As of: 2 October 2026

Wild camping in Blumenstein

Blumenstein is a farming village below the Stockhorn chain, with an army range on its Allmend and a campsite that rents only by the month. The commune climbs to 2'101 m, and no rule at any level bans a night on its high pasture below the Homad, four hours up.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Legal situation checked in October 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 in Blumenstein: a farming village, and a commune that climbs to 2'101 m

Wild camping in Blumenstein is a question about a whole commune. The village lies at 659 m on the Fallbach, at the foot of the Stockhorn chain, in the administrative district of Thun. The commune's 15.5 km² reach from the Gürbe at 629 m up to the Nünenenfluh, 2'101 m, its highest point; its southern third is the chain itself, with the alps Langenegg, Oberwirtneren, Blattenheid, Lägerli and Homad between the Nünenenfluh and the Langeneggspitz. The name also labels a few houses in Forst-Längenbühl and a field name in the town of Solothurn, neither a place to camp.15

Where would anyone sleep? Not in the village, among farms and front doors, nor on the Allmend west of it, which is an army range. Not in the forest belt either: forest covers 560 ha of the commune and climbs to about 1'800 m on the north slopes under the Gustiberg, with farmed pastures in between. Above 1'800 m the commune holds about 1 km² of ground, most of it crest, rock and scree. The one open pasture up there with room for a tent is the Hohmad, the upper alp below the Homad, at about 1'940 m. Two smaller flats, on the Gustiberg and in the Chessel, lie at the edge of the forest.58

So the answer splits in two. In and around the village there is no place for a tent, and the campsite does not take one-night guests. Up on the Hohmad pasture no rule at any level bans one night, and the ground takes a tent. What it asks of you is care, because it is the catchment of a drinking-water supply.

The village, the Allmend and the forest: no place for a tent

The campsite does not take one-night guests. The Campingplatz Blumenstein, run by Wenger & Co on the Badstrasse, is open from 1 May to 30 September, and the commune's page says "Nur für Monatsmieten!", monthly rentals only. The operator is plainer still: "Wir stellen momentan keine Plätze für Tagestouristen zur Verfügung, mind. Mietdauer 1 Monat", no pitches for short stays, one month minimum. Its pilgrims' dormitory is for groups of five or more. Camping portals that still list it as a tent site are out of date.2

The Allmend west of the village is an army range. The Schiessplatz Blumenstein, a tank track and range for anti-tank and infantry weapons, has been fixed in the federal military plan since 1998: 55.9 ha on the Allmend and the Rain, 53.4 ha of them in Blumenstein, in use all year. The army's notice for civilians marks its core as "Sperrgebiet: Betretverbot (Blindgängergefahr)", a no-entry zone because of unexploded shells, and closes the area around it while firing is on, signalled by red and white flags and boards; outside firing times the paths are open. It is no place to spend a night.3

The forest and the farmland are worked land. The Burgergemeinde Blumenstein owns 579 ha, 315 ha of it forest, and leases its pastures above the village to farmers; the Alp Langenegg on the way up belongs to a cooperative of 50 members. Bern's forest act opens the forest to everyone "im Rahmen des ortsüblichen Umfangs" and says nothing about camping: it grants access, not a pitch. On worked land in sight of houses, where nobody offers a place, a tent is in somebody's way.347

A bed in the village. The commune lists two B&Bs, Trachsel on the Wäsemligasse, 033 356 05 83, and Singer on the Thunstrasse, and a flat on the Allmendstrasse let through Airbnb.2

No rule at any level bans a night on the high pasture

Blumenstein has no police regulation and no camping regulation. Among its published acts, the building regulation of 2023 names the campsite only as a special plan, "Campingplatz-Bad", of 14 May 2001. The visitor-tax regulation of 2020 charges CHF 1 to 5 "je Übernachtung" and collects it from the hosts (art. 3, 4 and 6), and a night on an alp has no host. The fee regulation's chapter on local policing covers inns, gambling, the use of public ground for trade, lost property and dogs, and has no camping item.1

Canton Bern has no general camping norm. Its police act, nature-protection act and ordinance, forest act and ordinance and hunting act contain no camping or bivouac rule. Where Bern bans a night out, it does so object by object: its wildlife-protection ordinance writes the ban into the core zones of listed reserves, and the decree of a nature reserve can ban tents inside it. No cantonal wildlife reserve and no nature reserve lies on Blumenstein's ground.4

