Wild camping at the Daubensee
The Daubensee lies at 2'207 m on the Gemmi pass above Leukerbad. The commune allows camping only in designated zones, but the police who enforce that rule allow one night on public ground above the tree line. Behind the west shore begins a federal game reserve.
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.
Wild camping at the Daubensee: a lake at 2'207 m on the Gemmi pass
Wild camping at the Daubensee means a night by the lake on the Gemmi, the pass between Leukerbad in Valais and Kandersteg in the canton of Bern. The national map puts the name on the water itself (WGS84 46.411682 / 7.618842, LV95 2'613'856 / 1'140'052), at 2'207 m, so this report checks the open ground around the shore. The operator's French pages call it the lac de Dauben. The whole lake lies in the commune of Leukerbad; the Bernese commune of Kandersteg begins about 1 km north-west of the shore.48
The lake is about 1.6 km long and has no surface outflow: a natural lake, not a reservoir. The Gemmi path from Leukerbad to Kandersteg runs along its east shore, a trail along the west shore closes the 6.4 km round from the Gemmi pass, and a small cable car, the Daubenseebahn, comes down from the Gemmi pass to its south-west corner. Above the south end, at the top station of the Gemmibahn from Leukerbad, stands the Gemmi Lodge 2350. About 1.5 km north of the lake, on the way to Kandersteg, stands the Berghotel Schwarenbach: its postal address says Kandersteg, but the building is on Leukerbad ground. The rest of the basin is grass, limestone and scree.48
Would anyone sleep here if it were allowed? Yes. The nearest forest grows 1.3 km from the shore and some 520 m lower, at the foot of the Gemmi cliffs above Leukerbad, so the whole basin lies far above the tree line. East of the lake, the slope called the Schafberg carries grassy terraces well back from the path.4
Leukerbad's rule: camping and overnight stays only in designated zones
The rule that applies at the lake is communal. The Polizeireglement der Gemeinde Leukerbad, the commune's police regulation, was adopted by the communal assembly on 26 June 2012 and approved by the Valais government, the Staatsrat, on 22 October 2014. It applies on the whole territory of the commune (Art. 1 para. 2), and its Art. 16 is headed "Campieren":1
"Das Campieren und Übernachten auf öffentlichem Grund und Boden ist nur in den von der Gemeinde dafür bezeichneten Zonen gestattet. Ausnahmen bedingen eine Bewilligung der Gemeinde."Polizeireglement der Gemeinde Leukerbad, Art. 16 "Campieren", adopted on 26 June 2012, homologated on 22 October 2014.
In English: camping and spending the night on public ground are allowed only in the zones the commune designates for the purpose; exceptions need a permit from the commune. The zones designated for it are the camping zones of the commune's building and zoning regulation, for the campsite at the Sportarena and for motorhomes in winter, both down in the village. None of them is anywhere near the lake.1
A bivvy bag is not a way around it. The article names two acts, camping and Übernachten, spending the night, so it reaches a night without a tent as much as a night in one. What it does not reach is private ground: it is written for public ground only. At the Daubensee that matters, because Valais law makes lakes, rock, scree, snowfields and glaciers the public property of the communes (EGZGB, Art. 163 para. 3). The lake and the stony ground around it are Leukerbad's public ground. The pastures are a separate case, covered further down.17
What a breach costs. The regulation fines breaches up to CHF 5'000 (Art. 33 para. 1), negligence included (Art. 32), and the police court decides (Art. 35). Next to the regulation the commune publishes a fine list that prices camping on public ground at CHF 100, then CHF 200 and CHF 400 for repeat offences. The list is headed "zur Genehmigung an den Gemeinderat", for approval by the communal council, and carries no date, so read CHF 100 as the commune's published figure, not as a confirmed tariff.12
The permit route. Art. 16 names its own way out, a permit from the commune; applications go in good time to the Gemeinderat, the communal council, which decides on the permit and its conditions (Art. 31). A single hiker rarely needs one, because the police publish an exception of their own. A group does.13
What the police allow: one night on public ground above the tree line
Basic policing in Leukerbad, enforcing the police regulation included, is the job of the Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad, which serves Leukerbad and seven other communes. Its page "Wildcampen", last updated on 2 August 2026, says that camping outside the official campsites is not permitted in those communes, that breaches are reported to the communal police court, and that the legal basis is each commune's police regulation. Then it lists exceptions, and the first one decides this lake:3
"Einzelnes Biwakieren oder Übernachten ist im Gebirge (auf öffentlichem Grund) oberhalb der Waldgrenze erlaubt."Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad, page "Wildcampen", exceptions, updated on 2 August 2026.
