Wild camping on Augstmatthorn

Wild camping on Augstmatthorn: the summit is inside the reserve

The destination is Augstmatthorn, above Lake Brienz. It is the summit on the Hardergrat reached from Lombachalp on the Habkern side, or by a longer ridge walk. The named summit point is at LV95 2'637'445 / 1'176'902, WGS84 46.74226 N, 7.92862 E, about 2'136 m above sea level. The current commune at that point is Oberried am Brienzersee. Habkern begins across the ridge, while the federal reserve covers both sides. ³

The reserve is called Augstmatthorn, object no. 1. Its federal object sheet describes an area with partial protection. The summit is well inside the actual protected district, rather than in a surrounding wildlife-damage compensation perimeter. The ground around the summit is therefore subject to the reserve's rules, even where an individual patch of grass looks suitable for a small tent. ³

The shorter walk from Lombachalp does not make the ridge a camping area. Access for a day walk, the chance to see ibex and permission to sleep outdoors are different questions. Habkern's mountain-specific rules tell visitors to respect the bike, bivouac and tent ban in the Augstmatthorn reserve. That advice concerns this mountain, not just a generic policy for the Bernese Oberland. ⁵

The federal rule: tents and camping are forbidden

A small tent for one night is covered. The federal ordinance on game reserves, VEJ SR 922.31, applies to the district. Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e states: ¹

"Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen."VEJ, Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e. Free tenting and camping are forbidden; official campsites are excepted; the cantons may grant exceptions.

The sentence has no summer exemption, no above-the-tree-line exemption and no minimum number of nights. Putting up a tent at dusk and removing it at dawn is still free tenting. A small party, a quiet night and leaving no trace are good behaviour, but do not replace the permission the rule requires. ¹

Partial protection is no camping exception. The classification in the object sheet concerns the reserve's protection and wildlife-management regime. Art. 5 applies to game reserves without reserving the camping sentence to integral-protection zones. The exception in the neighbouring weapons provision does not create an exception for tents. The camping provision has its own route, a decision by the canton. ^{1 3}

The reserve also protects wildlife from disturbance, requires dogs to be kept on a lead and restricts drones. Keep those rules during the day walk too. A lawful visit along a path gives no entitlement to settle beside it for the night. ¹

The camping fine is CHF 150

The federal fixed penalty is CHF 150. The Ordnungsbussenverordnung, OBV SR 314.11, annex 2 item 12005 lists free tenting or camping in federal game reserves at that amount, with the reference to the Hunting Act and VEJ Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e. It is the fixed camping ticket, not a maximum chosen from a broad statutory range. ²

The amount belongs to the camping offence. Other conduct, such as disturbing wildlife or breaching an access restriction, has its own legal consequences. A camping ticket is not a purchase of permission to spend the night, and an instruction to leave still has to be followed. The useful decision is to choose an authorised overnight stay before setting off. ^{1 2}

Without a tent: the wording and the local answer

The federal sentence names free tenting and camping. It does not separately use the word "Biwakieren". A sleeping bag laid on the ground and a tent are physically different, so the wording should not be rewritten as if it explicitly listed every tentless overnight. That distinction alone gives no affirmative permission for a planned night in a game reserve. ¹

Habkern's guidance for this destination expressly calls for respect of the "Bike-, Biwakier- und Zeltverbot im Jagdbanngebiet Augstmatthorn". It therefore gives visitors no tentless overnight arrangement to rely on. Use booked accommodation rather than testing whether a particular bivvy bag will be treated as camping. The national explanation of wild camping and bivouacking separates the acts; it does not override this reserve's rule. ⁵

A genuine emergency is a safety situation. Being caught by an injury or dangerous weather is different from deliberately planning a sunrise night on the ridge. Choose a route and a return time you can manage, and seek help when you need it; a planned bivouac does not become an emergency simply because the return would be inconvenient.

Only the canton can grant a reserve exception

The consent route inside the reserve belongs to canton Bern. VEJ Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e reserves exceptions to the cantons. A private owner, alp tenant, restaurant or municipal parking office cannot waive the federal prohibition. The presence of working pasture inside the reserve does not change which authority decides an exception. ¹

The named summit stands on Oberried parcel 51, EGRID CH643546391221. The public land-restriction extract identifies the parcel and applicable planning restrictions; it is not an ownership certificate. Bern provides a separate land-register ownership inquiry. Wherever an owner agrees to use of private land, that agreement still sits below the federal reserve rule. ^{6 8}

No standing tourist tent arrangement is advertised on Augstmatthorn. Habkern's destination guidance gives a ban, rather than a fee, a booking link or a named farmer who lets visitors stay. For a special proposed use, ask canton Bern's Jagdinspektorat whether an exception is available for that exact place and purpose: +41 31 636 14 30, info.ji@be.ch. Treat the answer as no permission until an actual authorisation covers the proposed night. ^{5 1}

The reserve edge is not an overnight route

Corrected on 7 October 2026: an earlier version called the ground beyond the eastern reserve edge the nearest lawful night. No authorised outdoor pitch is identified there. The old coarse slope samples also did not establish a usable tent shelf near the summit. Book a bed below.

