Wild camping on the Eggstöcke
There is nowhere to sleep on the Eggstöcke: three rock towers above Braunwald with a via ferrata, steep to the crest. A federal game reserve begins 44 metres west of the third one. Do them as a day trip; the Fessis basin, 14 kilometres east, is lawful.
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.
Three towers, two cantons, and 2'209 measurements
Start with what the Eggstöcke actually are, because the request usually comes from a photograph and the photograph is of a skyline.
The national gazetteer carries three summits and one ridge name here, and the cantonal border runs through them:2
- Vorder Eggstock, LV95 2'717'315 / 1'202'195, 2'448.9 m, Glarus Süd, canton Glarus.
- Mittler Eggstock, LV95 2'716'842 / 1'202'242, 2'427.8 m, Glarus Süd.
- Hinter Eggstock, LV95 2'716'613 / 1'202'102, 2'435.0 m, Muotathal, canton Schwyz.
- The ridge itself, mapped as "Eggstöck", continues west into Schwyz at 2'716'222 / 1'202'185.
Now the measurement. The height model was sampled on a 25 metre grid across a 1'200 by 1'200 metre box centred on the group, and the slope computed at every node from the local gradient. That is 2'209 readings. One of them comes in at 8 degrees or less, and it is the cell sitting on the top of the Hinter Eggstock, 6.7 degrees at 2'434.5 m. Treat that the way you would treat any single flat reading surrounded by steep ones: it is the model rounding a tower apex, not a terrace.2
- Vorder Eggstock: 15.5 degrees over a 12.5 m window, 34.5 over 25 m, 47.5 over 50 m. A summit block.
- Mittler Eggstock: 81.2 degrees. That is a wall.
- Hinter Eggstock: 14.2, 39.4 and 50.4 degrees across the same three windows.
- Best reading 50 to 100 m out: 8.3 degrees. 100 to 200 m: 11.2. 200 to 300 m: 13.8. 400 to 500 m: 14.3.
This journal has a rule for that shape. If there is no flat, dry, safe ground within a few minutes of the pin, the answer is no whatever the law says. The Hundstein in the Alpstein gets the same answer for the same reason. The Eggstöcke are a climbing objective with a via ferrata on them. You go up them, you do not sleep on them.
Forty-four metres to the federal reserve
The one hard prohibition anywhere near this crest is federal, and it is very close. Federal game reserve no. 9, "Silbern-Jägern-Bödmerenwald", together with BLN object 1601 "Silberen", covers the Schwyz karst west of the ridge. The boundary was found by stepping outward in fifty metre increments on five bearings from each summit and then bisecting to two metres:1
- 44 metres west-south-west of the Hinter Eggstock.
- 317 metres from the Mittler Eggstock.
- 691 metres from the Vorder Eggstock.
All three summits are outside. Forty-four metres, on a ridge, with no marker on the ground, is not a margin anybody should be relying on.
"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.
Two things about that sentence. It carries no zone qualifier, so it bites everywhere inside the reserve, and only the canton can permit an exception, which means no landowner and no alp can wave you through. The price is the tariff, CHF 150, at annex 2 no. 12005 of the federal fixed-penalty ordinance, issued on the spot. Ignore the CHF 20'000 that circulates: that is the ceiling of the hunting act in ordinary proceedings and not what a camper faces. This journal published that higher figure itself once and corrected it corpus-wide in July 2026.1
The same reserve, from the other side. Two articles in this corpus already sit inside it, the Silberen and the Pragelpass, and both are forbidden for exactly this reason. The Eggstöcke are the outside edge of that same polygon, which is why the distance is worth publishing rather than waving away.1
On the Glarus side, nobody has banned it, and that is worth saying plainly
It would be easy to write "not allowed" here and move on. It would also be wrong. On the two Glarus towers there is no prohibition at any level, and readers deserve to know that the verdict is about the ground rather than about a rule.
