Wild camping at the Elsigsee
The Elsigsee is a small lake at 1'885 m on the Elsigenalp above Frutigen, among stone pines and spruces. No rule bans a tent there, but the only level shore is a picnic place with fire pits, inside a nature reserve. Open pasture to sleep on begins 660 m north-east.
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 Elsigsee: a small lake in the trees on the Elsigenalp
Which lake. The Elsigsee, 1'885 m, also called the Elsigseeli, lies on the Elsigenalp in the commune of Frutigen, in the Bernese Oberland. Swisstopo's name point is at LV95 2'614'800 / 1'151'505, WGS84 46.51469 N, 7.63149 E. The lake covers about 0.7 hectares in a closed hollow, and the ground rises 15 to 20 m on every side within 100 to 150 m.45
A lake for a day out. It is about 30 minutes on foot from the top station of the Elsigenalp cable car. The lift company has set up fire places at the lake and provides the firewood, and in summer the lake is the watering place of the alp's outer pasture: the cows are up from about the end of June to early September.68
And often a dry basin. The lift company warns that from the beginning of August the lake may have dried out, and the autumn page of the Berghaus Elsigenalp recommends a visit to the "ausgetrockneten Elsigseeli", the dried-out lake. Frutigen's building regulation writes the swings into the reserve itself: "Der Seespiegel unterliegt grossen natürlichen Schwankungen."61
There is no level ground at the water
The slopes round the lake are steep. Within 20 m of the water the median slope is 23.5 degrees, between 20 and 40 m it is 24 degrees, and further out 19 to 23 degrees. No 10 by 10 m patch within 40 m of the shore stays under 10 degrees. The nearest gentle patch, under 12 degrees, is a hollow 71 m south of the lake at 1'894 m, 5 m from the stream that feeds it.5
What is level is the picnic place and the lake bed. On the north shore, where the path from the cable car arrives, a small grass bench 10 to 13 m from the water holds the fire places and benches, and it is where day visitors sit. The rest is the wide stony beach and the bed of the lake itself. Both lie inside the communal nature reserve and its protected 20 m strip.52
And the lake is in the trees. It lies in an island of stone pine and spruce about 400 m across, below the open pasture of the upper alp: closed forest reaches the north and north-west shore, and single conifers stand to the south and east. Pasture with trees on it counts as forest under the federal forest act, and Frutigen's building regulation wants this wooded-pasture character kept. A night at the shore would be a night below the local tree limit, on a picnic place, beside the cattle's water.541
No rule bans a tent at the lake, and the reserve protects the shore
No federal, cantonal or communal rule bans a tent or a bivouac at the Elsigsee. What applies at the lake is a communal nature reserve. Frutigen's building regulation, in the version with the amendment of 30 March 2022, says in art. 533:1
"Der Elsigsee mit seiner näheren Umgebung steht unter dem Schutz der Gemeinde (kommunales Naturschutzgebiet). ... Das Ufer des Elsigsees (Teil der Alp obere Elsige), inkl. ein 20 m breiter, landseitiger Streifen, darf nicht verändert werden."Baureglement der Einwohnergemeinde Frutigen, art. 533 para. 1 and 4, version with the amendment of 30 March 2022. In English: the Elsigsee and its immediate surroundings are under the protection of the commune (communal nature reserve); the shore of the Elsigsee, part of the upper Elsigen alp, including a 20 m strip on the land side, must not be altered.
