California Backpacking Trips With No Permit
Most "no permit needed" lists are wrong, and they are wrong in the expensive direction: they treat a trip you cannot book online as a trip you do not need paperwork for. A trailhead with no booking page usually still has a permit behind it. Below are the California trips where the managing agency has actually published that no permit is required, the ones where the permit is free and you fill it in yourself at the trailhead, and the ones people keep mistaking for either.
Four places where California agencies say no permit is required
This is the short list, and it is short on purpose. Each one has a published agency sentence behind it rather than an absence of a booking page.
- Granite Chief Wilderness, near Tahoe. It is managed by the Tahoe National Forest, not Desolation, and the Forest Service says wilderness permits are not presently required there for day or overnight use.
- Meiss Country, also near Tahoe. A roadless area on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and the Forest Service says hiking permits are not currently required there for day or overnight use.
- Big Basin Redwoods day use. California State Parks says reservations for parking "are not required, but are encouraged due to the limited amount of first-come, first-served parking available", and there is no fee or reservation at all if you arrive on foot, by bike or by bus.
- Hike and bike sites in the state parks, including Pfeiffer Big Sur. California State Parks says "A permit is not required to hike and bike in state parks", and the sites go first come, first served for a per-person fee collected when you arrive.
No permit still does not always mean no money
Two of those four charge you anyway, just not for a permit. Big Basin day use is $6 per vehicle plus a $2 reservation fee, or $10 per vehicle if you turn up without one, and it drops to nothing the moment you arrive without a car. The Pfeiffer Big Sur hike and bike sites carry a per-person fee the park collects on arrival. Bring a way to pay and get there early, because neither is held for you.
Watch out: there are two Meisses, and only one is free
Meiss Country on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit needs no permit. Carson Pass and Meiss Meadow, which sit in the Mokelumne Wilderness on the Eldorado National Forest, are a different place under different management and do require a permit. The names overlap, the map does not, and this is the single easiest way to arrive at a California trailhead with the wrong answer.
- No permit: Meiss Country, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, north of Carson Pass
- Permit required: the Carson Pass Management Area in the Mokelumne Wilderness
- Check which forest manages the ground before you decide you need nothing
Free, but you still fill in a permit at the trailhead
A self-issued permit costs nothing and needs no reservation, which is as close to permit-free as most California wilderness gets. You write your details on a form in a box at the trailhead and carry the copy.
- Canyon Creek in the Trinity Alps, for the Canyon Creek Lakes, on a self-issue wilderness permit
- Stuart Fork in the Trinity Alps, listed as free: 27 miles out and back to Emerald and Sapphire Lakes, from 2,700 feet to 5,874 feet, rated moderate over 3 to 4 days
- Mount Shasta below 10,000 feet, on a free self-issue wilderness permit
Mount Shasta is two permits, and only one of them is free
Climbing Shasta means a free self-issue wilderness permit plus a Summit Pass for anything above 10,000 feet, and the second one costs $25 for three days. There is no quota on it, so there is nothing to compete for and nothing to get alerted about. Pick it up at a trailhead self-issue kiosk, at the Mt. Shasta or McCloud Ranger Station, at The Fifth Season, or by phone.
Trips with no reservation, which is not the same as no permit
Henry Coe State Park sells its backcountry on a zone-style permit issued first come at the trailhead. Nothing is reservable, so nothing can sell out online, but you are still buying a permit: $5 per person per night for backpacking, plus $8 parking per vehicle per night, or $6 at Hunting Hollow. Bring exact change. It is the best answer in the Bay Area for a trip decided on a Friday.
A permit is not the only paperwork California asks for
Several Big Sur and Ventana Wilderness trailheads need no quota permit and still require a campfire permit if you plan to use a stove or a fire. The Pine Ridge Trail towards Sykes Hot Springs is the clearest example: no quota, campfire permit required. Vicente Flat nearby is recorded as having no quota permit at all. Check the fire rule separately from the permit rule, because the two are issued by different processes and one being absent tells you nothing about the other.