The nearest reserve begins at the crest, and its first zone has no camping rule. The Scheibe wildlife reserve (no. 31) starts across the crest on the Därstetten side, about 110 m south of the pasture. Its zone 1a carries hunting rules, dogs on a lead in the forest from 1 December to 31 July and a ban on drones. The camping ban applies only in its core zone 1b, 3.8 km away on the Morgeten side:4

"Freies/wildes Campieren und Biwakieren sind verboten."Verordnung über den Wildtierschutz (WTSchV, BSG 922.63), annex 2, no. 31 Scheibe, under "In Kernzone 1b zusätzlich". In English: free or wild camping and bivouacking are banned. The sentence is not there for zone 1a, which begins at the Blumenstein crest. In the core zone a game warden can fine CHF 100 on the spot.

No federal inventory reaches the pasture. At the pitch there is no federal game reserve, wildlife rest zone, BLN landscape, moor, floodplain, amphibian site, dry meadow, forest reserve or military area. Elsewhere in the commune lie half a hectare of the Gurnigel/Gantrisch mire landscape, a dry meadow and two forest reserves, none of them near the Hohmad. Blumenstein is not part of the Gantrisch nature park, which begins on the Rüschegg side, and a regional nature park makes no camping rule in any case (PäV art. 19 and 20).5

The pasture belongs to the water supply, which publishes no rule for hikers. The Hohmad lies on Blumenstein parcel 7, 104 ha from the Salzmatte up to the crest, and the federal alp inventory gives the alp as the property of the Wasserversorgung Gemeindeverband Blattenheid (WGB), the association of communes whose springs lie below it. The WGB publishes nothing on hikers or tents, and the regulation for its springs rules out campsites, not a night. So a single night on the pasture needs no permit and breaks no rule.76

The Blattenheid springs: a duty of care, not a ban

The high pasture is a drinking-water catchment. Nine spring captations between 1'355 and 1'456 m above the village feed the WGB, which has supplied Blumenstein and its neighbours since 1913 and today serves 17 communes and more than 24'000 people. In 2014 dye tests showed that water from the Gustiberg reaches the springs as well. Since 2017 the high ground has lain in the protection zones of the "Schutzzonenreglement für die Quellfassungen Blattenheid" (no. 662), adopted by the WGB on 20 April 2017 and approved by the canton's water office in June 2017.67

Which zone is where. The Hohmad pasture and the Chessel lie in zone S2, which keeps acute hazards away from the captations; the Gustiberg and the Nünenenfluh crest lie in zone Sh, karst of high vulnerability. Zone S1 is the captations themselves and, in karst, the immediate surroundings of the swallow holes; the regulation has the water supply fence them, and the nearest lies 920 m from the pitch. What the regulation says about camping is one row in its table of leisure and sports installations, between ski runs and riding arenas:6

"Zeltplätze sowie Plätze für Wohnwagen und Mobilhomes"Schutzzonenreglement für die Quellfassungen Blattenheid, GSZ no. 662, annex 3, table 12 "Freizeit- und Sportanlagen". In English: campsites and pitches for caravans and motorhomes. Marked "Nicht zugelassen", not allowed, in zones S1 and S2, not allowed except by permit in zone Sh, and possible with a permit in S3 and Sm.

That row is about campsites, not a hiker's night. It sits among installations, from fitness trails and ski runs to riding arenas, and no row of the regulation bans walking, resting or one night on the pasture. The same regulation lets cattle graze zones S2 and Sh as long as the turf stays intact, and fines breaches of its rules (art. 7). What it does ask of a visitor follows from what it protects:6

  • Keep well clear of the fenced S1 rings, the captations and the swallow holes: never pitch or walk inside a fence.
  • No washing and no soap anywhere on the catchment, not even biodegradable soap.
  • No toilet waste on the ground. Carry a bag and take it down, toilet paper included.
  • Pack everything out, food scraps included, and cook on a gas stove.