What the reserve protects, and what it leaves out. Art. 533 protects the lake, its water balance and the shore with the 20 m strip, and it gives the reserve's purpose as keeping the lake as scenery and as a near-natural place for recreation (para. 2). It has no clause on access, camping, tents or fire. A tent pitched at dusk and struck at dawn alters nothing on the shore; digging, cutting or a fire ring built from shore stones does.1
The CHF 5'000 in the same regulation is not a camping fine. Art. 701 para. 2 fines breaches of the communal building order up to CHF 5'000. It reaches what the reserve forbids, altering the shore or the water, not a night in a tent.1
Frutigen publishes no police or camping regulation. None of the commune's published acts bans camping. Its building regulation mentions camping only for the Grassi camping zone in the valley, where "die Bestimmungen des Campingreglements" also apply (art. 222 para. 3). Frutigen does not publish that Campingreglement, so whether it says anything about camping elsewhere is open; the Gemeindeverwaltung can answer that. In December 2023, according to the local press, the Gemeinderat banned camping on four public sites in the valley, car parks and the airfield among them, a measure aimed at motorhomes.18
Bern and the Confederation add no ban. Canton Bern has no general camping ban. Its forest act applies here because the lake is in forest: it opens the forest to the public "im Rahmen des ortsüblichen Umfangs" (KWaG art. 21) and requires a permit for events that could seriously harm plants and animals (art. 22), and it has no camping or overnight clause. Bern's wildlife ordinance bans free camping and bivouacking only in listed wildlife areas, and none covers the lake or the shelf above it. No federal inventory object, game reserve or wildlife rest zone covers them either.34
No court prohibition for the alp has been published since 2017. A landowner can have a court prohibit uses of their land, and the prohibition is then published. None naming the Elsigen appears in the issues of the Frutiger Anzeiger, Frutigen's official gazette, online since October 2017, or in the cantonal gazette of the past six months. Whether an older one exists is open.13
The reserve, the spring zone and the wildlife areas: what they change
The reserve is a band round the water. In the cadastre the communal nature reserve covers the lake and a band 25 to 42 m wide round it, about 2.3 hectares in all. Around it lies landscape-protection area B, where nothing that needs a building permit may be built and the trees are protected (GBR art. 531). Neither has a camping clause, and the shelf north-east of the lake lies outside both.21
The west side drains to a spring. The groundwater protection zone S2 of the Elsigenalp spring begins 38 m west of the shore. The canton's model regulation keeps campsites out of zones S1 and S2; a single tent is not a campsite, but this is the alp's drinking water, so keep your toilet stop well away from that side. The shelf is 709 m from the zone.2
No wildlife zone is close. The nearest wildlife rest zone, Frutigen's Elsige-Metsch, begins 850 m from the lake and 829 m from the shelf, and it closes its ground to winter sports off the routes. Bern's wildlife areas lie further off: the Grosser Lohner 3.7 km from the lake, and the Gehrihorn 3.2 km from the shelf, where camping and bivouacking are banned all year; our report on wild camping on the Gehrihorn covers it. The nearest cantonal nature reserve, the Engstligenauen, is 3.2 km from the lake.43
In winter it is a ski area. The lake and the shelf lie inside the snowmaking plan of the Elsigen-Metsch ski area, which forbids anything that could hinder skiing or snowmaking (art. 5 para. 3), and the lift company bars ski tourers from the ski area between 17:00 and 08:30. Neither touches a summer night.16
Whose ground it is, and who to ask
One parcel, one alp. The lake, the shore and the whole basin are Frutigen parcel 81, 608 hectares, and the building regulation calls the shore "Teil der Alp obere Elsige". In the federal land-use data the parcel is one registered summer pasture, operator number BEB120678. Two older sources name the Alpgenossenschaft Elsigen as the landowner, an orienteering club's sheet of 2006 and the alp register Alporama in 2014; Bern's land register, which opens only with a BE-Login, would confirm it. The huts on the alp are privately owned.248
No standing permission and no fee are published. Neither the lift company nor the Berghaus publishes a word about tents or bivouacs on the alp, and nothing published offers a night on it or puts a price on it. In the grazing season, ask at the alp huts before you pitch, and say where and for how many nights. The Berghaus Elsigenalp, +41 33 671 10 26, and the Elsigenalpbahnen, +41 33 671 33 33, are the nearest places to ask who farms the pasture.6
What hikers report. Trip reports on hikr.org describe the lake as a picnic stop and, in late summer, as "fast ohne Wasser in einer Senke", almost without water in a hollow. None describes a night at it.8
Where you can sleep: the open shelf north-east of the lake, or the Naturfreundehaus
The open shelf north-east of the lake. About 1'000 m2 of grass lie under 8 degrees at 46.51825 N, 7.63949 E (LV95 2'615'413 / 1'151'903), 1'997 m, about 660 m north-east of the shore and 112 m higher. The ground is level from about 50 m south to 20 m north of that point and rises to the east, towards the Elsighorn ridge. From the air it is smooth open grass with no trough within 100 m; a path passes 55 m away, a cattle resting place lies 60 to 100 m north along it, and rock and scree begin 60 to 80 m to the south-east. The shelf lies outside the reserve, the spring zone and every wildlife zone, and no rule bans a night there.52
Out of the trees is what makes it a place to sleep, not what makes it lawful. It is lawful because no rule or zone covers that ground, and in summer the alp's yes comes on top. The shelf is on the same alp parcel as the lake: from about the end of June to early September the cows are up, so ask at the alp huts first and keep clear of their resting place. Outside that season the pasture is empty. The federal guard-dog map shows the nearest dog-guarded pasture 3.3 km from the lake.64
Walk past the closer shoulder. The shoulder east-north-east of the lake, at 1'964 m and about 380 m from the shore, is lumpy, a farm track runs 23 m from it and a cattle trough stands about 70 m away.5
Season. The cable car runs from late May to mid-October. In Bern's hunting calendar for 2025/26, roe deer and hare were hunted from 1 October to 15 November, and the Elsigen lies in no game reserve, so expect hunters on the alp in autumn.63
Naturfreundehaus Elsigenalp, about 1'810 m, ten minutes from the Berghaus: a self-catering house, CHF 20 a night for adults who are not members and CHF 16 for members, plus tourist tax, at the time of writing. Open from Ascension to the end of October and from the end of December to Easter, with a warden at weekends; bring a sleeping bag, and book through the online form on elsigen.nft.ch. The Berghaus Elsigenalp, about 870 m from the lake, has dormitory beds with half board from CHF 87 until 18 October 2026.76
General rules for wild camping
This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which near the Elsigsee means one small pitch on the open shelf north-east of the lake. Leave the fire places at the shore to the day visitors, carry your water up and keep away from the cattle's resting place.