The mistake this list exists to prevent
Plenty of California trailheads have no booking page, and that is a fact about the website rather than about the rules. For most of them the honest position is that we do not know which permit applies, not that none does. Desolation Wilderness is the clearest case of the reverse: it looks like walk-up country and it is not. Permits are required year round for overnight use, issued by the destination zone you spend your first night in, across 45 zones reached from 15 trailhead entry points.
- In quota season, the Friday before Memorial Day through September 30, 70% of each day's quota is reservable on Recreation.gov from six months to one day ahead
- The other 30% is walk-in only, same day, at the Placerville Ranger Station in Camino or the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Supervisor's Office in South Lake Tahoe
- Overnight fees are $5 per person for one night and $10 per person for 2 to 14 nights, capped at $100 per permit, with children 12 and under free, plus a $6 per-party reservation fee
- Day use is not subject to fees and is not limited by quota at any time of year
Tip: check the agency, not the booking page
The test that works is short. Find the forest or park that manages the ground, and look for a sentence about permits on its own site. If it says a permit is not required, you are free. If it says nothing, assume one is required and find out which. An empty Recreation.gov search result proves only that Recreation.gov is not selling it.
Conclusion
California has very little permit-free backcountry, and the four places above are most of it. The larger category is free self-issued permits, which need no reservation but still want you to stop at the box on the way in. Everything else that looks unbookable is usually a permit you have not identified yet. Work out who manages the ground first, and the paperwork answer follows.
Common questions
Do you need a permit to backpack in California?
Usually yes. Most California wilderness needs either a quota permit reserved in advance or a free self-issued permit filled in at the trailhead. Only a few places have a published agency statement that no permit is required at all, including Granite Chief Wilderness and Meiss Country near Lake Tahoe.
Which California backpacking trips need no permit at all?
Granite Chief Wilderness and Meiss Country near Tahoe, where the Forest Service says permits are not required for day or overnight use, plus Big Basin Redwoods day use and the hike and bike sites in the state parks, where California State Parks says a permit is not required. Big Basin and the hike and bike sites still charge a fee.
Do you need a permit to backpack in Desolation Wilderness?
Yes. Permits are required year round for overnight use and are issued by the destination zone you camp in on your first night, across 45 zones reached from 15 trailhead entry points. In quota season, 70% of each day's quota is reservable on Recreation.gov and the other 30% is same-day walk-in only.
What is a self-issued wilderness permit?
A permit you fill in yourself at a box at the trailhead, with no reservation and no fee. Canyon Creek and Stuart Fork in the Trinity Alps work this way, and so does travel on Mount Shasta below 10,000 feet. You carry your copy for the trip.
Do you need a permit to climb Mount Shasta?
You need two. A free self-issue wilderness permit covers travel in the wilderness, and a Summit Pass is required above 10,000 feet at $25 for three days. There is no quota on the Summit Pass, so it cannot sell out.
Is a campfire permit the same as a wilderness permit?
No. They are separate documents issued by separate processes. Several Big Sur and Ventana Wilderness trailheads need no quota permit and still require a campfire permit for a stove or a fire, so check the fire rule on its own rather than assuming it follows the permit rule.
Permit pages for these trips
What each agency requires, and where the permit comes from. The first four need no permit at all, so there is nothing on them to watch.
Granite Chief Wilderness permit rules
Tahoe National Forest. Permits are not presently required for day or overnight use.
Meiss Country permit rules
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Hiking permits are not currently required.
Big Basin Redwoods day-use access
No permit. Parking is $6 per vehicle plus $2 to reserve, and free on foot or by bike.
Pfeiffer Big Sur hike and bike sites
No permit required. First come, first served for a per-person fee paid on arrival.
Canyon Creek permit in the Trinity Alps
Self-issue wilderness permit for the Canyon Creek Lakes.
Stuart Fork permit in the Trinity Alps
Free. 27 miles out and back to Emerald and Sapphire Lakes, 2,700 to 5,874 feet.
Mount Shasta Summit Pass rules
$25 for three days above 10,000 feet, with no quota, plus a free self-issue permit.
Henry Coe backpacking permit
First come at the trailhead. $5 per person per night plus parking, exact change.
Carson Pass and Meiss Meadow permit
The Mokelumne Wilderness one, which does require a permit. Not the same as Meiss Country.