In English: individual bivouacking or spending the night is allowed in the mountains (on public ground) above the tree line. The same list sets the terms. If you stay several nights, nothing that looks like camping may be visible by day. Groups spending the night must register with the commune and need a permit. On private land, wild camping is allowed with the owner's permission. An emergency bivouac forced by the weather is always allowed. And fire is allowed only at the official fireplaces the communes provide; any other fire is strictly forbidden.3
What this is, and what it is not. The page is the published practice of the authority that enforces Leukerbad's regulation, not an act of the commune: the regulation itself still says that an exception needs a permit, and no ruling says how the two fit together. What the page does tell you is where the police draw the line, and the Daubensee is on the right side of it: at 2'207 m, far above the forest, and on public ground. The exception names bivouacking and spending the night and says nothing about a tent. A bivvy bag is the safe reading; a small tent for one night is probably covered too, but the page does not say so. Keep it small: up late, gone early.1347
The tourism office says something else. Leukerbad's tourism organisation writes on its camping page that camping in Leukerbad is possible only at the campsite in summer and at the official spots in winter, and that wild camping is forbidden in the whole Leukerbad region. That is a tourism page, not a rule, and it contradicts what the police who enforce the rule publish. If you want certainty for your own night, ask the Regionalpolizei: +41 27 474 96 63, daily 07:30 to 16:00.310
Behind the west shore begins a federal game reserve
The boundary that decides where you sleep is federal. Federal game reserve no. 39 Leukerbad takes in the slopes and cliffs from the Balmhorn over the Gemmi and the Schwarzhorn to the Tschajettuhorn, and the Lämmerenalp: 4'163 hectares, all under integral protection. Its object sheet calls the area heavily used by tourism and names, among its aims, reducing the competition between wildlife and sheep.45
Where the line runs at the lake. It follows the entire west shore 0 to 90 m back from the water and wraps round the south end. Inside it: the west slope with the Rote Chumme, the lower station of the Daubenseebahn at the south-west corner, the Gemmi pass itself, the Lämmerenboden and the Lämmerenhütte. Outside it: the east shore, the Schafberg, the north end and the Berghotel Schwarenbach. The Gemmi Lodge at the top station stands just outside, by about ten metres.4
Check it before you stop: open map.geo.admin.ch with the layer "Hunting Ban Reserves", the federal game reserves, and compare it with the GPS position on your phone. On the west shore the strip between the water and the line is 90 m wide at most, and in places it is nothing, so do not look for a pitch there at all.4
Inside the line, federal law is short:
"Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen."Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete (VEJ), SR 922.31, Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e. In English: free tenting and camping are prohibited; the use of official campsites is reserved; the cantons may grant exceptions.
