Home»All Photographs»The Wave Hike

The Wave is a beautiful, unique, and remote sandstone formation in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. It is managed by the B.L.M. and requires a permit to reach it. Only 20 permits per day are allowed in the area and up to 250 people apply for each day, so a lottery system is in place. I was fortunate to get a permit on my second try, last December, for a hike on April 8, 2015. We planned our road trip around getting me to Page, AZ the day before and then added other noteable stops, including Zion National Park, Grand Canyon, Monument Vally, and Ouray, Colorado, where Sharon's sister lives.

This gallery covers the Wave photos only. As we watched the weather forecast along the way, my spirits were lowered because of an approaching cold front, that predicted rain on the hike day! Fortunately, the rain did not happen, but it was cool and windy at times - but that I could live with.

The trailhead is reached by 30 miles of paved road, then 8 miles of sandy, rocky road. From there it's a three mile foot trek over sand and rocks. Because there is no trail, the B.L.M. sent me a pictorial map to guide me to the Wave, and without the photos I never would have found the Wave. On the way in, I saw no other human, except for the B.L.M. person who checked my permit about 1/2 mile into the hike!

It took me about two hours to hike there, which included a lot of stopping for photos and to soak up the amazing views and feel. The elevation here is about 5,300 feet.

I spent another two hours at the Wave, admiring its beauty and taking pictures. At times the wind would howl through the formation, giving me a good idea of how it was sculpted over the millinia. On the way back, I altered my course a bit so as to add variety, taking another 90 minutes. In all that time, I saw only seven other humans at or near the Wave. Remarkable!