As of: 30 September 2026

Wild camping on the Bietstöck

The Bietstöck above Wolfenschiessen is a rock crest with no flat ground, and its summit lies inside a protected-plant area whose ordinance does not mention tents. The commune and the canton have no camping ban. The nearest level ground outside the area is a pathless terrace 180 m lower.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Legal situation checked in September 2026
What do these mean?

Illegal A specific rule bans it, usually with a fine, and it can be enforced. Sleep somewhere else.

Not allowed No real place to camp here. A gated site, a developed area, or nowhere sensible to lie down, even if no fine is attached.

It depends You can sleep here, but there's a condition first: ask the landowner, book a spot, stay inside a set zone, or use a bivvy instead of a tent. The report says which.

Tolerated No rule clearly allows or bans it, but a single night is accepted in practice and nobody enforces against it. Normal for high bivouacs above the treeline.

Legal Camping one night is fine here. Either a rule allows it, or we checked every law and found nothing against it. Still: pitch late, leave early, no trace.

What 'wild camping' means here: one night. A small tent or a bivvy bag, up towards evening, gone in the morning. Not a base camp, not a camper van. Most Swiss bans are written against camping; whether a single night also falls under them depends on the exact wording, so this article checks that wording. The full difference: wild camping vs bivouacking.

Wild camping on the Bietstöck: a rock crest above the Bannalp

Which Bietstöck. Switzerland has three similar names: the Bietstöck at 2'183 m in Wolfenschiessen, Nidwalden, the Bietstock above Muotathal and the Bietstöckli above Morschach, both in Schwyz. This article is about the Nidwalden summit, a crest of four tops above the Bannalp alp. The swisstopo summit point is the third top from the east; the highest, point 2'213, stands 244 m further east.6

No marked route leads up. The nearest marked hiking trail passes 380 m from the summit point. Climbers' descriptions rate the east ridge a scramble and the west ridge a climb of four pitches, grade 5a to 5b.69

There is no level ground on the summit

The summit point is bare rock on the rim of a cliff band. The elevation model shows that half of the ground within 30 m of it is steeper than 57 degrees, and the aerial image shows the rock rim with a shadowed north face below it. On the highest top, point 2'213, half of the ground within 30 m is steeper than 44 degrees, and it lies in the same protected area.6

The nearest level ground is 180 m lower. A terrace runs below the north face at about 2'000 m; swisstopo's local name for it is Wildalpeli. No walkable line leads down to it from the summit, because the face in between is cliff. It is reached over steep, pathless ground: from the marked trail south-west of the crest about a kilometre and 150 to 220 m of climbing, from the Sinsgäu side two to three kilometres and about 500 m of climbing. Allow 30 to 45 minutes from the trail, and treat it as terrain for experienced hikers.6

The terrace lies at the foot of the north face: the wall rises steeply to its south, and the ground drops away steeply to its north. Stay on the bench and keep away from both. The terrace lies far above the tree line, and the nearest mapped stream is over 400 m away, so carry your water.6

No rule names a tent, but the summit is a protected-plant area

Wolfenschiessen and Nidwalden have no camping ban. The commune's published regulations contain no camping or police rule, and its zoning regulation puts the summit in the catch-all zone "Übriges Gemeindegebiet", with no protection zone. The canton has no general camping ban and no on-the-spot camping fine. Its biotope ordinance bans tents only in listed moors and dry meadows, and none lies at the summit or on the terrace.12

One cantonal ordinance covers the summit. The summit lies in plant-protection area no. 4, which the canton's map labels "Gipfelpartien des Kaiserstuhls und der Bietstöcke (Bannalp)" and the ordinance lists as "Gipfelpartien des Kaiserstuhls und der Walenstöcke". The area covers 575 ha, and the summit lies 44 m inside its north edge. The ordinance on the protection of threatened animals and plants, NG 331.13, in force since 1 January 2026, says in § 5 paragraph 1:24

"In den Pflanzenschutzgebieten ist jedes Pflücken, Ausgraben, Ausreissen, Beschädigen und Überdecken von einheimischen wildwachsenden Pflanzen und Pilzen verboten."Verordnung über den Schutz bedrohter Tiere und Pflanzen, NG 331.13, § 5 para. 1. In English: any picking, digging up, tearing out, damaging and covering of native wild plants and fungi is prohibited in the plant-protection areas.