Canton Glarus. There is no cantonal wild-camping or bivouac provision, and the point that carries the most weight is negative in the right place: the Kantonale Ordnungsbussenverordnung has no camping entry at all. In a canton that legislates minor offences by catalogue, an empty catalogue is about as strong as a negative gets. The cantonal civil-code implementation act, the nature and heritage act and the Klöntal floodplain ordinance are equally silent.3
Gemeinde Glarus Süd, which does run a real crackdown. This is the commune that made national news for pushing back on wild campers, so the absence here is not for lack of will. The instrument it uses is a judicial prohibition under art. 258 of the Civil Procedure Code, posted on communal land, published in the Amtsblatt and enforceable on complaint. It is deliberately site-specific: the commune has said publicly that it picked frequented hotspots rather than writing a general ban. The named places are the Muttenchopf with the Muttsee and Limmern area, the Oberblegisee, the Panixerpass, Tierfed and the Klöntal.4
Braunwald and the Eggstöcke are on none of those lists, and no commune-wide Campierreglement is in force. One live caveat, stated because it will change this article: Glarus Süd has a Gesamtrevision der Nutzungsplanung on public inspection in 2026. A public inspection is not law, and nothing in it is in force today, but this verdict is date-stamped for a reason.4
Canton Schwyz and Muotathal, for the western tower. Outside the game reserve there is nothing either. Schwyz prohibits camping only inside the six plant reserves listed in the annex to its nature protection act and the eleven cantonal nature reserves, none of which is here, and the Baureglement of Muotathal returns zero hits for Zelt, Campier, Camping and Biwak against live control words. Both findings were established for the Fulen and the Pragelpass articles in this corpus and hold at this ridge.5
What is actually up there, and where the ground starts working again
This is lift-served terrain, which changes what a night out means here. The Berggasthaus Gumen sits at 1'906 m, 853 metres south-south-east of the group, with the Kleiner Gumen chairlift beside it. The Ortstockhaus is at 1'772 m, 1'338 m south-south-west. Braunwald village, itself car-free and reached by funicular, is at 1'302 m and 2'814 m away, and the Bächital chairlift is 1'628 m to the east-north-east. On a summer weekend the Eggstöcke are a busy via-ferrata objective rather than a quiet corner.2
Where does the ground start working again? Not close. The best reading anywhere in the 500 to 700 metre band is 10.6 degrees, at LV95 2'717'175 / 1'202'725, 1'879.6 m, which is 575 metres away and 570 metres lower, in the upper Bächital. That is ski terrain below the treeline, and this journal does not recommend a pitch below the treeline without a named landowner's permission for that exact ground. So the honest answer is that the ridge has no bivouac spot and the slope below it is not one either.2
If you want a night out in Glarus Süd, go east. The nearest place in this corpus that is both lawful and genuinely campable is the Fessis basin at about 2'170 m, roughly 14 kilometres east at the foot of the Gufelstock, where the ground is a broad tarn basin above the treeline and the verdict is legal. The Wichlenmatt at the head of the Sernftal, 2'047 m, is the other one. Both are a different day out, and both work.
Do the Eggstöcke as a day. Up from Braunwald or the Gumen, the via ferrata across the three towers, and down again. It is one of the better half-days in the canton and it costs you nothing to be somewhere else by dark.
Courtesy, which is not law. The Alpine Club's leaflet is the standard: a single considerate night by a small group above the treeline is generally unproblematic, and an emergency bivouac is always permitted. That second half is the realistic case on a crest like this one, and it is a different question from a planned camp.6
Where you can legally sleep
- Not on any of the three towers. One node in 2'209 comes in under 8 degrees and it is a model artefact on a tower apex2.
- Not west of the Hinter Eggstock. Federal game reserve no. 9 begins 44 metres away, free tenting prohibited, CHF 1501.
- Not in the upper Bächital at 1'880 m either. It is the closest ground under 11 degrees, and it is lift-served ski terrain below the treeline2.
- The Fessis basin, about 2'170 m, 14 km east in the same commune, is lawful and is a real pitch.
- The Wichlenmatt, 2'047 m at the head of the Sernftal, same commune, also lawful and flat.
General rules for wild camping
None of this is law, and on this ridge the law is not what stops you. It is worth reading because Glarus Süd is the commune that decides, every year, whether to keep working with site-specific prohibitions or write a general one. Which way that goes depends on how people behave in the places that are still open.
- 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 August 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 is a terrain verdict for the three summits and the ridge between them. It does not claim that an overnight stay on the two Glarus towers is unlawful, and it does claim that one inside the federal game reserve west of the Hinter Eggstock is: that boundary is 44 metres from the western summit and is not marked on the ground. The Glarus Süd position is date-stamped, because the commune has a total revision of its land-use planning on public inspection in 2026 and enforces today through site-specific judicial prohibitions that can be extended at any time. 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
Is wild camping allowed on the Eggstöcke?
How close is the federal game reserve?
Which canton are the Eggstöcke in?
Doesn't Glarus Süd ban wild camping?
Where should I sleep instead?
