Wilderness Permits - visitor / campfire permits

Required Visitor and Campfire Permits For The Sierra Nevada

backpack Visitor Permits
For trips that are overnight or longer, visitor permits are required for the Sierra National Forest and John Muir Wilderness area, Inyo National Forest, and Kings Canyon National Park. Permits can be easily obtained at the Forest or Park Service Ranger Station closest to the trailhead you have chosen. The maximum group size is 15 people and 25 head of stock. In recent years quotas have been installed in an attempt to limit the human impact on the Sierra Nevada ecosystem. It doesn't hurt to contact the ranger district in advance to inquire about permit availability, although availability is rarely a problem.

backpack Campfire Permits
You must have a campfire permit to use a stove, lantern, or campfire outside a developed campground or recreation area. The permit is your agreement to follow the campfire restrictions and regulations in effect. Your campfire permit is valid from the date issued until the end of the calendar year; it may be used in any National Forest in Northern California or in the Sierra Nevada.

backpack Fire Restrictions
Fire restrictions change throughout the year depending on fire hazard. When no stage restrictions are in effect, you may use a stove, lantern, or campfire in accordance with the regulations listed on your permit. Fire hazard is determined by the fuel moisture content in an area (the amount of moisture present in the surrounding trees and brush) and by local weather patterns, which include the temperature, the prevailing winds, and the relative humidity.

Be sure to check with the specific National Forest for current restrictions, especially during fire season.

backpack National Forest Wilderness Areas
In some Wilderness Areas, your wilderness permit serves as your fire permit. Other Wilderness area regulations may require you to have both a fire permit and a wilderness permit. In wilderness areas where no Wilderness permit is required, you must always have a campfire permit to use a backpack stove or build a fire.

backpack Renewing Your Permit
Your first campfire permit must be obtained in person at a Forest Service office, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection office, or Bureau of Land Management Office. You must renew a previous year's permit in person as well.

Sierra National Forest
Head Office \1600 Tollhouse Rd.\Clovis 93612\209-487-5155
Minarets Ranger District \57003 Road 225\P.O. Box 10\North Fork 93643\209-877-2218
Dinkey Ranger District \Dinkey Rt.\Shaver Lake 93664\209-841-3404
Pineridge Ranger District \P.O. Box 300\Shaver Lake 93664\209-841-3311
Kings River Ranger District \34849 Maxon Rd.\Sanger 93657\209-855-8321
Mariposa Ranger District \41969 Highway 41\Oakhurst 93644\209-966-3638

Inyo National Forest
Head Office \873 North Main St.\Bishop 93514\619-873-2400
White Mountain Ranger District \798 North Main St.\Bishop 93514\619-873-2500
Mammoth Ranger District \P.O. Box 148\Mammoth Lakes 93546\619-924-5500
Mono Lake Ranger District \P.O. Box 429\Lee Vining 93541\619-647-6525
Mt. Whitney Ranger District \P.O. Box 8\Lone Pine 93545\760-876-6200

> All Other Forest Areas
> National Parks Permits

For more information please refer to the High Sierra Topix message board.