The wording does not mention a tent. Its verbs are aimed at plants. The ordinance names no camping, tent or bivouac anywhere, although the canton writes "Zelten und Campieren" into its biotope ordinance where it means it. "Überdecken" could be read to reach a tent on grass, and no decision, guidance or press report applying it to a camper is published. Breaches of a cantonal protection ordinance are punished with a fine (NSchG art. 46); the ordinance sets no tariff. A further paragraph adds a habitat duty: in areas no. 4 and 7 everything is to be avoided that impairs the habitat of the Nidwalden hairy snail (§ 7).2

The Emerald site and the game reserve: what they change

The Emerald site is not a camping rule. The summit also lies in the Emerald site Walenstöcke - Brisen. That network comes from the Bern Convention and obliges the state, not the camper; Nidwalden implements it in part through plant-protection areas no. 4 and 7.52

The federal game reserve is 360 m away. The reserve Bannalp-Walenstöcke (no. 42) begins about 360 m south-south-east of the summit point and about 450 m from the terrace. Inside it free camping is prohibited (VEJ art. 5 para. 1 lit. e), fixed fine CHF 150; outside it that ban does not apply. No federal wildlife rest zone lies within 1.8 km, and the nearest, Brisen, binds only from 15 December to 30 April.45

The canton's map names the plant-protection area after the Bietstöcke and the Kaiserstuhl. The Chaiserstuel, 1.3 km to the east, has its own report, because its summit point lies across the cantonal border, in Uri: wild camping on the Chaiserstuel. How to read these layers yourself: protected areas explained.4

What the canton's guidance says, who owns the ground, and who to ask

The canton's own guidance says no, with one exception. Nidwalden's leaflet on parking and campsites, section 3.11, asks "Ist das Wildcampieren in Nidwalden erlaubt?" and answers: "Grundsätzlich Nein. Für ein Ja ist die Zustimmung des Grundeigentümers nötig. Es gibt ein paar Ausnahmen: Einzelne Übernachtungen (nicht in Gruppen) im Gebirge, oberhalb der Waldgrenze." It is guidance, not law. It names nature reserves, federal game reserves, wildlife rest zones and areas with a general entry ban as banned; plant-protection areas are not named.3

The summit and the terrace are alp ground. Both lie on parcel no. 103 of Wolfenschiessen, the Bannalp. The Bannalp is one of Nidwalden's eight Gemeinalpen, private-law cooperatives that manage their ground jointly and sell or lease the huts with the right to use the land "unter Einhaltung der Gesetze der Gemeinalp". The Bannalp's own alp act is not public, and the cadastre names no owner.7

No standing permission and no fee are published. Nothing published offers a night on this ground or puts a price on it. The Luftseilbahnen Bannalp AG, the valley access company, is a practical first call: +41 41 628 16 33. The Gemeindeverwaltung Wolfenschiessen, +41 41 629 73 30, can route a question to the alp.71

Where you can sleep: the terrace below the north face, or a bed at the Urnerstaffel

The nearest level ground outside the protected area is the terrace below the north face. A bench of about 1'300 m2 at 46.87478 N, 8.45339 E (LV95 2'677'357 / 1'192'017), 2'007 m, slopes at 4 to 8 degrees. It lies 76 m outside the plant-protection area, about 450 m from the game reserve, in the catch-all zone without protection. From that point the wall rises steeply about 75 m to the south, and the ground drops away steeply about 110 m to the north. Stay on the terrace and do not climb towards the crest with a tent.46

One small pitch, one night, and ask first if you can. Nidwalden's guidance names a single night above the tree line, not in a group, as an exception, and the alp's own rules are unpublished, so the call in the section above is worth making. The approach is pathless and steep.3

