Seealpsee, the five-franc boat and the Säntis reflection

Getting there

Train to Wasserauen, the end of the line behind Appenzell. From the station a paved path climbs straight up to the lake, steep enough that you feel it, about an hour at a normal pace¹. Nothing technical, I rate the spot easy.

The way I usually do it: as the descent from the Schäfler. Down past the Äscher, the famous guesthouse in the cliff, then keep going on the signposted trail to Seealpsee. You trade the steep climb for a long downhill and string two of the best spots in the Alpstein onto one line.

The boat and the photo

At the lake you can rent a little rowing boat. Five francs when I was last there, my note from on site, not an official rate. The cheapest photo upgrade I know in Switzerland.

Why it matters: everyone shoots Seealpsee from the shore path, same rocks, same angle. From the water you sit inside the reflection instead of next to it, and the peaks double on the surface around the boat.

Just before sunset is the moment. The water calms, the peaks around go warm, and the day-trippers have started heading down. You row out twenty metres and it is suddenly quiet.

Staying the night

Now the part almost everyone gets wrong, me included until recently. Banned by law? No, not yet. As of June 2026 there is no cantonal wild camping law in force in Appenzell Innerrhoden. I asked an official Alpstein ranger in June 2026 and his answer was clear: no law in force, no fine to fear today, a regulation is coming.

Allowed? Not exactly either. About this lake the canton has been specific: it does not want campsite-like conditions around the Seealpsee, what it tolerates is bivouacking with simple tents where the responsible alp farmers, the Sennen, allow it. The line comes from the cantonal government, the Standeskommission, which decided in 2025 to have a legal basis drafted: planned are a camping ban on public and private parking areas and, for bivouacs in the Alpstein, the landowner's explicit permission, possibly with a reservation system². Check where that stands before you go.

The official Alpstein guidance reads the same way: "Der Alpstein ist weder ein Zelt- noch ein Campingplatz. Wildes Zelten ist nicht erlaubt." The Alpstein is neither a tent pitch nor a campsite, wild camping is not permitted. It points you to the mountain inns, to sleeping on the alp, to the official campsites around Appenzell, and to following the alp staff's instructions³. That is guidance, not a law with a fine attached, but it tells you exactly how the region sees it.

Since 2026 volunteer rangers patrol the Alpstein, organised by the Bergwirteverein Alpstein: 15 volunteers, two to four of them out on weekends and public holidays. They have no police powers, their job is education and conversation, and they can call the police if someone will not listen. The project runs until 2028 and the canton backs it with up to 35,000 francs⁴. One of them is the ranger I asked.

No law does not mean anything goes. The shore and the meadows around the lake are alpine farmland, so asking the farmer is the fair move, and on private land that is exactly what Swiss civil law expects. The SAC etiquette is still the standard: one considerate night, pitch late, leave early, leave nothing behind⁵. The basin sits in the Säntisgebiet, a listed landscape in the federal BLN inventory⁶, that is a protection label for the scenery, not a camping ban. And wildlife rest zones apply where they are marked, check map.geo.admin.ch before you pick your spot.

The full legal picture, the consent route and who to ask included, is in wild camping at the Seealpsee.

Two easy ways to wake up at the lake.

This is what I keep up to date in the Swiss Gems Guide for all 141 spots: the current wild camping status per spot plus the fair way to stay the night.

When to go

April to November is the season. Be honest with yourself about the crowds though: I rate Seealpsee 5 out of 5 for busyness, it is the postcard lake of Eastern Switzerland and the shore path is full at midday. The fix is built into the photo plan, come late. In the hour before sunset the shore empties, the water calms, and the boat does the rest.

If the Alpstein grabs you, the Saxer Lücke is the other view I keep going back to, a few valleys deeper in the massif.

Frequently asked questions

Leon Helg

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

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