The fine is fixed: CHF 150 on the spot, under Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005 of the federal fixed-penalty ordinance (OBV, SR 314.11). Only the canton can grant an exception; the police's exception stops at the line, and neither a landowner nor the lodge can make a tent lawful beyond it. The ordinance names tenting and camping, not the bivouac, and no court has ruled on a night in a bivvy bag in a federal game reserve; the SAC's Lämmerenhütte, which stands inside this one, tells its guests that bivouacking is not allowed. Treat the whole reserve as closed for the night, with or without a tent.69
Nothing else at the lake: canton, park, water, rest zone
Canton. Valais has no cantonal rule against a single night outside. Its building ordinance wants a permit for tents outside an approved campsite only beyond three weeks or twelve tents (BauV, Art. 17 para. 2 lit. a), and its nature protection ordinance fines tenting only where a protection decision bans it; none covers the Gemmi or the Daubensee.7
Commune, beyond Art. 16. Leukerbad's building and zoning regulation puts the lake and its shores in a landscape protection zone of cantonal importance, which governs buildings only (Art. 77), and a tent needs a building permit only after 60 days (Art. 5). The east shore and the north end are agricultural zone with alp pastures, the west shore and the south end rock and wasteland.14
Park, rest zone, water. The Pfyn-Finges regional nature park brings no rule for visitors (PäV, SR 451.36, Art. 19 to 21). The binding wildlife rest zone Leukerbad, which begins about 600 m south of the lake by the Gemmi Lodge, bans paragliders and similar aircraft, not a night outside. There is no groundwater protection zone at the lake, and apart from the game reserve no federal inventory touches it: no BLN landscape, no floodplain, fen, raised bog, amphibian site or dry meadow of national importance, no forest reserve and no military area.46
Kandersteg has its own rules. About 1 km north-west of the lake the Bernese commune of Kandersteg begins, and its police regulation and building regulation apply there; the Spittelmatte report, further along the path to Kandersteg, and the Lötschenpass report set them out. How the levels fit together across the country is in the national overview.4
How it is possible: one night on the Schafberg terrace
The ground to aim for is a grassy terrace on the Schafberg, the slope east of the lake, about 100 m above the water. Around WGS84 46.409675 / 7.624613 (LV95 2'614'300 / 1'139'830), at 2'309 m, it lies almost flat in a hollow at the foot of limestone slabs, 285 m from the water, 178 m from the nearest path and about 660 m outside the game reserve.4
The option closer to the water. At the north end, by the Seestutz, grassy hummocks lie among boulders at 2'246 m, around WGS84 46.419939 / 7.619185 (LV95 2'613'880 / 1'140'970): 160 m from the water, 133 m from the path and about 400 m outside the reserve.4
Where not to lie. Nowhere on the west shore or at the south end: that is the reserve. Not on the flat meadow by the gravel delta at the south-west end either: it looks like the obvious spot, but it is flood-prone lake ground, 125 m from the reserve line and 190 m from the cable-car station. And not on the strip beside the path along the east shore, which is steep and on the busiest route across the pass.4
Whose grass it is. The police's exception speaks of public ground. The lake, the rock and the scree are public ground by cantonal law. The pastures on the east side and at the north end, where both pitches lie, are alp land, and their owner is not on record: the cadastral survey lists the plateau as not yet surveyed, with no parcels. For private land the police's answer is the owner's permission. So on the grass, if in doubt, ask before you pitch.347
Who to ask. For your own night: the Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad, +41 27 474 96 63, daily 07:30 to 16:00, emergencies 117. There may be sheep on the Schafberg in summer; if a shepherd is about, ask them as well. For a group: register with the commune and apply in good time for a permit, Gemeindeverwaltung Leukerbad, Ringstrasse 85, 3954 Leukerbad, +41 27 472 71 00, admin@leukerbad.org.13
The lodge's camping offer. In spring 2026 the Gemmi Lodge 2350 advertised "Gemmi Alpin Camping" on its old website: from 13 June 2026, your own tent on about 50 hectares around the Daubensee, with the Gemmibahn, dinner, breakfast and the lodge's showers, at CHF 95 per adult, or CHF 80 with breakfast only. Its current website no longer shows it. Whether it still exists, and on which ground, only the lodge can tell you: +41 27 470 12 01, welcome@gemmi.ch. If it does, stay east or north of the lake, because inside the game reserve only the canton can allow a tent.8
In late September, hunters. Until 3 October 2026 the Valais high hunt for red deer and chamois runs from Monday to Saturday, and outside the reserve the east side of the lake is open hunting ground. Keep to the marked path at dawn and dusk.47