- 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 practice and opening dates change. Frutigen does not publish the Campingreglement that its building regulation names for the Grassi campsite, and a court prohibition older than October 2017 would not show in the gazette issues read. The ground at the lake and on the shelf was judged from official aerial imagery and the federal elevation model, not surveyed on site, and the landowner's own conditions would add to this text. 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 at the Elsigsee?
Does the nature reserve at the Elsigsee ban tents?
Why is the verdict "Not allowed" and not "Illegal"?
Where can I sleep instead?
Who owns the Elsigsee?
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
- Einwohnergemeinde Frutigen, read 1 October 2026. Baureglement (GBR), the regulation of 2012 with the landscape revision of 14 July 2020, in the version "mit Änderung vom 30.03.2022": art. 533 "Naturschutzgebiete", para. 1: "Der Elsigsee mit seiner näheren Umgebung steht unter dem Schutz der Gemeinde (kommunales Naturschutzgebiet)."; para. 2: "Ziele ist die Erhaltung des Sees als landschaftliche Schönheiten und als naturnaher Erholungsraum."; para. 3: "Der Seespiegel unterliegt grossen natürlichen Schwankungen. Der Wasserhaushalt darf nicht verändert werden."; para. 4: "Das Ufer des Elsigsees (Teil der Alp obere Elsige), inkl. ein 20 m breiter, landseitiger Streifen, darf nicht verändert werden." Art. 531 para. 3 and 4: landscape-protection areas B also serve as a buffer zone, nothing requiring a building permit may be built or done in them, the trees are protected and the wooded-pasture character is to be kept. Art. 532 para. 5: on wildlife rest zones the commune defers to the protection decrees. Art. 222 para. 3: "In der Campingzone Grassi gelten zudem die Bestimmungen des Campingreglements." Art. 701 para. 2: "Verstösse gegen die baurechtliche Grundordnung, gegen die übrigen Gemeindebauvorschriften und die gestützt darauf erlassenen Verfügungen, welche nicht der Strafdrohung der Baugesetzgebung unterstehen, werden mit Busse bis zu CHF 5000.00 bestraft." The regulation has no tent, camping, bivouac or overnight clause outside the Grassi camping zone, and the draft revision of 2023 keeps art. 533 unchanged. Überbauungsordnung "Beschneiung Skizentrum Elsigen-Metsch" of May 2004, amended on 18 December 2015, art. 5 para. 3: "Im übrigen darf im Wirkungsbereich der in dieser UeO festgelegten Flächen und Anlagen nichts unternommen werden, was den Skibetrieb oder die technische Beschneiung beeinträchtigen könnte." Published documents of the commune: building, road, fee and tax acts, no police regulation, no camping regulation and no list of fines. Court prohibitions under ZPO art. 258 are published in the official gazette: the issues of the Frutiger Anzeiger, the official gazette of Frutigen and neighbouring communes, from 10 October 2017 to 29 September 2026 on frutiglaender.ch carry none that names parcel 81, the Elsigen, Metsch or Achseten; the archive has gaps, and older issues were not read. ↩
- Cadastre of public-law restrictions, Canton Bern (oereb2.apps.be.ch), extract of Frutigen parcel 81 (EGRID CH473505514648, 6'079'665 m2) with geometry, read 1 October 2026 and tested polygon by polygon: the communal nature reserve "Elsigsee" (GBR art. 533) covers the lake and a band 25 to 42 m wide round it, 23'132 m2 in all, and lies 625 m from the shelf; landscape-protection area B (GBR art. 531) covers the surroundings of the lake and not the shelf; the groundwater protection zone S2 of the Elsigenalp spring no. 929 lies 38 m west of the shore at its nearest and 709 m from the shelf, its zone S1 587 m from the lake; the snowmaking plan of the Elsigen-Metsch ski area covers the lake and the shelf. The cantonal water office marks the regulation of that spring zone as no longer current and refers to its model regulation of 14 May 2021, whose table lists "Zeltplätze sowie Plätze für Wohnwagen und Mobilhomes" as not permitted in zones S1 and S2. ↩