Wasserversorgung Gemeindeverband Blattenheid (WGB), Aarbord 32E, 3628 Uttigen: owner of the Hohmad pasture and operator of the springs. Office 033 552 06 00, info@blattenheid.ch. No permission is needed for one night; a message before you go is a courtesy, and the place to ask where the S1 fences run.7

Where you sleep: the Hohmad pasture below the Homad

The pitch is open pasture south-west of the Alp Homad huts, at 46.70461 N, 7.48954 E (LV95 2'603'893 / 1'172'601), 1'942 m. It is a gently sloping meadow, not a terrace: the 10 by 10 m around the point stay under 10 degrees, and across 30 m the slope is about 12 degrees, so pick the line the tent lies on. The huts are 164 m to the north-east, the marked path bends round 40 m to the east and south, and the rock rim of the Chessel rises 60 to 100 m to the north-west. The aerial image shows grazed turf with cattle terraces and no trough, pond or rill near the pitch.8

Stay on this side of the crest. The crest runs 110 m to the south, about 30 m higher, and beyond it lies Därstetten. To the north the pasture drops to 1'893 m within 140 m; to the east it climbs towards the Homad, whose summit is 374 m away; the Homadsattel is 199 m to the west-south-west.8

Getting there. From the bus stop "Blumenstein, Bären" a marked path climbs via the Alpbeizli Langenegg, Blattenheid, the Salzmatte and Alp Lägerli to the Homad huts: about 4 hours and 1'300 m of ascent, graded T3. There is no water up there: the ground is karst without a stream, and the alp's cistern belongs to the alp. Carry what you need for the evening and the morning.87

Cattle, the alp team and the weather. The alp inventory gives a grazing season from mid-July to mid-September, when the alp team lives in the huts: in that season ask them where a tent is in nobody's way, or come after the cattle have gone down. The pasture faces north and north-west and is "stark den Winden ausgesetzt", strongly exposed to wind; on a summer night up here the risks are wind, lightning and fog. No fire: since 30 September 2026 the Thun region has been at moderate forest-fire danger, with an appeal to avoid fires outdoors.78

Not the other two flats. The Gustiberg, at 1'739 to 1'753 m, is legally the same but lies at the edge of the forest, beside a path junction, in zone Sh, with a fenced S1 ring 34 to 116 m away. The Stube bench in the Chessel, at 1'836 m, is S2 karst among sinkholes and conifer clumps, 352 m from any path. The Hohmad is the open ground, near the path and far from the S1 rings.68

Across the crest and next door: Därstetten, the Gantrischseeli, the Stockhorn

Across the crest, Därstetten asks for the landowner's consent. The Leiterepass, the Homadsattel and the slopes south of the Schwalmere belong to Därstetten, whose camping regulation of 23 May 1978 covers the whole commune. Its art. 9 holds the two sentences that matter: "Zum einmaligen Uebernachten dürfen Zelte und Wohnwagen ohne polizeiliche Bewilligung aufgestellt werden" and "In jedem Falle ist die Zustimmung des betreffenden Grundeigentümers einzuholen". One night needs no police permit but always the owner's yes, and a breach can cost up to CHF 1'000 (art. 42). The owner of the parcel behind the crest is named only in the land register, which is not public, so that consent has no address. The ground also lies in zone 1a of the Scheibe reserve, without a camping rule.94

At the Gantrischseeli, camping is banned. The small lake 3.9 km west of the pitch, at 1'578 m in Rüschegg, is cantonal nature reserve no. 117. Its decree of 6 May 1977 bans "das Campieren, insbesondere das Aufstellen von Zelten, Wohnwagen und Unterständen": camping, and in particular tents, caravans and shelters, so a tarp is caught too. Breaches fall today under the cantonal nature-protection act, with fines of CHF 100 to 50'000 (art. 57).10

The Stockhorn, 3.8 km to the east-south-east, has its own answer. A court order bans tents and nights out on its Erlenbach side, and the lawful tent there is on the Obere Walalp in Därstetten, CHF 20 by arrangement with the alp team: wild camping on the Stockhorn.

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which in Blumenstein means one small tent on the Hohmad pasture, above a drinking-water supply. Carry your water up and everything else down, and give the S1 fences a wide berth.

  • 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 October 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.