Getting there, the last cable car and fire
From Leukerbad. The Gemmibahn runs every 30 minutes from Leukerbad to the Gemmi pass: until 4 October 2026 from 08:30 to 17:00, then until 8 November from 09:00 to 17:00, and then not again until 19 December; CHF 33 one way, CHF 42 return. The Daubenseebahn takes you on down to the lake, until 4 October from 08:45 to 16:45 and then from 09:15, CHF 7 one way. The last car down to Leukerbad leaves at 17:00, so after a night at the lake you take the first one in the morning or walk down the Gemmiweg, 4.6 km.8
From Kandersteg. The Sunnbüelbahn runs daily until 1 November 2026, from 09:10 to 17:10 with the last ascent at 16:40, CHF 31.50 one way. From Sunnbüel the path passes the Berghotel Schwarenbach on its way to the lake, and the Gemmi is about 2.5 hours on foot.8
No fire. The police allow fire only at the official fireplaces the communes provide and strictly forbid any other. On 25 September 2026 the federal forest-fire map showed considerable danger for the region, with a cantonal warning to avoid fires in the open. Take a stove.34
Winter is a different question. In winter cross-country trails run on the frozen lake, and the limestone slabs within 100 m of the Schafberg terrace, up to 30 degrees steep, are avalanche ground. This report is for the snow-free season.48
Where you can legally sleep
- One night on the Schafberg terrace east of the lake. WGS84 46.409675 / 7.624613, 2'309 m, about 660 m outside the reserve, under the police's exception for public ground above the tree line; on the grass, if in doubt, call the Regionalpolizei first. No fire.34
- At the north end, by the Seestutz. WGS84 46.419939 / 7.619185, 2'246 m, 160 m from the water, about 400 m outside the reserve.4
- Gemmi Lodge 2350, at the top station. Half board with the Gemmibahn included, CHF 105 a person in a double room, CHF 86 in the group room (from ten people); +41 27 470 12 01.8
- Berghotel Schwarenbach, 2'062 m, 1.5 km north of the lake. Half board from CHF 92 a person in the six-bed room, CHF 120 in a double; last night 3 October 2026, closed on Monday 28 September; +41 33 675 12 72.9
- Lämmerenhütte SAC, 1.5 hours from the Gemmi pass. Inside the reserve, so a bed and not a bivouac: CHF 87 with dinner and breakfast, SAC members CHF 75, until 11 October 2026; +41 27 470 25 15.9
- Camping Leukerbad, Sportarena, 1'411 m. For a tent in the valley: CHF 15 a person including tourist tax, plus CHF 7 for a small tent in September and October; closed in winter; +41 27 470 10 37.10
- Not inside the game reserve. Not on the west shore, not at the cable-car station, not on the Gemmi pass or the Lämmerenboden: CHF 150, and the police's exception does not reach it.46
General rules for wild camping
This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which at the Daubensee means one night on public ground east or north of the lake, outside the game reserve, or a pitch at the campsite in Leukerbad. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense on a plateau the federal inventory calls heavily used by tourism, where sheep graze in summer and chamois live on the slopes.
- 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. It is based on the publicly accessible and official sources linked below. It does not replace legal advice and is not a binding statement of the current legal situation.
The verdict rests on two different kinds of text. Art. 16 of Leukerbad's police regulation allows camping and overnight stays on public ground only in designated zones and otherwise requires a communal permit; the exception for one night on public ground above the tree line is the published practice of the Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad, which enforces that regulation, and not an act of the commune, so the commune or a court could apply Art. 16 as written. The regulation is published as a scan of the text adopted in 2012, and the version the Staatsrat homologated in 2014 may differ in details. CHF 100 comes from a fine list headed as submitted for approval and carrying no date. Who owns the pastures around the lake is not on record. The boundary of the federal game reserve and every distance here are taken from the published geometry, which is as accurate as the data and not as a marker on the ground; stay well clear of the line. Timetables, prices, seasons and the lodge's camping offer are taken from their publishers as of September 2026 and can change; nothing posted at the lake was checked on site. This report is for the snow-free season. 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 camp. Anyone who spends the night outside bears responsibility for their own conduct and any consequences themselves. 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
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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.