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
- Official federal geodata, queried 27 August 2026 at all three summits. Every inventory returns a genuinely empty result set at the Vorder Eggstock (2'717'315 / 1'202'195), the Mittler Eggstock (2'716'842 / 1'202'242) and the Hinter Eggstock (2'716'613 / 1'202'102): no hunting-ban district, no wildlife rest zone, no BLN, no park of national importance, no floodplain, no mire or moor landscape, no amphibian site, no dry meadow. A point 400 m west-south-west of the Hinter Eggstock, by contrast, returns both federal game reserve "Silbern-Jägern-Bödmerenwald" and BLN object 1601 "Silberen". The boundary was approached in 50 m increments on bearings 240 to 300 from each summit and bisected to two metres: 44 m on bearing 240 from the Hinter Eggstock, 317 m from the Mittler Eggstock and 691 m from the Vorder Eggstock. Verified with an invalid-layer control (
ch.bafu.this-layer-does-not-exist) that surfaced as HTTP 400 in every run, and a positive control at 2'626'000 / 1'154'500 that returned the Kiental hunting-ban district as expected. Inside a game reserve, VEJ SR 922.31 art. 5 para. 1 lit. e prohibits free tenting and camping, and OBV SR 314.11 annex 2 no. 12005 tariffs it at CHF 150, citing JSG SR 922.0 art. 18 para. 1 lit. e together with para. 3; the CHF 20'000 figure often quoted is the ceiling of ordinary proceedings under the hunting act. map.geo.admin.ch. ↩ - swisstopo swissBOUNDARIES3D commune geometry, filtered to the current year, the national gazetteer and the swissALTI3D height model, queried 27 August 2026. Summits and communes: Vorder Eggstock LV95 2'717'315 / 1'202'195, 2'448.9 m, Glarus Süd (GL); Mittler Eggstock 2'716'842 / 1'202'242, 2'427.8 m, Glarus Süd (GL); Hinter Eggstock 2'716'613 / 1'202'102, 2'435.0 m, Muotathal (SZ); ridge name "Eggstöck" 2'716'222 / 1'202'185, Muotathal (SZ). Slope from the local gradient across three windows: Vorder Eggstock 15.5 degrees at 12.5 m, 34.5 at 25 m, 47.5 at 50 m; Mittler Eggstock 81.2 at 12.5 m; Hinter Eggstock 14.2, 39.4 and 50.4. Terrain sampled on a 25 m grid over a 1'200 by 1'200 m box centred on 2'716'950 / 1'202'150: 2'209 nodes, of which exactly one measures 8 degrees or less, that node being the apex cell of the Hinter Eggstock at 6.7 degrees and 2'434.5 m. Best readings by distance band from the group centre: 8.3 degrees at 50 to 100 m, 11.2 at 100 to 200 m, 13.8 at 200 to 300 m, 14.3 at 400 to 500 m, and 10.6 degrees at 2'717'175 / 1'202'725, 1'879.6 m, in the 500 to 700 m band. Reference points: Berggasthaus Gumen 1'906.0 m at 853 m south-south-east with the Kleiner Gumen chairlift beside it, Ortstockhaus 1'772.4 m at 1'338 m, Bächital chairlift 1'684.5 m at 1'628 m, Braunwald village 1'302.3 m at 2'814 m, Bösbächistock 2'657.9 m at 2'138 m. map.geo.admin.ch. ↩
- Canton Glarus, cantonal law collection, pulled in full and searched with control terms counted per act. There is no cantonal wild-camping or bivouac provision. The decisive negative is the Kantonale Ordnungsbussenverordnung III F/1/1, 18'822 characters with no camping entry of any kind: in a canton that handles minor offences by catalogue, an empty catalogue is the strongest single negative available. Also read and silent: the Einführungsgesetz zum Zivilgesetzbuch III B/1/1 (196'585 characters), the Gesetz über den Natur- und Heimatschutz IV G/1/1 (17'184 characters) and the ordinance on the Hinter Klöntal floodplain IV G/5/4 (8'136 characters). Note the host is
gesetze.gl.chwithout the www prefix. gesetze.gl.ch. ↩ - Gemeinde Glarus Süd, consulted 27 August 2026. The commune publishes no Polizei- or Campingreglement and no commune-wide Campierreglement is in force. Its instrument against wild camping is the judicial prohibition under art. 258 of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code, obtained for communal land, published in the cantonal Amtsblatt and posted on site, with fines up to CHF 2'000 on complaint. The commune has stated publicly that on land it owns it can issue such prohibitions while it can only recommend them to other owners, and that it deliberately chose frequented hotspots over a general ban. The named places are the Muttenchopf with the Muttsee and Limmern area, the Oberblegisee, the Panixerpass, Tierfed and the Klöntal; the commune also points to organised alternatives such as the rentable Basecamp at the Panixerpass. Braunwald and the Eggstöcke appear on none of these lists. A Gesamtrevision der Nutzungsplanung is on public inspection in 2026 and is not in force; this verdict is date-stamped accordingly. glarus-sued.ch. ↩
- Canton Schwyz and Gemeinde Muotathal, established for the Fulen and Pragelpass articles in this corpus and applied here. Schwyz prohibits camping only inside the six plant reserves listed in the annex to its nature and landscape protection act and the eleven cantonal nature reserves, none of which lies on this ridge. The Baureglement of Muotathal, approved 2 July 2013, scores zero for Zelt, Campier, Camping and Biwak against live control words (verboten 1, untersagt 2, Busse 1). Outside federal game reserve no. 9 there is therefore no Schwyz prohibition at the Hinter Eggstock either. See also the Silberen and Pragelpass reports, both inside that same reserve and both graded forbidden for that reason. sz.ch. ↩
- Swiss Alpine Club SAC, Merkblatt "Campieren und Biwakieren in den Schweizer Bergen". Quoted: "Ansonsten ist eine einzelne Übernachtung einer kleinen Anzahl Personen im Gebirge oberhalb der Waldgrenze in der Regel unproblematisch, wenn sie rücksichtsvoll erfolgt. Zudem ist ein Notbiwak grundsätzlich erlaubt." And: "Übernachte nicht zu nahe bei Hütten und beweideten Alpen oder erkundige dich, ob eine Übernachtung in der Nähe möglich ist." Guidance and courtesy, not law. Read alongside ZGB SR 210 art. 699, a right of access to forest and pasture within customary limits and never a right to spend the night. sac-cas.ch. ↩