- 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"; paras. 2 and 3 let access be restricted through wildlife rest zones, forest reserves, nature reserves, signs and fences; art. 22 para. 1: "Veranstaltungen im Wald, die zu einer erheblichen Beeinträchtigung von Pflanzen und Tieren führen können, sind bewilligungspflichtig", with the events listed in art. 29 of the Kantonale Waldverordnung (KWaV), BSG 921.111; art. 46: fines up to CHF 20'000 for events without a permit, riding or cycling off the paths, harmful uses and breaches of the cantonal government's fire rules. Neither act has a camping, tent, bivouac or overnight clause, and neither do the Naturschutzgesetz BSG 426.11, the Naturschutzverordnung BSG 426.111, the Jagd- und Wildtierschutzgesetz BSG 922.11 and the Polizeigesetz BSG 551.1, so canton Bern has no general camping ban. Verordnung über den Wildtierschutz BSG 922.63, annex 2: the sentence "Freies/wildes Campieren und Biwakieren sind verboten" stands only in listed objects. Cantonal data on the wildlife-protection areas (WILDSG) and the nature reserves (NSG): the lake and the shelf lie in none; the nearest wildlife areas are the Grosser Lohner, 3'652 m from the lake, and the Gehrihorn (zone 2), 3'219 m from the shelf; the nearest nature reserves are the Engstligenauen, 3'193 m from the lake, and the Dälmoos Achseten, 3'583 m from the shelf. Cantonal gazette, court notices of the past six months: none for the Elsigen. Hunting seasons 2025/26: roe deer and hare from 1 October to 15 November. ↩
- Federal law and geodata, read 1 October 2026. Waldgesetz (WaG), SR 921.0, art. 2 para. 2: "Als Wald gelten auch: a. Weidwälder, bestockte Weiden (Wytweiden) und Selven"; art. 14 para. 1: "Die Kantone sorgen dafür, dass der Wald der Allgemeinheit zugänglich ist." Swisstopo: the name point "Elsigsee" (swissNAMES3D) at LV95 2'614'800 / 1'151'505, WGS84 46.51469 / 7.63149, 1'884.7 m on swissALTI3D, in the commune of Frutigen on the current boundary layer; the lake polygon of swissTLM3D covers 7'226 m2. Federal inventories on geo.admin.ch at the lake and at the shelf: no game reserve, wildlife rest zone, BLN object, floodplain, fen, raised bog, mire landscape, amphibian site, dry meadow, Ramsar or Emerald site, forest reserve, park of national importance or military site. Wildlife rest zones: the nearest, "Frutigen Elsige-Metsch (Nr. 37.00)", communal and legally binding, protection period 1 January to 31 December, against winter sports off the routes, lies 850 m from the lake and 829 m from the shelf. Federal land-use data of 2025: the lake and the shelf lie in one summer pasture of 6'076'549 m2, operator number BEB120678. Federal guard-dog pastures: the nearest, Oberi Balmi, is 3'252 m from the lake. ↩
- Terrain and aerial images, read 1 October 2026. Swisstopo swissALTI3D (2 m, 2025 tiles): median slope 23.5 degrees within 20 m of the water, 24.1 between 20 and 40 m, 18.9 between 40 and 80 m and 22.6 between 80 and 150 m; within 40 m of the shore no 10 by 10 m patch with every cell at or under 10 degrees; the nearest at or under 12 degrees is 71 m south (LV95 2'614'803 / 1'151'391, 1'894 m), a hollow 5 m from the inflow. Elevations around the lake: 1'905 m 150 m south, 1'903 m 130 m north, 1'897 m 100 m west, 1'904 m 100 m east. Swissimage (10 cm, map.geo.admin.ch): on the north shore, where the access path arrives, a small grass bench 10 to 13 m from the water with fire places and benches; a wide stony beach; the lake in an island of conifers about 400 m across, the forest of swissTLM3D touching the north and north-west shore. The shelf: centre