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I see a couple people asking about the general Sierras area so I'll chime in. You pretty much need a permit for any overnight stay in National Parks. They ask where you intend to camp but generally no one gives a shit. Anything can happen once you're balls deep in the Sierras and rangers understand this. On heavily trafficked trails you may need a permit just for a day hike. General NP rules are no pets, firearms, camp 200+ feet from water sources, try to stay on established campgrounds, stay off of grassy meadow areas. The reason why is that growing season is very short in the Sierras, meadows take a long time to recover.
If you stay to the east of the Sierras (alabama hills) it is mostly BLM land and you do not need permits, and all of it is fair play for dispersed camping.
For the Eastern Sierra Vistor Center they reserve roughly 15% of all permits for walkins. Meaning if you get there before they open you will usually score your permit. Walk in permits are completely free unlike online reservations which cost 15 per person (last i checked). The only permit which is difficult to get walk ins for is Mount Whitney. Every time I go to the Sierras I just snag a walk in permit. I have not seen a single group ask for a walk in permit for anything other than Whitney. Everything is actually very easy and straight forward. Ive even grabbed a full fucking JMT permit as a walk on.