Berggasthaus Urnerstaffel, Bannalp, about 0.8 km from the summit: rooms from CHF 55 for a single and CHF 110 for a double, open daily until 31 October 2026, 09:00 to 18:00. The new operators take no phone reservations and book through the house's online form; information on +41 41 628 15 75. The Bannalp cable car runs from mid-May to the end of October.8

Zeltplatz Oberfeld, the alp's tent ground at 1'860 m, takes tents from about mid-June to the end of September: CHF 15 a person from 16 years, CHF 20 for a single person, CHF 10 for children from 3 to 15, rental tents available, 40 minutes from the Bannalp station, +41 79 728 50 60. The operator states that it lies inside the federal game reserve, so pitch only on the tent ground.8

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which near the Bietstöck means one small pitch on the terrace, never a group. Keep away from the wall and the drop, carry your water and leave nothing behind.

  • 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 article reflects my research and assessment to the best of my knowledge, as of September 2026, based on the official and public sources below. It does not replace legal advice and is not a binding statement by a public authority.

Cantonal ordinances, communal rules, opening dates and prices change; the plant-protection ordinance has applied since 1 January 2026. The alp's own rules and any court prohibition would add to this text; none has appeared in the cantonal gazette since July 2025. The ground on the crest and the terrace was judged from official aerial imagery and the federal elevation model, not surveyed on site. Before every tour, check the current sources yourself and follow instructions on site. A genuine emergency bivouac in distress is a separate question from a planned night. Anyone who spends the night outside bears responsibility for their own conduct and its consequences. Hikebeast, Leon Helg and Saftladen GmbH accept no liability for decisions made on the basis of this text, and call on no one to break applicable law.

Frequently asked questions

Is wild camping allowed on the Bietstöck?
No rule names a tent, but there is nowhere to pitch. Wolfenschiessen and Nidwalden have no camping ban, and the canton's guidance names a single night above the tree line, not in a group, as an exception. The summit itself is a rock crest with no level ground and lies inside plant-protection area no. 4, whose ordinance (NG 331.13 § 5) bans covering wild plants and does not mention tents. The nearest level ground outside the area is a terrace 180 m lower, below the north face.
Does the plant-protection area ban tents?
The text does not say so. NG 331.13 § 5 paragraph 1 forbids picking, digging up, tearing out, damaging and covering native wild plants and fungi, and names no tent, camping or bivouac. Whether covering reaches a tent has not been published, so do not treat the area as open ground either; the terrace below the north face lies outside it.
Where can I pitch instead?
On the terrace below the north face, or at the Zeltplatz Oberfeld. The terrace bench at 46.87478 N, 8.45339 E (2'007 m) is pathless and steep, 76 m outside the plant-protection area and about 450 m from the game reserve. The Zeltplatz Oberfeld takes tents from mid-June to the end of September, CHF 15 a person, +41 79 728 50 60. The Berggasthaus Urnerstaffel has rooms until 31 October 2026.
What is the fine?
A cantonal fine without a tariff, and CHF 150 inside the game reserve. Breaches of cantonal protection ordinances are punished with a fine (NSchG art. 46), and no tariff is published. Inside the federal game reserve, which begins about 360 m south-south-east of the summit, free camping costs CHF 150 (OBV annex 2 no. 12005).
Which Bietstöck is this?
The one above the Bannalp in Wolfenschiessen, Nidwalden, at 2'183 m. Schwyz has a Bietstock above Muotathal and a Bietstöckli above Morschach. They lie in other communes and another canton, so this answer does not apply to them.
Leon Helg

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.