Communal regulations, the alp's season and fire warnings change. The owner of the Hohmad pasture is taken from the federal alp inventory; the land register that would confirm it, and name the owners of the other high parcels and of the ground across the crest, is not public. I could not obtain the text of the court order that the army's notice for the range refers to, and the boards on site were not checked. The ground at the pitch 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 in Blumenstein?
Not in the village, but one night on the high pasture below the Homad is legal. Blumenstein has no police or camping regulation, canton Bern has no general camping norm, and no nature or wildlife reserve, federal or cantonal, covers the Hohmad pasture at about 1'940 m. The village, the forest and farmland and the army range on the Allmend are no place for a tent, and the Campingplatz Blumenstein rents only by the month.
Can I stay one night at the Campingplatz Blumenstein?
No. The campsite, open from 1 May to 30 September, takes monthly rentals only: the operator offers no pitches for short stays and asks for a minimum of one month. Its pilgrims' dormitory is for groups of five or more. For a bed in the village the commune lists two B&Bs and a flat let through Airbnb.
Does the drinking-water protection zone ban camping?
No. It rules out campsites, not a hiker's night. The Hohmad pasture lies in zone S2 of the Blattenheid springs. Their protection-zone regulation (no. 662) lists campsites and pitches for caravans and motorhomes as not allowed in zones S1 and S2, in a table of leisure installations such as ski runs and riding arenas, and it lets cattle graze S2. It does ask for care: keep clear of the fenced S1 rings, use no soap, leave no toilet waste and carry everything out.
Why not in the village or the forest?
Because of the ground. Up to about 1'800 m the commune is houses, farmland and forest, owned by farmers, the Burgergemeinde and an alp cooperative, and nobody offers a pitch there. The Allmend west of the village is an army range whose core is a no-entry zone because of unexploded shells. A missing rule is not a permission, and a tent next to front doors or in a worked forest is in somebody's way. Up on the Hohmad the ground is open pasture, 164 m from the alp huts and 40 m off the path.
What about the other side of the crest and the Gantrischseeli?
Across the crest it depends on the landowner; at the Gantrischseeli camping is banned. Därstetten's camping regulation of 1978 allows one night in a tent without a police permit but always with the landowner's consent (art. 9), with fines up to CHF 1'000 (art. 42), and the owner of the ground behind the Homad is not public. The Gantrischseeli in Rüschegg is nature reserve no. 117, whose decree of 1977 bans camping, tents and shelters, fined today at CHF 100 to 50'000. The Stockhorn has its own report, with a CHF 20 tent on the Obere Walalp.
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 Blumenstein, read 1 October 2026. Zahlen und Fakten: highest point "Nünenenfluh 2101 m ü. M.", village crossroads 659 m, forest 560 ha. Reglemente und Verordnungen: the published acts include no police regulation and no camping regulation. Baureglement 2023, list of special plans: "UeO Nr. 2", "Campingplatz-Bad", 14 May 2001. Kurtaxenreglement, in force since 1 January 2020: art. 3 para. 1 "Die Kurtaxe wird je Übernachtung von natürlichen Personen erhoben, die ohne steuerrechtlichen Wohnsitz in der Gemeinde übernachten."; art. 4 para. 1: CHF 1 to 5 per night; art. 6 para. 1 "Die Kurtaxe wird bei den Beherbergenden bezogen." Gebührenreglement, chapter "Ortspolizeiwesen", art. 20 to 26: inns and alcohol, prostitution, gambling and trade, use of public ground for trade (CHF 40), certificates of good conduct, lost property, dog tax; no camping item. ↩
