VERMILLION CLIFFS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz. (AP) — Half of the 20 permits for one of the most exclusive and dramatic hiking spots in the southwestern United States remain unavailable during the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus hasn't forced the closure of the Wave in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument along the Arizona-Utah border. But it has suspended a daily, in-person lottery for 10 permits because the agency that oversees it can't ensure social distancing.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is considering whether to fold in the 10 permits once available to people who showed up at a southern Utah visitor center.