To get to here, you will need to drive on House Rock Valley Road which is an unpaved road. I did it…read morein a 2WD sedan, but made sure that the weather was dry so there was no mud. There's a large parking lot with a few composting toilets. You do need to pay for a permit - the trailhead allows you to use your credit card to pay and prints out a copy of the permit. Anyway, this is an awesome slot canyon! Follow the stream bed until you enter the canyon. It's a short canyon that leads to a petroglyph panel. There's a ladder section, but also an alternative trail if you have a dog or can't navigate the ladder. At the petroglyph panel, you can then explore the Buckskin Gulch narrows (the full Gulch is an overnight hike). I had to turn around at some point since there were huge puddles of water - some over knee deep that I didn't want to risk accidentally falling into when balancing on rocks. I would definitely visit again!!!

Disclaimer please check Ranger stations and understand with any amount of rain whatsoever slot…read morecanyons can be dangerous and flash floods are deadly. It was dry when we went. I can't recommend this enough. If you want a rugged wonderlust adventure, skip antelope canyon and try this hike instead . On the way in we went up over the trail over the canyon and it was pretty rugged. On the way out we stayed in the river bed and there was a ladder and this was an easier route. If you want the easier route in just stay in the riverbed for the entire hike. When you finally reach the end of the wire pass and you meet the convergence of buckskin Gulch, hang a right. It is a "T" shape and you have to choose right or left. The left is a lot of black rock and not as dramatic view. The right has more oranges and reds and is more dramatic with lighting. We hiked approximately 45 minutes into buckskin Gulch and the views were absolutely breathtaking and dramatic. I think the lighting for awesome photos would be best from eight or 9 AM until maybe one or 2 PM. You can go as far as you want but eventually you might reach water puddles that you don't want to go through. We chose to hike two hours in to buckskin gulch and then come back out wire pass. Remember to get online and get your permit and write down the permit number and stick it in your windshield or you will get a ticket on your windshield. You can buy the wire Pass day pass on recreation.gov. I've already been to antelope Canyon and I was at Zion. Not overly thrilled with crowds and it feels very structured. If you want unstructured beauty and no crowds I would suggest this instead because it's just as beautiful and dramatic. A lot of the features that you would see at White pocket and other places you will find in small areas of this hike.

I've heard the lottery permit for The Wave is one of the hardest to win. I had previously missed…read moreout on the advanced lottery for 3 dates I submitted for mid-May and sorta planned out my 9-day roadtrip in AZ without visiting here. I really only had 1 day to fit in a trip to The Wave while I was staying in Page for 4 days and took a shot with the daily lottery permit and won! I was super pumped when I got the email notification! The 2-day advance daily lottery permit can only be applied for while you are in a nearby geofenced area and you have to pick up the permit and go through orientation/training at either Page, AZ or Kanab, UT. One tricky thing about the permit application hours is that it is based on UT and Navajo time, not AZ time. If you are in Page, you'll have to ignore the local time and make sure you are 1 hour ahead of the daily application closing time. Anyways, this was one of the most jaw-dropping other-worldy places I've hiked. The journey to reach The Wave features some of the most unique terrains and landscapes I've seen. There are geologic features all around, everywhere you look. Once you reach The Wave area, you almost can't believe what you are seeing. Some areas look like the rings of Saturn. Some areas look like huge ocean waves. I was in awe the entire time I was there. I can't even explain everything I saw, as words can't describe the scenery. Just look at the pictures. I didn't really explore past the main area because I was on a tight schedule and needed to head back. I would have to say this hike may be too challenging if you only rely on the paper map provided during orientation. I would highly recommend GPS tracking app, I used AllTrails to track my hike and even then I went off trail a few times, as this is definitely not a straight forward hike. Not a long hike at about 3.3 mile each way, but I would start early as it can get quite hot in this area. Also, there was a gentleman from BLM that was checking for permits at The Wave, if you were curious about enforcement.