  2. Campsite and beds, read 1 October 2026. Gemeinde Blumenstein, Campingplatz: "Der Campingplatz ist vom 1. Mai - 30. September geöffnet. Nur für Monatsmieten!" Campingplatz Blumenstein, Wenger & Co, Badstrasse 26, 3638 Blumenstein, bad-blumenstein.ch: "Wir stellen momentan keine Plätze für Tagestouristen zur Verfügung, mind. Mietdauer 1 Monat."; "Das Pilgerlager können wir nur für Gruppen anbieten (ab 5 Personen)."; "Nur im Sommer offen, kein Dauerwohnen." Camping portals that list it as a tent site are out of date. Gemeinde Blumenstein, Übernachtungen: B&B Trachsel, Wäsemligasse 3, 033 356 05 83; B&B Singer, Thunstrasse 17 (einfach-schlafen.ch); Airbnb Hof-Allmend, Allmendstrasse 16. ↩
  3. The army range and the Burgergemeinde. Sachplan Waffen- und Schiessplätze 1998, object sheet 02.202, "Schiessplatz Blumenstein (Tankbahn)": anti-tank and infantry weapons with a tank track, mechanised troops, in use all year (32 to 50 weeks), host communes Blumenstein, Uebeschi and Thierachern, safety sector 46 ha, operator the Eidg. Waffenplatzverwaltung Thun; in the federal military plan layer a perimeter fixed and in force since 19 August 1998, 55.9 ha, 53.4 ha of it in Blumenstein, on the Allmend and the Rain west of the village. armasuisse Immobilien (VBS), Nutzungsregelung für Zivilpersonen, SPL Blumenstein, 21 September 2021, published by the Burgergemeinde: "Sperrgebiet: Betretverbot (Blindgängergefahr). Ausgenommen Berechtigte."; "Gefährdeter Raum: Betretverbot während Schiessbetrieb (Warnzeichen bei Schiessbetrieb). Ausserhalb Schiessbetrieb freie Nutzung der Wege."; no parking during firing; signals: red and white flags, a red and white windsock and boards, lit at night with a St Andrew's cross. Burgergemeinde Blumenstein, bg-blumenstein.ch, read 1 October 2026: 579 ha, 315 ha of it forest (managed by GürbeForst AG since 1 July 2017), 160 ha meadow and arable land, "Alp und Weideland 65 ha"; the pastures above the village are leased to farmers; on the Burgergut page, the army "betreibt seit vielen Jahren eine Übungsanlage im unteren Teil des Rains". ↩
  4. Canton Bern, official law collection (BELEX), read 1 October 2026. Kantonales Waldgesetz (KWaG, BSG 921.11), art. 21 para. 1: "Der Wald ist im Rahmen des ortsüblichen Umfangs öffentlich zugänglich, ohne dass dadurch eine besondere Haftung der Waldeigentümerin oder des Waldeigentümers begründet wird."; art. 22 and the forest ordinance (KWaV, BSG 921.111) art. 29: permits only for events; neither has a camping rule. Polizeigesetz (BSG 551.1), Naturschutzgesetz (BSG 426.11), Naturschutzverordnung (BSG 426.111) and Gesetz über Jagd und Wildtierschutz (JWG, BSG 922.11): no camping, tent or bivouac term. Verordnung über den Wildtierschutz (WTSchV, BSG 922.63), annex 2 no. 31 Scheibe, "Alle Zonen (1a, 1b)": category C, deer hunting under the annual rules; category E, "Hunde sind vom 1. Dezember bis zum 31. Juli im Wald an der Leine zu führen."; category F, drones and model aircraft banned; "In Zone 1a zusätzlich": hunting dates only; "In Kernzone 1b zusätzlich: ... Freies/wildes Campieren und Biwakieren sind verboten." Kantonale Ordnungsbussenverordnung (KOBV, BSG 324.111), annex 1 no. 29: "Missachten von Verboten in Wildschutzgebieten", CHF 100. Cantonal geodata of the wildlife reserves (WILDSG, file of 24 September 2026) and of the nature reserves (NSG, file of 10 September 2026): no reserve on Blumenstein's ground; Scheibe zone 1a begins at the crest, 109 m south of the pitch; Scheibe zone 1b lies 3.8 km from the pitch; the object sheet of no. 31 names the communes Oberwil im Simmental and Därstetten. ↩
