorphin high lasted well into the evening.

Cory, Tim, and Josh from the Thursday night group I ride with, and three of their friends happened to be out in Moab the same time and came out to visit us and drink beers after their first ride. It was really nice of them. 

We had some crazy weather, but luckily not while we were riding! Brace yourself for a lot of pictures. This post covers six days. 

This bums me out…the Utah launch complex in Green River was a Cold War military subinstallation for White Sands Missile range. From 1964-1975 they launched Athena and other missiles hitting the target at White Sands. The concrete slabs were leftover from the old military base. It seemed like an important piece of history to me. Now all that remains are piles of concrete and rebar.

Strange terrain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mesa Arch, I elbowed all the people out of the way so I could get a clean shot. Just kidding!

Our last ride was the Mag 7 area…

 

 

 

😀

Horsethief Campground is the place to be in the Moab area. It’s a dry BLM campground. No water whatsoever and pit toilets, but great trail accessibility. The catch is, it’s very popular and first come, first served. So if you want to snag a spot, it’s best to be there mid morning. It’s 768 miles from our house. So we divided the drive into two stops: Virgin River Gorge and Green River State Park, which put us just a little over an hour from Horsethief. We snagged three spots for the group no problem. I guess all my stressing about getting a spot was for naught.

We spent six nights at Horsethief without going into the city of Moab. That makes me happy because the city is really congested. There was a total of six of us camping and biking. The Bennetts from the Central Coast and Marlene and Lauren from San Diego. Well six of us for one night. Lauren fell 1.25 miles into the first ride and screwed up her wrist. She finished the ride but her wrist was swollen, so the next morning she drove herself to the ER, and after that packed up and started driving home. She’s now in a cast.

Opal was home base. We all had post ride drinks and dinners together. It was reminiscent of the kind of camaraderie that took place decades ago on ski trips. We chatted about the trails, the challenging sections, and the beautiful scenery. The endorphin high lasted well into the evening.

Cory, Tim, and Josh from the Thursday night group I ride with, and three of their friends happened to be out in Moab the same time and came out to visit us and drink beers after their first ride. It was really nice of them. 

We had some crazy weather, but luckily not while we were riding! Brace yourself for a lot of pictures. This post covers six days. 

This bums me out…the Utah launch complex in Green River was a Cold War military subinstallation for White Sands Missile range. From 1964-1975 they launched Athena and other missiles hitting the target at White Sands. The concrete slabs were leftover from the old military base. It seemed like an important piece of history to me. Now all that remains are piles of concrete and rebar.

Strange terrain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mesa Arch, I elbowed all the people out of the way so I could get a clean shot. Just kidding!

Our last ride was the Mag 7 area…

 

 

 

😀