Riffelsee, how to catch the Matterhorn reflection at sunrise

The Matterhorn, doubled. At first light the tip turns red before the rest of the mountain catches up. Here is how to be standing at the lake when it happens.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Published 11 June 2026
Riffelsee with the Matterhorn under the night sky.
Riffelsee, canton of Valais, 2,757 metres. The Matterhorn under the night sky. Photo · Leon Helg.

Getting there

Take the Gornergrat Bahn from Zermatt up to Rotenboden2. From the station it is a short walk down to the lake, maybe ten minutes on an easy path. No real hiking, you can carry the tripod in one hand.

The catch is the timetable. In summer the first train of the day reaches Rotenboden after sunrise, and in the evening you are back down before the light gets good again. The train misses both golden hours. So if you want the red tip on a summer morning, the train alone will not get you there in time. Either you walk up in the dark, which is a long climb from the valley, or you sleep in a hut nearby, or you stay down and settle for harder light. More on the sleeping question below, because the obvious shortcut is not legal.

The photo

Shoot wide. 24mm or 35mm. That is what it takes to keep the peak and its reflection in the same frame, the mountain stands high above the lake.

The reflection only works if the wind stays down. A light breeze is enough to break the mirror. Cross your fingers for a still morning and check the wind forecast the evening before.

Be in position before sunrise. The show is short: the red on the tip lasts maybe five minutes before full light floods in and kills the effect. Set up while it is still grey, fix your frame, then wait. Once the first colour hits the summit you will not have time to change lenses.

When to go

Late June to October. Earlier than that, at 2,757 metres1, the lake is usually still frozen or under snow, and there is nothing to reflect.

The honest downside is the crowd: 5 out of 5. This is the most-photographed spot at Gornergrat, and on an August weekend the shoreline fills up before sunrise. Weekdays beat weekends, and the shoulder weeks in late June and from mid September on are the quietest.

Can you stay the night?

No, not at the lake. Zermatt enforces a no-camping policy at the Riffelsee itself and rangers patrol the Rotenboden plateau. Camping is banned across the Zermatt valley, not just at the photo spot.

The terrain confuses people, so here it is in one paragraph. Riffelsee lies above the treeline, in the BLN protected landscape Dent Blanche-Matterhorn-Monte Rosa4. The SAC information sheet3 tolerates a single considerate bivouac night above the treeline, but only where no local rules say otherwise. Here they do, and local rules win. The tolerance argument does not work at Riffelsee.

The campsite in Zermatt

Down in Zermatt there is an official campsite5. Sleep there, take the first train up and shoot the later morning, or use it as a base for an early start on foot.

SAC huts

Several SAC huts sit around the Zermatt valley. Check the SAC hut directory for what is open and what fits your route.

A bivouac far from the lake

If you want a night outside, go far above the Bahn route and far away from the lake, where no local ban applies, and follow the SAC rules: one night, set up late, pack up early, leave nothing. Check wildlife rest zones on map.geo.admin.ch first. Never at the photo spot itself.

Official sources. SAC information sheet "Camping and bivouacking in the Alps" on sac-cas.ch, FOEN map of protected areas on map.geo.admin.ch (BLN and wildlife rest zones), Zermatt Tourism on zermatt.ch.

Riffelsee is in the Swiss Gems guide with its GPS pin, access notes and the wild camping verdict, next to 140 other spots I have mapped across Switzerland. If this kind of field note is useful to you, that is where they all live.

Swiss Gems · 141 spots in Switzerland

Access, best light and a wild camping status per spot. One-off CHF 27, free updates.

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Frequently asked questions

When is the best time of day to photograph Riffelsee?
Sunrise. At first light the Matterhorn tip turns red for maybe five minutes, and the morning gives you the best chance of still water. Be at the shore before the sun comes up. In summer the first train arrives after sunrise, so a very early shot needs a night nearby or a long walk up.
Can you camp at Riffelsee?
No. Zermatt bans camping at the lake and across the valley, and rangers patrol the Rotenboden plateau. The SAC tolerance for bivouacs above the treeline does not apply where local rules ban camping. Legal options: the campsite in Zermatt or an SAC hut.
How do you get to Riffelsee?
Take the Gornergrat Bahn from Zermatt to Rotenboden station. From there it is about a ten minute walk down to the lake on an easy path.
Do you need to hike to reach Riffelsee?
Barely. The path from Rotenboden station takes about ten minutes and is easy. Walking up from Zermatt instead is a long climb, only worth it if you want to be at the lake before the first train.
Leon Helg

Leon Helg

Swiss filmmaker and software engineer. 26 years in Switzerland, spends his free time exploring the Swiss Alps and maps his favourite spots for Hikebeast. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

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Sources

  1. Riffelsee, 2,757 m, above Zermatt near Rotenboden station, canton of Valais. Wikipedia. ↩
  2. Gornergrat Bahn, the railway from Zermatt to Gornergrat with the Rotenboden stop. gornergrat.ch. ↩
  3. Swiss Alpine Club, information sheet "Camping and bivouacking in the Alps": single bivouacs above the treeline are tolerated where no local rules say otherwise. sac-cas.ch. ↩
  4. Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), geoportal with the BLN inventory and the layers "wildlife rest zones" and "federal hunting ban districts". map.geo.admin.ch. ↩
  5. Zermatt Tourism, official site, accommodation in the valley including the campsite in Zermatt. zermatt.ch. ↩