  5. Federal geodata, read 1 October 2026 on map.geo.admin.ch. Commune boundary (swissBOUNDARIES3D, current year): Blumenstein, no. 922, 1'552 ha; heights (swissALTI3D) from 629 m at the Gürbe to 2'101.2 m on the Nünenenfluh crest. At the pitch, LV95 2'603'893 / 1'172'601: no federal game reserve, wildlife rest zone, park, BLN object, floodplain, fen, raised bog, mire landscape, amphibian site, dry meadow, Ramsar or Emerald site, forest reserve or military area. Elsewhere in the commune, none of them at the pitch: 0.51 ha of the mire landscape Gurnigel/Gantrisch (no. 163), the dry meadow Chirschigrabe (no. 13004, 3.63 ha) and the forest reserves Gürbestude and Wirtnerechilche. The Gantrisch nature park does not include Blumenstein; it covers the Gantrischseeli. Land-cover statistics 2013/18 (Arealstatistik): the highest closed forest in the commune at 1'775 to 1'804 m on the north slopes under the Gustiberg; above 1'800 m only grass, rock, scree and dwarf shrubs, about 1 km². Pärkeverordnung (PäV, SR 451.36), art. 19 and 20: the requirements for a regional nature park, none of them a rule for visitors. ↩
  6. Schutzzonenreglement für die Quellfassungen Blattenheid, GSZ no. 662, PDF: adopted by the Wasserversorgung Gemeindeverband Blattenheid at Uttigen on 20 April 2017, approved by the cantonal office for water and waste (AWA) in June 2017, replacing the regulation of 16 July 2009; public notice in the Thuner Amtsanzeiger of 6 May 2016. Art. 2: "Die Zone S1 sichert den unmittelbaren Schutz der Fassung. Bei stark heterogenen Karst- und Kluft-Grundwasserleitern umfasst die Zone S1 zudem die unmittelbare Umgebung von Schluckstellen"; zones Sh and Sm cover the areas of high and medium vulnerability in karst. Art. 3: the use rules are in annex 3. Art. 7: "Widerhandlungen gegen das Schutzzonenreglement sowie gegen die darauf erlassenen Verfügungen und die Ausführungsbestimmungen der zuständigen Gemeindebehörden werden mit Busse bestraft." Annex 2: "Einzäunung der Zonen S1". Annex 3, table 1, note 1: "Eine geregelte Beweidung ist in den Zonen S2 und Sh zulässig, wobei jedoch auf eine intakte Grasnarbe zu achten ist. Tränkestellen sind generell nicht zulässig." Annex 3, table 12 "Freizeit- und Sportanlagen", row "Zeltplätze sowie Plätze für Wohnwagen und Mobilhomes": S1 "-", S2 "-", S3 "+b", Sh "-b", Sm "+b"; legend: "-" means "Nicht zugelassen", "-b" means "Nicht zugelassen; die zuständige Behörde kann nach Prüfung des Einzelfalls Ausnahmen bewilligen." Cadastre of public-law restrictions, canton Bern, extract for Blumenstein parcel 7 (EGRID CH243546955642): agricultural zone; groundwater protection zone S2 (Blattenheid no. 662) at the pitch, the nearest S1 920 m away, S3 482 m; outside every hazard area. The Gustiberg flat at LV95 2'602'011 / 1'173'193 lies in zone Sh, 34 m from an S1 zone; the Stube bench at 2'603'505 / 1'172'853 in zone S2. ↩
  7. Wasserversorgung Gemeindeverband Blattenheid (WGB), read 1 October 2026: contact, Aarbord 32E, 3628 Uttigen, 033 552 06 00, info@blattenheid.ch; history: founded on 18 February 1913 by eight communes, an association of communes since 1 January 1925; communes: 17 communes, "mehr als 24'000 Menschen"; spring area: nine captations at 1'355 to 1'456 m above Blumenstein, and "Im Quellgebiet Gustiberg wurden durch Färbversuche 2014 festgestellt, dass auch aus diesem Gebiet Wasser die Quellen Blattenheid speisen. 2017 wurde für das Gebiet eine Schutzzone ausgeschieden." None of the WGB's pages addresses hikers, tents or signs. Swiss alp inventory (SAMI, entry of 2006), Salzmatten/Hohmad, alp register no. 922-16: "Die Alp gehört dem Gemeindeverband Wassergenossenschaft Blattenheid"; upper stage Hohmad at 1'955 m, pasture "bis auf über 2000 müM", facing north and north-west, "stark den Winden ausgesetzt", grazed from mid-July to mid-September (figures of 2006), water from a cistern only, a material ropeway between the Salzmatte and the Hohmad; Langenegg, no. 922-13: a cooperative alp of the Alpgenossenschaft Langenegg, 50 members. Federal building register: the Alp Homad huts (nos. 280, 281 and 281a) and the Salzmatte alp hut (no. 283) stand on parcel 7. ↩