The nearest edge lies about 1.1 km east of the summit. That is the shortest straight-line distance to the protected district's polygon. It crosses steep ground; it is neither a trail distance nor a suggestion to descend towards the edge. Crossing the commune line to Habkern is also not crossing the reserve line. ³

The crest offers little space even before the law enters the picture. The ground within 30 m of the summit has a median slope of 36.5 degrees. The nearest complete 10 by 10 m patch whose steepest ground stays below 20 degrees lies 255 m south-west, 35 m lower. It is still inside the reserve. Gentler grass farther down the west side remains in the protected district too. ^{4 3}

The tempting ground on the Lombachalp side has a second problem: Habkern's protected moorland. The commune's destination guidance limits visits to the daytime, says camping in the moorland is not permitted, asks visitors to remain on paths and respect the moor areas, and directs overnight visitors to accommodation. The wet ground is not a fallback for the summit. ⁵

Habkern's moorland regime has a specific hut-side exception. Its approved Baureglement Art. 56A para. 5 lit. b allows tents and non-commercial igloos beside Sennhütten with the Bergschaftsrat's agreement. It is permission for that defined setting, not for a freely chosen meadow. Inside the federal district a cantonal exception remains necessary; no approved hut-side arrangement for the summit is advertised. ⁵

The Bern wildlife map also carries Augstmatthorn as the federal reserve, rather than a separate cantonal camping exception. No Bern nature-reserve polygon covers the summit point. That absence does not cancel the federal district which does cover it. On other parts of the approach, the mapped protection and signs remain relevant. ⁷

Oberried has a current public-ground rule too

Outside the federal reserve, Oberried's local rule still matters on public ground. The commune's Polizeireglement, in force since 1 August 2025, Art. 4 para. 1, prohibits camping on public ground outside authorised campsites. Art. 4 para. 2 allows the Gemeinderat to grant exceptions on application. This is a municipal rule about public ground, not a blanket prohibition on every private pasture. ⁹

Art. 16 para. 1 lit. a sets a fine ceiling of CHF 5'000 for breaches of Art. 4 para. 1 and preserves federal and cantonal criminal provisions in para. 3. That ceiling is not the fixed CHF 150 federal camping ticket. A municipal exception outside the reserve must cover the actual place; inside it, the federal authorisation remains necessary. ^{9 1 2}

The older Campingreglement has been repealed. Art. 19 of the current police regulation expressly repeals the camping regulation of 25 November 2005, and Art. 20 sets the new act's start date. The old PDF still being accessible does not make its earlier territory-wide camping clause operative. For the summit, this change leaves the federal rule intact. ⁹

Where to spend the night instead

Book below and leave the ridge to the day walk. Habkern puts you on the Lombachalp approach side; accommodation by Lake Brienz fits a return to the south side. Arrange the room and transport before the walk, so reaching the summit late does not force an outdoor night. The destination's moorland overnight page names the Hohganthütte, farther from Augstmatthorn, rather than a tent on the ridge. ⁵

A paid car park on the approach is for parking. Habkern has separately designated overnight places under its parking rules, but the marked place, opening period and operator terms decide their use. Paying for a car at Lägerstutz or Lombachalp does not authorise a tent on the moor or a night on Augstmatthorn. ⁵

Keep the alternatives attached to their own destinations. The nearby Brienzer Rothorn has a different developed summit and overnight options; Tannhorn has its own reserve boundary. A report about a different crest is not permission for the ground on Augstmatthorn. The Swiss overview explains how federal, cantonal and communal rules fit together.

General rules for wild camping

For an outdoor night that the responsible owner or authority has actually permitted, follow the conditions and these mountain ground rules:

• No fire. An open fire has no place in the mountains. A gas stove is enough.
• Pitch late, strike early. Set up towards evening, gone again early. A bivouac is one night, not a base camp.
• Leave no rubbish. Everything you carry up you carry down, organic scraps and toilet paper included.
• At least 50 metres from any water for the big business, so you do not foul what people and livestock drink.
• Stay small and quiet. A small group, no speaker, no drone, dogs on the lead, and the alp staff's word goes.

Disclaimer

This assessment uses public rules and geodata available on 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice. No landowner consent or individual permit has been obtained for the reader. Current parcel ownership requires Bern's authenticated register; Habkern's destination guidance rejects a planned bivouac in the reserve.

Check the rules, conditions, accommodation opening and your arrangements before each trip. Follow lawful instructions and signs on site. Hikebeast, Leon Helg and Saftladen GmbH accept no liability for decisions based on this text, and call on no one to break applicable law. An unforeseen emergency bivouac is different from a planned night for the view.

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Leon Helg

Swiss filmmaker and software developer. Spends his free time in the Swiss Alps and maps his favourite spots for Hikebeast. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

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