Swiss Guide Wildcamping Checker Color Grading

Sources

  1. Gemeinde Wolfenschiessen, read 30 September 2026. Published regulations: Strassenreglement, two Friedhofreglemente, two tourism concepts, Feuerwehrreglement, Gemeindeordnung, Parkplatzreglement, Verkehrsrichtplan, Bau- und Zonenreglement with the two zoning plans and the Fusswegplan, Benutzungsreglement, Wasserversorgungsreglement, Siedlungsentwässerungsreglement, Spielgruppenreglement, Entschädigungsreglement and Musikschulreglement; no police or camping regulation. Bau- und Zonenreglement of 15 May 2024, approved by the Regierungsrat on 15 October 2024 (RRB 633), in force since 1 January 2025. Cadastre of public-law restrictions (GIS Daten AG), parcel 103, EGRID CH793477380519: basic use "Übriges Gemeindegebiet" at the summit point and the terrace. Gemeindeverwaltung, Hauptstrasse 20, 6386 Wolfenschiessen, +41 41 629 73 30, gemeindeverwaltung@wolfenschiessen.ch. ↩
  2. Kanton Nidwalden, Gesetzessammlung, read 30 September 2026. Verordnung über den Schutz bedrohter Tiere und Pflanzen, NG 331.13, of 16 December 2025, in force since 1 January 2026: § 5 para. 1 (quoted in the text); § 5 para. 5 no. 4 "Gipfelpartien des Kaiserstuhls und der Walenstöcke (Anhang 4)"; § 6 para. 1, the boundaries set by the Regierungsrat are binding; § 7 para. 1: "Die Schutzgebiete gemäss § 5 Abs. 5 Ziff. 4 und 7 stellen den Schutz der Smaragdgebiete im Sinne der Berner Konvention sicher und dienen dem Schutz der Nidwaldner Haarschnecke (Raeticella biconicus). Es ist alles zu unterlassen, was den Lebensraum dieser Tiere beeinträchtigt." The ordinance contains no tent, camping or bivouac term. Gesetz über den Natur- und Landschaftsschutz, NG 331.1, art. 21 para. 2: "In Pflanzenschutzgebieten ist das Pflücken, Ausgraben, Ausreissen oder Schädigen von wildwachsenden Pflanzen und Pilzen verboten."; art. 46 para. 1: "Widerhandlungen gegen Bestimmungen dieses Gesetzes und der sich darauf stützenden Erlasse, Massnahmen und Verfügungen werden mit Busse bestraft." Biotopschutzverordnung, NG 332.11, § 5 para. 1 no. 5: "das Zelten und Campieren sowie organisierte Veranstaltungen abseits von markierten Wegen", in its listed moor and dry-meadow sites. ↩
  3. Kanton Nidwalden, Merkblatt Stell- und Campingplätze, 1st edition, version 1.1, 18 November 2021, section 3.11 "Wildcampieren": "Ist das Wildcampieren in Nidwalden erlaubt? Grundsätzlich Nein. Für ein Ja ist die Zustimmung des Grundeigentümers nötig. Es gibt ein paar Ausnahmen: Einzelne Übernachtungen (nicht in Gruppen) im Gebirge, oberhalb der Waldgrenze. Bei mehreren Übernachtungen muss das Zelt tagsüber wieder abgebaut werden. Auf Privatgrundstücken mit Erlaubnis des Grundstückbesitzers ist die Übernachtung ebenfalls erlaubt. Auch Not-Biwakieren ist erlaubt. In Naturschutzgebieten, eidg. Jagdbanngebieten, Wildruhezonen und bei allgemeinem Betretungsverbot gilt ein generelles Verbot fürs Wildcampieren." ↩