  8. Terrain, imagery and route, read 1 October 2026. Swisstopo swissALTI3D (2 m, 2025 tiles): pitch at LV95 2'603'893 / 1'172'601, WGS84 46.70461 / 7.48954, 1'942 m; slope 7 degrees at the point, under 10 degrees across the 10 by 10 m around it, a median of 12.5 degrees within 30 m; north-south profile level from 10 m south to 20 m north, the crest 110 m south at 1'973 m, 1'893 m at 140 m north; east-west 1'979 m at 150 m east, 1'901 m at 130 m west. Distances from the pitch: Alp Homad huts 164 m north-east, marked path 40 m, commune boundary 109 m south, Homadsattel 199 m, Homad summit 374 m, Stube bench 463 m, Alp Lägerli 737 m, Salzmatte 1.1 km, Leiterepass 2.4 km, Stockhorn 3.8 km, Gantrischseeli 3.9 km, village 4.7 km. Gustiberg flats at LV95 2'601'967 / 1'173'097 (1'753 m) and 2'602'011 / 1'173'193 (1'739 m): about 1'720 m² under 8 degrees, at the forest edge, 14 to 92 m from a path junction; Stube bench at 2'603'505 / 1'172'853 (1'836 m): 236 m² under 8 degrees, 352 m from any path. Swissimage aerial image, 10 cm (map.geo.admin.ch): grazed turf with cattle terraces round the pitch, no trough, pond or rill near it, the rock rim of the Chessel 60 to 100 m north-west; on the Gustiberg open pasture with karst boulders and a fenced square; at the Stube a grass bench among limestone ledges, a hollow and conifer clumps. Route, background and not an official source: gipfelbuch.ch, Homad from the Blumenstein church via Alp Langenegg and Lägerli, T3, 1'300 m of ascent, about 4 hours. Federal forest-fire map (geo.admin.ch): moderate danger in the Thun region since 30 September 2026; the canton's measure since 1 October 2026, an appeal to avoid fires outdoors. ↩
  9. Einwohnergemeinde Därstetten, Camping-Reglement, adopted by the communal assembly on 23 May 1978 and approved by the cantonal police directorate on 10 April 1979 (art. 44), published as a scan: art. 1 "Dieses Reglement schafft die Grundordnung für das Campingwesen auf dem ganzen Gemeindegebiet."; art. 2 "Unter Campieren versteht man das vorübergehende Verweilen und Uebernachten von Personen in Zelten, Wohnwagen, Mobilheimen oder in ähnlichen beweglichen Unterkünften."; art. 9 para. 3 "Zum einmaligen Uebernachten dürfen Zelte und Wohnwagen ohne polizeiliche Bewilligung aufgestellt werden."; para. 4 "In jedem Falle ist die Zustimmung des betreffenden Grundeigentümers einzuholen."; art. 42 para. 2: fine "bis zu Fr. 1'000.--". daerstetten.ch, Reglemente. The Leiterepass (LV95 2'601'480 / 1'172'617) and the Homadsattel (2'603'721 / 1'172'500) lie on Därstetten parcel 221, in zone 1a of the Scheibe wildlife reserve; the land register that names its owner is not public. ↩
  10. Naturschutzgebiet Gantrischseeli (no. 117), Rüschegg, 7.8 ha: decree of the cantonal forestry directorate of 6 May 1977 and plan: III. 3. "Im Schutzgebiet sind untersagt: ... b) das Campieren, insbesondere das Aufstellen von Zelten, Wohnwagen und Unterständen"; 9. "Widerhandlungen ... werden mit Busse oder Haft bestraft". Today the cantonal Naturschutzgesetz (BSG 426.11) applies, art. 57 para. 1: "Mit Busse von 100 Franken bis 50 000 Franken wird bestraft, wer ... b einem Verbot oder einer Massnahme zuwiderhandelt, die aufgrund der Artikel 31, 36 oder 41 angeordnet worden sind". The lake lies at 1'578 m, 3.9 km west of the pitch, in the Gantrisch nature park and the mire landscape Gurnigel/Gantrisch. ↩