LV95 2'615'413 / 1'151'903, WGS84 46.51825 / 7.63949, 1'997 m, 662 m from the shore and 733 m from the centre of the lake at a bearing of 57 degrees, 112 m higher; 1'016 m2 at 8 degrees or less and 1'768 m2 at 10 or less, median slope 6.9 degrees within 30 m; level at 1'996 to 1'998 m from 50 m south to 20 m north and from 70 m west to 10 m east of the centre, rising to 2'046 m 150 m north, 2'028 m 150 m south and 2'052 m 150 m east, falling to 1'979 m 150 m west; 55 m from a path and 344 m from the nearest building; open grass, no trough within 100 m, dung patches of a cattle resting place 60 to 100 m north along the path, rock and scree 60 to 80 m south-east. The shoulder east-north-east of the lake: LV95 2'615'173 / 1'151'751, 1'964 m, 378 m from the shore, hummocks and stones, a farm track 23 m east and a cattle trough about 70 m north-east. These figures come from a 2 m elevation model and a 10 cm image, not from a survey. ↩
- Operators, read 1 October 2026 and again on 2 October 2026. Elsigenalpbahnen AG, the lift company, Bergseen: "Beim idyllischen Bergsee sind Feuerstellen eingerichtet. Brennholz steht zu Verfügung."; "Ab Anfang August muss damit gerechnet werden, dass der Elsigsee ausgetrocknet ist."; about 30 minutes on foot from the top station. Cows on the alp: "Die Elsigenalp ist ab Ende Juni bis Anfangs September mit Kühen bestossen." Ski tourers: entering the ski area outside operating hours, 17:00 to 08:30, is forbidden. Cable car Elsigbach to Elsigenalp from late May to mid-October. Elsigenalpbahnen AG, Alte Adelbodenstrasse 33, 3725 Achseten, +41 33 671 33 33 (contact). No page of the lift company offers or forbids a tent or a bivouac on the alp. Berghaus Elsigenalp: autumn offer from 19 September to 18 October 2026, with a visit to the "ausgetrockneten Elsigseeli"; rooms with half board, dormitory from CHF 87 to 92 and double room from CHF 117 to 132 per adult and night, plus tourist tax; open daily from 23 May to 18 October 2026; +41 33 671 10 26, info@berghaus-elsigenalp.ch (contact). No page of the Berghaus mentions camping, a tent or a bivouac. ↩
- Naturfreundehaus Elsigenalp, read 1 October 2026 and again on 2 October 2026: Naturfreunde Schweiz and the house's own site elsigen.nft.ch. About 1'810 m, ten minutes from the restaurant of the Berghaus Elsigenalp; self-catering; adults CHF 20 a night for non-members and CHF 16 for members, plus tourist tax and charges; open from the end of December to Easter and from Ascension to the end of October; warden at weekends; bring your own sleeping bag; bookings only through the online form. Campsites in the valley: Camping Grassi and Frutigresort in Frutigen. ↩
- Ownership and background, read 1 October 2026. Alporama, Elsigenalp, alp register 563-99, entry changed on 22 September 2014: "Genossenschaftsalp der Elsigenalp-Genossenschaft in Frutigen mit 37 Alpansprechern, welche die Alp auch bewirtschaftet"; "inmitten eines lichten Arvenbestandes bietet das romantische Seelein eine Tränkemöglichkeit in der Ausweide"; "Die Hütten sind alle in Privatbesitz." OLG Hondrich, Merkblatt Elsigenalp, November 2006: "Grundeigentümer: Alpgenossenschaft Elsigen". Since 1 September 2025 the Bern land register is open to the public only through GRUDIS public with a BE-Login. Trip reports on hikr.org, among them "fast ohne Wasser in einer Senke"; none describes a night at the lake. Plattform J, article of 3 April 2024: in December 2023 the Gemeinderat of Frutigen banned camping on four public sites in the valley, the car park of FC Frutigen, the Marktplatz, the airfield and the car park of the Hubelhaus shooting range, aimed at motorhomes; the decision itself is not published online. The regional tourism site carries no wild-camping statement on its Frutigen page; its Kandersteg page says "Wildcampen ist nicht gestattet". ↩