Everyone raves about this place, we hike a lot have done Angels and Half dome so gotta "Wave" right…read more? Took us 3 tries and scored hit early summer, bummer as you do need to plan your hydration carefully as it is dangerous out there when in the 90s We live close enough about a 4 hour drive to Page and overnight and early start to the trail head. Get a rental, you don't want to put your car thru the 9 rough miles and don't even think of doing it if it rains! Higher ground clearance is nice but not necessary but saw mostly SUV, drive your sedan at your own risk, we rented a compact SUV. Watch the weather carefully as for the two days we were there saw afternoon thunderstorms come in and the area did get a little rain the past day, saw some mud and standing water. As to the hike - summer is brutal! Start early, we did at 6am and did 8 miles but not all the attractions as we had to get back to Phoenix. Would it be worth the exhausting 13 miles to see it all, personal decision and gotta have the time. We've done 13 miles but wouldn't consider it here in summer or winter unless you are an Ironman Of course The Wave and Second Wave are amazing as does the arches and others look. We climbed past the second wave and ran outta time Must do, AllTrails or other offline map, the provided map and pictures are not enough. Consider a guide if you are a novice, but the guided tours were grouped and held back by what looked like the older crowd, YMMV. Four stars as between the difficulty with weather the slog the beauty not like Delicate Arch, Half Dome or Angels IMHO

Very cool, bizarre, and eerie. Really interesting to explore the hoodoos' areas. First the hike is…read morein the wash and after a couple of miles in, several sections of hoodoo parks. We only saw 2 other people on whole day. Utah has so much to offer.

After years of trying to apply for a permit, our group finally got picked! Highly recommend hiking…read moreat least once. I wouldn't do it again though, mainly because of how hard it was to get a permit. We visited in April and the weather was fantastic. It was actually freezing in the morning but as the sun rose, it warmed up to the point where we would sweat a little when hiking. I can't even imagine doing this in the summer but if you win the lottery then, make sure everyone brings plenty of water. To get to the trailhead, I'd recommend having a high-clearance vehicle, especially if it just recently rained. The road off of the freeway becomes unpaved and there are some ditches that can be flooded. Download an offline map of the trail and area for when you lose service. It gets spotty but you'll find reception every now and then. At the beginning, there are a couple of vault toilets. The trail itself is difficult to follow without an offline map. There's only a handful of signs pointing in a general direction. And until the Wave, we were pretty much the only people around. Considering only about 60 people are approved each day, it wasn't surprising, and honestly, kind of nice to be alone in nature. The Wave was everything we hoped for. We had clear, blue skies and that contrast with the red and orange rocks was beautiful. It looked exactly like the Windows background! There was even a pond further up with a ton of tadpoles. Besides the Wave, there's other neat waypoints to stop by but because we were tired, we didn't try for many of them. The only one we went out of our way for was the dinosaur tracks but it was anti-climatic. They just looked like larger chicken feet prints. Despite this hike being only about 6 miles round trip, it took pretty much the entire day. We stopped a lot to take pictures but also the landscape was difficult to hike. Lots of sand to walk through and lots of weird inclines to walk across, which kept our feet, knees, and legs at weird angles. There might have been easier pathways but as I said earlier, there's no clear indications of a trail. There was also a BLM worker at the Wave asking for the permit holders. If you hike without one and get caught, you'll get slapped with some steep fines. Drones are also not allowed!

My friend won the online lottery for the permit 4 months in advance but after talking to the…read moreranger, it seems that there's a good chance you can win the daily lottery since a lot of people cancel every day. It's easier if you have less people (like two people). Anyways, the orientation the day before was useful for weather and road conditions. The hike wasn't too bad, can be a bit steep in some parts but for the most part, not too much incline. It's moderate for the novice hiker but easy for an experienced hiker. For experienced hikers, probably can get to the Wave in 1 to 1.5 hours. For the inexperienced, it might take 2.5 to 3 hours. Either way, if you're planning to spend a lot of time at the Wave (some people take 2-3 hours for their extensive Instagram photoshoots haha), definitely go there early and spend all day there. I would definitely come back if I win the lottery!

