The majority of land in the Northwestern area of Nevada referred to as the Black Rock / High Rock area is either claimed and protected by the BLM or that of the Paiute Indian Reservation. The rest is privately owned.  Trekking on private property can usually be cleared by just asking the owner. In many cases the owner does not live there. We do not condone flagrant disregard of private property; we just make a statement to respect. Leave things as you find then (as with all things); take no private property and above all leave gates as you find them.

BLM PROPERTY
On BLM property you do not need a permit to explore, provided you do not make an event out of it. An event could be considered any large group of people, 35 or 40 in size, basically in one area and/or staying for a prolonged period of time. A permit is required and can be obtain from the BLM at their Winnemucca office:

BLM WINNEMUCCA DISTRICT OFFICE
5100 E Winnemucca Blvd • Winnemucca, NV 89445
(775) 623-1500

PAIUTE LANDS
If you plan on exploring land sitting on the Paiute Reservation, which is substantial, you will need to purchase a Permit. This is an extremely simple process of paying a fee of $7.00 per day for your vehicle; any number of people can fit. The permits can be purchased at the Nixon Indian Museum, The Nixon Store, Crosby's in Sutcliffe or the Ranger Station in Sutcliife at the Marina. A little secret, you can save a buck by purchasing your permit at the Paiute Adminstration Building. They're $6.00 there:

PYRAMID LAKE PAIUTE TRIBE
208 Capitol Hill • Nixon, NV 89424
(775) 574-1000

You must be aware of the lands you trek while on Paiute property. Many great places are closed to visitors and ignorance is no excuse to them. Only members of the Paiute community are permitted to enter closed areas freely - however - they can take friends and guests along to show them the wonders that are there. The Paiute hold all lands sacred and tolerate no abuse. Remember they do have a jail in Nixon.