Elevation: 5,909 ft
Prominence: 179
This peak is not in the book. Published November 2021
Coyote Butte is a rather insignificant sagebrush hump located southwest of [the much more impressive] Crescent Butte at the north end of the south section of the developed part of the Craters of the Moon National Monument. The Wilderness Trail skirts the east side of Coyote Butte. USGS Inferno Cone
Coyote Butte (dead center) as viewed from the northeast. Livingston Douglas Photo
Access
Same as for The Sentinel. Coyote Butte is the fourth peak of a 5-peak adventure in the south half of CMNM that includes The Sentinel (5,812 feet), The Watchman (5,858 feet), Echo Crater (5,847 feet), Coyote Butte (5,909 feet) and Crescent Butte (5,990 feet). It covers 14.5 miles with 2,050 feet of elevation gain round trip.
East Face, Class 2
The Climb
From the west side of Echo Crater, hike north on the Wilderness Trail to reach a flat area and a saddle (of sorts) on the east side of Coyote Butte. Leave the trail here and bash west up through thick sagebrush (the worst of today’s 5-peak adventure) to reach the gentle, open, scrub-free summit of Coyote Butte. There was no summit cairn or other evidence of previous ascent. Return east to the Wilderness Trail and the saddle. This concludes the fourth leg of today’s 5-peak journey. Crescent Butte is up next.
Coyote Butte as viewed from the Wilderness Trail to its southeast. Livingston Douglas Photo
Looking southwest from the gentle summit of Coyote Butte. Livingston Douglas Photo
Additional Resources