I came upon the Blanche Russell Rock House by accident as I drove past Vermillion Cliffs into…read moreMarble Canyon. I had no idea what this spot was but I got out of my car to explore anyway and it was one of the more memorable stops during my road trip. First thing I noticed were the huge boulders scattered about, including one that looked like a dinosaur skull and another that defies the laws of physics with it's skinnier base and much wider top. The next thing I noticed was a very modest stone structure, like a home, built amongst the boulders. I took loads a photos and dropped a pin in my map so I could look up the structure later. Came to find this structure was the Blanche Russell rock house, a home built by former Ziegfeld Follies girl, Blanche Russell and her husband Bill, who came across the area and sheltered under the boulders briefly when their car broke down in 1927. While spending time waiting for someone to come by to help, they fell in love with the landscape and decided to literally set up shop. They built the stone house and sold food to passerbys heading to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. She also bartered food for help building the structure and assistance expanding their footprint to a restaurant and a trading post up the road. The restaurant, Cliff Dwellers', still exists nearby to this day! As a history nerd I was totally fascinated by this story and I'm grateful I was able to take it all in, even if it was brief.

What a fun short hiking trail. A great alternative to The Wave if you did not get the lottery…read morevisitor access. As soon as you pull in, the Beehive trail is located across the restroom area. Gorgeous view of the this prehistoric landscape. Imagine this area was the bottom of the ocean 119 million years ago, pre human. There's a couple of slight steep incline so be aware but very doable if you take it slow. Bring plenty of water to hydrate on warm days above 80 degrees. Happy Trails!!

I entered the permit lottery for The Wave, and much like the vast majority of people who enter, I…read moredidn't win. As an alternative, I selected this trail. I think this hike was well worth it, being much shorter and much more accessible. Also known as the Beehive Loop Trail, this trail is 1.3 miles with minimal elevation gain. You see and can walk on cool-looking sandstone formations, with undulating striations that play with your eyes. The parking lot is a dirt pullout near the side of the road. There's no bathroom however right across the street is the campground with composting toilets. The trail is marked with cairns and rocks lining the path. It's hard to get lost, but there are some side off shoots that you can follow off the main path.

Came here on a day tour from Las Vegas. It's worth coming here to see the beauty of nature…read more Lighting (for photos) will vary by time of day and season but worth seeing IRL. Respect the rules while you are on Navajo land. No videos and only take photos when standyon dirt/rock. Never in a metal stair. The Navajo tour guides will also help you take the best pics at the right spots.

Amazing. Total time…read morein canyon is approx 90 min to walk thru the crack in the earth. There are lots of steps and ladders and they are narrow and steep. We saw one pretty big guy coming back up as we were starting our way down the first set of ladders, he decided he'd never be able to come back up if he went down. Know your limits. At the narrowest parts at the bottom I could just fit thru, so it's not for everyone. Make sure you know the rules. No bags allowed. Just your camera and a small water bottle. No videos at all. No pictures on the ladders. Keep it moving. Stay with your tour group. To enter you must be with a Navajo escort from one of the 2 companies and stay with them the entire way. Make res ahead of time to make sure there's spots for your group before you get there. Only porta potties available at the meeting place, and foot pump your water to wash hands. There was no soap. Pictures and words don't describe how amazing it was. I was glad it didn't rain because if it's flash flooding they'll close the slot canyons. Although not a national park, I enjoyed it more than Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion.

Great stop on your drive to get a 360 degree view of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area…read more There's a small gravel parking lot as well as a covered area/shade shelter with benches. It can get quite windy at times. I would try to time your visit at sunset or sunrise, but if you can't it's sill so beautiful any time. No bathrooms so plan accordingly.

Wahweap Overlook offers another spectacular perspective of the lake, colorful sandstone cliffs, and…read morethe endless desert landscape. It's hard to get tired of views like these. Easy drive, located right off the highway.