Sources
- Polizeireglement der Gemeinde Leukerbad, adopted by the Gemeinderat on 21 May 2012 and by the Urversammlung, the communal assembly, on 26 June 2012, homologated by the Staatsrat of the canton of Valais on 22 October 2014 "in der Fassung gemäss Schreiben der Gemeinde Leukerbad vom 9. Oktober 2014"; it replaces the regulation of 8 July 1998 (Art. 36). Published as a scan. Art. 1 para. 2: "Die Bestimmungen des vorliegenden Reglements gelten auf dem Gebiet der Gemeinde Leukerbad." Art. 16 "Campieren": "Das Campieren und Übernachten auf öffentlichem Grund und Boden ist nur in den von der Gemeinde dafür bezeichneten Zonen gestattet. Ausnahmen bedingen eine Bewilligung der Gemeinde." Art. 31: permit applications go in good time to the Gemeinderat, which decides on granting or refusing the permit and on its conditions. Art. 32: offences are punishable also when committed by negligence. Art. 33 para. 1: "Widerhandlungen gegen die Vorschriften dieses Polizeireglements werden mit Bussen bis Fr. 5'000.-- bestraft." Art. 35: the Polizeigericht decides communal offences. Bau- und Zonenreglement der Gemeinde Leukerbad: Art. 5, a building permit for "das Aufstellen von mobilen Wohnwagen, Zelten und dergleichen ausserhalb eines bewilligten Campingplatzes für mehr als 60 Tage"; Art. 77, landscape and nature protection zones, rules for buildings and installations only; Art. 80, "Campingzone Sommer CS, Campingzone Winter CW". Gemeindeverwaltung Leukerbad, Ringstrasse 85, Postfach 346, 3954 Leukerbad, +41 27 472 71 00, admin@leukerbad.org. Polizeireglement (PDF), publication page, Bau- und Zonenreglement (PDF), leukerbad.org, Reglemente. ↩
- Gemeinde Leukerbad, "Bussenkatalog zur Genehmigung an den Gemeinderat" (Gemeindepolizei, three pages, scan), published next to the police regulation: "Art. 16 Campieren auf öffentlichem Grund und Boden Fr. 100.00 Fr. 200.00 Fr. 400.00", an escalating scale for a first and repeat offences. The document is headed as a list submitted for approval and carries no date and no approval note. Bussenkatalog (PDF). ↩
- Regionalpolizei Leuk-Leukerbad, page "Wildcampen", published on 26 May 2022, updated on 2 August 2026, consulted on 25 September 2026: in its eight communes, Leukerbad among them, "ist Campieren ausserhalb der offiziellen Campingplätze (siehe Ausnahmen) nicht gestattet"; breaches are reported to the Polizeigericht of the commune concerned; "Als gesetzliche Grundlage gilt das Polizeireglement der jeweiligen Gemeinde." Exceptions: "Einzelnes Biwakieren oder Übernachten ist im Gebirge (auf öffentlichem Grund) oberhalb der Waldgrenze erlaubt."; "Bei mehreren Übernachtungen darf tagsüber kein Campingverhalten feststellbar sein."; "Übernachten in Gruppen ist bei der jeweiligen Gemeinde anzumelden und ist bewilligungspflichtig."; "Auf Privatgrundstücken ist mit Erlaubnis des Grundstückbesitzers wild campieren gestattet."; "Not-Biwakieren infolge Wetterlage ist selbstverständlich immer gestattet." Fire: allowed at the official fireplaces the communes provide; "Ausserhalb der offiziellen Feuerstellen ist das Entfachen jeglichen Feuers strengstens verboten." Page "Über uns": under the police law the Regionalpolizei is responsible for all basic policing in Leuk-Susten, Inden, Leukerbad, Varen, Salgesch, Guttet-Feschel, Gampel-Bratsch and Steg-Hohtenn, including "Durchsetzung Polizeireglement"; phone 027 474 96 63, daily 07:30 to 16:00, emergencies 117. Wildcampen, Über uns. ↩
