AZ / UT - Antelope Canyon, Wave, White Pocket, White Wave, Kanab & Page advice

I am unable to go on a planned trip this May and wanted to get some advice from locals and others with experience. I know Antelope Canyon has different colors during the winter and is pretty empty. At the same time November is too late for White Pocket overnight camping. I want to maximize on experiencing the area and looking for advice when it would be best to do it. Here is my plan:

1) Wave - Get to Kanab and stay multiple days (3-4) and go every day to the lottery with small group (2-3). After multiple days of trying I think we should get the permits. On early days where we dont get the permit we can do photography day trip around Kanab and / or get to Page for morning Antelope Canyon tour. Horseshoe Bend & Lake Powell are near for possible sunsets.

2) White Pocket - I think overnight camping option is awesome and it allows you to get sunset, night & sunrise shots.

3) Antelope Canyon - Both canyons and there is also an option for night photography tours.

4) White Wave & other canyons and places - This can be day time tours out of Kanab

5) Zion - Another nearby option as alternate for when Wave permits cannot be obtained

Looking for your past experiences with obtaining Wave permit and any advice with what else can be done in the area as a backup. I was thinking potentially adding Monument Valley if Wave permit & White Pocket overnight camping can be done in 5 days, 6 nights.

Sounds like a great trip in the making. I've never tried the "walk-up" lottery for The Wave, but I hear that is is a tough permit to get (usually several dozen folks all hoping for one of the 10 permit slots for the following day). Are you going to put in for the on-line lottery for permits as well? There are 10 slots available through the on-line lottery as well and these are determined 3 months in advance (so you need to have dates in mind plus a little flexibility). We got very lucky a few years back on won permits through the on-line lottery. It was a great hike. Will definitely try that one again, if I can get lucky with permits! Here's a link to the BLM website with details on the lottery system:

http://www.blm.gov …oyote_buttes/pe​rmits.html

I also suggest that you post your questions on the Utah and/or Arizona forums on Trip Advisor. There are a few photographers on those forums, but posting there would be more for the logistics and schedule questions. Here's the link to the Utah forum:

http://www.tripadvisor​.com …rum-g28965-i411-Utah.html

My favorite time for visiting the desert southwest is mid-September through mid-October. Generally good weather for hiking and photography (granted I'm just out for fun when it comes to photos; just taking whatever Mother Nature serves up and doing the best I can with my SX50).

If you decide to go to Monument Valley, plan for an overnight stay (you can splurge on a night at The View inside the park); this will give you a shot at sunset and sunrise. Take a back country tour at MV to get to more of the classic view points.

Also near Page is Horseshoe Bend and west of Page on route 89 near mile marker 19 is the trailhead for the Toadstool Trail which leads to a fascinating collection of rock formations that look like toadstools (thus the name!).

Just so much to see and do in that area!

I don't know if you will find this useful, but here's the link to my journal on our trip 2011 trip to Kanab when we hiked to The Wave and toured around the area. It might give you a few ideas.

http://ohiohickpresent​s.weebly.com/tr---kanab-2011.html

Thanks for the info. I am aware of online lottery and possibly will enter 1 entry for once we know our approximate dates. Winning online lottery for the Wave is probably like winning $1000+ in Powerball. From walk-in permit lottery I heard they prefer smaller groups. So if there are 2 group of 6 and 1 group of 3 they will allow small group to stay as whole and break up larger groups. I am willing to go the extra mile to get to the mystical Wave and try online and few days of in person attempts. No pain no gain.

As far as The View @ MV I was there for dinner when I was in the area in 2012. We did not stay there and stayed in the worst motel of my travel experience. I found out that there is camping in MV and is located not far from The View. I think that will be a better option to consider since we are not making any solid plans with lodging in order to be more flexible with overall plans or to stay in one of the nearby towns.

Toadstool Trail - I googled it and it looks pretty cool. I like hoodoos and these kind of earth formations could be nice additions to my Southwest portfolio.

I loved my several times in UT and only been to AC & MV within the same day. I need to compensate with 10+ days in the general area to get my fix.