  4. Federal and cantonal geodata, read 30 September 2026. Swisstopo: summit point LV95 2'677'235 / 1'191'878, 2'183 m on swissALTI3D; point 2'213 at 2'677'475 / 1'191'923. Federal game reserve no. 42 Bannalp-Walenstöcke, 1'027.6 ha, "Gebiet mit integralen Schutzbestimmungen" (object sheet): the boundary lies 358 m from the summit point (bearing 158 degrees) and 452 m from the terrace pad. Federal wildlife rest zones: none within 1.8 km; nearest Brisen (no. 11.0, protection 15 December to 30 April), 1'839 m. Emerald site Walenstöcke - Brisen, object 32. No hit at the summit point, the point 2'213 or the terrace pad for BLN, floodplains, fens, raised bogs, mire landscapes, amphibian sites, dry meadows, Ramsar sites, forest reserves, parks and military areas. Canton Nidwalden web map service (GIS Daten AG), layer plant-protection areas: object no. 4 "Gipfelpartien des Kaiserstuhls und der Bietstöcke (Bannalp)", polygon of 575 ha; the summit point lies 44 m and point 2'213 43 m inside its edge, the terrace pads 76 m and 88 m outside. ↩
  5. Federal law, read 30 September 2026. Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete, VEJ (SR 922.31), art. 5 para. 1 lit. e, free camping in federal game reserves; Ordnungsbussenverordnung, OBV (SR 314.11), annex 2 no. 12005, fixed fine CHF 150. Federal Office for the Environment, Smaragd-Gebiete: "Jede Vertragspartei verpflichtet sich, die nötigen Massnahmen zu ergreifen, um den spezifischen Wert des von ihr vorgeschlagenen Gebietes zu erhalten." ↩
  6. Terrain and map data, read 30 September 2026. Swisstopo swissALTI3D (2 m): within 30 m of the summit point the median slope is 57 degrees; the terrace pads lie at 1'999.9 m (LV95 2'677'213 / 1'192'011, WGS84 46.874742 / 8.451501) and 2'006.8 m (2'677'357 / 1'192'017, WGS84 46.874779 / 8.453391); the local name Wildalpeli (swissNAMES3D) lies at 2'677'254 / 1'192'023. A north-south profile through the pad at 2'677'357 shows slopes of 3 to 5 degrees on the pad, 75 degrees 80 m to the south and 64 degrees 110 to 120 m to the north. Swissimage aerial image: bare rock rim at the summit point. swissTLM3D: nearest marked hiking trail 379 m from the summit point. OpenStreetMap (map data, not an official source): highest forest at 1'722 m, nearest stream 419 m from the terrace pad. Approach figures are estimates from the elevation model, not measured on foot. ↩
  7. Staatsarchiv Nidwalden, Die Nidwaldner Gemeinalpen, July 2024: "Sie sind privatrechtliche Körperschaften und unterstehen kantonalem Recht. Sie verwalten Grund und Boden genossenschaftlich, die Hütten aber sind im Hüttenrecht verkauft oder verpachtet, was die Besitzer oder Pächter dazu berechtigt, den Boden zu nutzen, unter Einhaltung der Gesetze der Gemeinalp." Bannalp is one of the eight Gemeinalpen. Parcel 103 Wolfenschiessen is the alp Bannalp in the cadastre, which names no owner. ↩
  8. Operators, read 30 September 2026. Berghaus Urnerstaffel, Bannalp, 6387 Oberrickenbach: "Bis 31 Oktober durchgehend offen", 09.00 to 18.00; "wir nehmen keine telefonischen Reservationen an", +41 41 628 15 75; new operators since 13 June 2026; rooms from CHF 55 (single) and CHF 110 (double) a night, bedding CHF 15 to rent. Alp Oberfeld, Zeltplatz: "Unser hochalpiner Zeltplatz befindet sich mitten im Eidgenössischen Jagdbangebiet und liegt auf 1860 Müm. und ist von ca. mitte Juni bis ende September offen."; "Von der Bahnstation Bannalp in ca. 40 Min. zu erreichen."; persons from 16 years CHF 15, single persons CHF 20, children 3 to 15 CHF 10; tent, mat, sleeping bag and liner can be rented on site; tel. 079 728 50 60. Luftseilbahnen Bannalp AG, Fell 3, 6387 Oberrickenbach, +41 41 628 16 33: "S'rotä Bähnli": mid-May to the end of October. ↩
  9. Route descriptions, colour and not an official source, read 30 September 2026: gipfelbuch.ch, west ridge (four pitches, 5a to 5b, descent by the east ridge) and holzding.ch, east ridge (T4, climbing grade II). ↩