- Official geodata, queried on 25 September 2026. Federal identify service at the lake, LV95 2'613'855.7 / 1'140'052.1 (WGS84 46.411682 / 7.618842; gazetteer name "See Daubensee (VS) - Leukerbad"), height 2'207.2 m on the water surface, and at the two pitches, LV95 2'614'300 / 1'139'830 (WGS84 46.409675 / 7.624613), 2'308.6 m, and LV95 2'613'880 / 1'140'970 (WGS84 46.419939 / 7.619185), 2'246.0 m; tolerance 0, with a bogus-layer control returning HTTP 400 and the Kiental game reserve returned as positive control in the same run. Commune Leukerbad (VS) at all three points from the current-year boundary; Kandersteg (BE) begins 1'031 m from the nearest shore, to the north-west; the Berghotel Schwarenbach, LV95 2'614'318 / 1'142'318, is in Leukerbad. Federal game reserve no. 39 Leukerbad, integral protection: not at the pin or the pitches (659 m and 409 m outside); its boundary runs 0 to 90 m inland along the whole west shore and round the south end; inside: the Rote Chumme, the lower station of the Daubenseebahn, the Gemmi pass point, the Lämmerenboden and the Lämmerenhütte; outside: the east shore, the Schafberg, the north end, the Berghotel Schwarenbach and the Gemmi Lodge (11 m). The canton's hunting layer returns the same reserve on the west shore and open hunting ground on the east side. Wildlife rest zone Leukerbad 1004.0, binding all year, aircraft only, 596 m from the south shore. Regional nature park Pfyn-Finges at all points. Empty: BLN, floodplains, fens, raised bogs, mire landscapes, amphibian sites, dry meadows, Ramsar, Emerald, forest reserves, military areas, pastures guarded by livestock guardian dogs. Groundwater: water protection area Au only, no protection zone. No dam or hydropower installation: a natural lake with no surface outflow, 64.5 ha, 1'624 m long. Zoning: landscape protection zone of cantonal importance over the lake and shores; agricultural zone including alp pastures on the east shore and the north end; rock and wasteland on the west shore and the south end. Cadastral survey: lot "Leukerbad 5", category alp, not surveyed, no parcels. Nearest forest 1'309 m from the shore, about 520 m lower. Pitch 1: slope under 2 degrees, 285 m from the shore, 178 m from the trail, slabs of up to 30 degrees within 100 m; pitch 2: 160 m from the shore, 133 m from the trail; the flat meadow by the south-west gravel delta: flood-prone, 125 m from the reserve line, 193 m from the cable-car station. Federal forest-fire danger on 25 September 2026: considerable, with a cantonal warning to avoid fires in the open. map.geo.admin.ch, reserve geometry, sit.vs.ch. ↩
- Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), inventory of federal game reserves, object sheet "39. Leukerbad Kt. VS" in the 2023 revision set: "Es umfasst die nach Süden und Südosten exponierten Abhänge und Felsabstürze vom Balmhorn über die Gemmi, Schwarzhorn bis zum Tschajettuhorn, die Lämmerenalp sowie die nach Nordwesten gerichteten Abhänge vom Torrenthorn bis zum Ferdenrothorn. Das Gebiet ist touristisch stark belastet ..." Objectives: "Erhaltung des Gebietes als Lebensraum für wildlebende Säugetiere und Vögel", "Schutz der Tiere vor Störung", "Verringerung der Konkurrenz zwischen Wildtieren und Schafen". Special measures: "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt." object sheet no. 39 (PDF). ↩
- Federal ordinances. Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete (VEJ), SR 922.31, Art. 5 para. 1 lit. e: "Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen." The official French text reads "Il est interdit de camper librement", the Italian "È vietato piantare tende o campeggiare"; none of the three names the bivouac. Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), SR 314.11, Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005: "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten", 150 francs. Pärkeverordnung (PäV), SR 451.36, Art. 19 to 21: the area, the preservation of nature and landscape and the sustainable economy of a regional nature park, with no rule for visitors. fedlex.admin.ch (VEJ), OBV, PäV. ↩
