Permit Coyote Buttes South
Everything about the desired permits
General information about the permits for the Coyote Buttes South
A permit is required to visit the Coyote Buttes South (CBS) area. This must be purchased before the visit. Every day 20 of these permits are issued. Each permit is valid for one person. 10 of these permits/day are allocated four months in advance by online lottery. A further 10 permits are drawn daily, also online on site. If you are caught without a permit in the CBS area, you can expect hefty fines. BLM rangers check the area regularly.
Also because of the somewhat more complicated and difficult approach to the trailhead, it is somewhat easier to get permits here than for Coyote Buttes North. Nevertheless, one should not rely on it. Again, the more flexible you are, the better your chances of getting a permit. Also for the Coyote Buttes South the groups are limited to max. 6 persons.
Note: Even if you plan to go on a guided tour with a commercial tour operator, everyone needs a permit. The permit of the tour guide is bound to a valid permit of the tour participant. This means that if you don't have a permit, you can't join a guided tour. You can't get a permit from the commercial tour operators and they can't get you a permit either.
Online Permits
NEW: Since 01 October 2020 you can find the online lottery at www.recreation.gov. Apart from that, there are very few changes to the previous procedure. To be able to participate in the lottery, you must first register on the page recration.gov and create an account. Everything you need to know about this and about the permits can be found on the page linked above.
Permits for 10 people/day are drawn every month.
You have to register 4 months in advance on the website of www.recreation.gov i.e. you can register e.g. the whole January for Permits in May. You don't have to hurry, because you have the whole month of January to register. The whole of February you can then register for June, the whole of March for July and so on.
When registering, you enter your name and e-mail address and select three preferred dates in the month in question. Everyone can register for a maximum of 6 people in their group. You then pay a $9 processing fee by credit card. After you have received your confirmation e-mail, you have to wait...
The lottery always takes place on the 1st day of the following month. For example, if you have registered in January to win permits in May, the draw will take place on February 1st at 9am (Kanab time). After the drawing, all participants will be notified by email. In the unlikely event that you win a permit, you will follow the instructions in the email and will then receive your won permit in the mail. This may take a few weeks - but don't worry, the permit will arrive...
But even if you don't get your permit for whatever reason, you don't have to panic. As the permits are not transferable, you can also collect your permit in person on site, as your name is registered.
Walk in Permits
The on-site lottery has also been switched to an online system. There will be another daily draw (2 days in advance) for 10 permits. This lottery also takes place via the website of recreation.gov. On the site you will also find everything you need to know about the issuing of permits.
We wish everyone good luck!!!
If you want to get a taste of what to expect on the hike in the Coyote Buttes South, you can read here what we have experienced.