- Canton of Valais statutes (lex.vs.ch), consulted on 25 September 2026. Einführungsgesetz zum Schweizerischen Zivilgesetzbuch (EGZGB), SGS 211.1, Art. 163 para. 3: "Die Gemeindestrassen, die nicht kultivierbaren Regionen, wie Felsen, Schutthalden, Schneefelder und Gletscher, Seen, alle Wasserläufe, ab demjenigen Punkt wo sie entspringen, fallen in das öffentliche Eigentum der Gemeinden." Bauverordnung (BauV), SGS 705.100, in force since 1 January 2026, Art. 17 para. 2 lit. a: a building permit is needed for "das Aufstellen von Wohnwagen, Zelten und dergleichen ausserhalb eines bewilligten Campingplatzes, wenn sie länger als 3 Wochen aufgestellt sind oder ihre Anzahl 12 übersteigt". Verordnung über den Natur- und Heimatschutz (kNHV), SGS 451.100, fine list: "Das Zelten und Campieren in einem Gebiet, in dem dies verboten ist", Fr. 50, which presupposes a protection decision that bans it; the canton's protection decisions include none for the Gemmi or the Daubensee. Beschluss über die Ausübung der Jagd im Wallis 2026-2027, SGS 922.110, hunting dates: Patent A, red deer, chamois and other game, from 21 September to 3 October 2026, Monday to Saturday. EGZGB, BauV, kNHV, Jagdbeschluss 2026-2027. ↩
- Gemmi (Leukerbad-Gemmi cable cars and Gemmi Lodge 2350), consulted on 25 September 2026. Timetables: Gemmibahn Leukerbad to Gemmi from 7 September to 4 October 2026 daily 08:30 to 17:00, from 5 October to 8 November 2026 09:00 to 17:00, next from 19 December 2026, every 30 minutes; adults one way CHF 33, return CHF 42. Daubenseebahn from 7 September to 4 October 08:45 to 16:45, from 5 October to 8 November 09:15 to 16:45; CHF 7 one way, CHF 10 return. Trails: Leukerbad to Gemmi (Gemmiweg) 4.6 km, Gemmi to Schwarenbach 5.2 km, Schwarenbach to Sunnbüel 4.5 km, Gemmi round the Daubensee 6.4 km, 2 hours, the back of the lake rated T3; in winter cross-country trails on the Daubensee. The operator's French pages: "le tour du lac de Dauben". Hotel, per person with half board and the Gemmibahn or Daubenseebahn: double room Standard CHF 105, four-bed room CHF 95, six-bed room CHF 90 (from five people), 14-bed group room CHF 86 (from ten); tourist tax CHF 3; +41 27 470 12 01, welcome@gemmi.ch. "Gemmi Alpin Camping", archived page of the old website (13 March 2026): new for 2026 from 13 June, permission to camp in your own tent on about 500'000 m² around the Daubensee, with the Gemmibahn up and down, dinner and breakfast or breakfast only and the lodge's showers and toilets, also for groups and schools; own tent with half board CHF 95 per adult, with breakfast only CHF 80, plus tourist tax CHF 3; the current website has no camping page. Sunnbüelbahn, Kandersteg: from 14 September to 1 November 2026 daily 09:10 to 17:10, last ascent 16:40, adults one way CHF 31.50; Sunnbüel to the Gemmi about 2.5 hours on foot. gemmi.ch, timetables and prices, gemmi.ch, hotel, Alpin Camping (archived), sunnbuel.ch. ↩
- Beds on the route, consulted on 25 September 2026. Berghotel Schwarenbach, 2'062 m (postal address 3718 Kandersteg): per person with half board, taxes and VAT, double room CHF 120, four-bed room CHF 97, six-bed room CHF 92; summer season from 30 May 2026, closed all day on Monday 28 September and from the evening of Sunday 4 October 2026 for renovation, a winter room on request; +41 33 675 12 72, info@schwarenbach.ch. Lämmerenhütte SAC (section Angenstein), 1.5 hours from the Gemmi pass: the hut writes that it lies in a federal game reserve and asks guests to note, among other points, "Biwakieren ist nicht erlaubt"; with dinner, breakfast and tea, non-members CHF 87, SAC members CHF 75, children to 6 CHF 33, plus tourist tax CHF 3; hut sleeping bag compulsory; summer season 11 June to 11 October 2026; +41 27 470 25 15, info@laemmeren.ch. schwarenbach.ch, laemmeren.ch. ↩
- My Leukerbad AG, page "Camping", consulted on 25 September 2026: Camping Leukerbad at the Sportarena, 1'411 m, adults CHF 15 including tourist tax, a small tent up to 3 by 3 m CHF 7 from April to June and in September and October, CHF 9 in July and August; open daily 08:30 to 20:00, late arrival possible; closed in winter; +41 27 470 10 37, sportarena@leukerbad.ch. The same page says that camping in Leukerbad is allowed only at the campsite in summer and at the official spots in winter, and that wild camping is forbidden in the whole Leukerbad region: the tourism organisation's wording, not a rule. leukerbad.ch, Camping. ↩