Wild camping on the Grosser Mythen
The Grosser Mythen, 1'898 m, is the limestone horn above Schwyz with a restaurant on its top. The summit lies inside a federal game reserve and a cantonal plant reserve, and both ban camping. The night belongs at Holzegg, at the foot of the 47 hairpins.
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 on the Grosser Mythen: a restaurant on a rock horn
Wild camping on the Grosser Mythen is a question about a summit that is mostly air. The Grosser Mythen, 1'898 m, rises out of the hills above Schwyz, and its top is the Mythenhaus, a summit restaurant with a terrace. The house belongs to the Verein der Mythenfreunde, which also keeps the path, and is run by Gipfelgenuss GmbH. The way up starts at Holzegg, 1'405 m: 47 hairpins and almost 500 m of ascent, 1 to 1.5 h.73
The ground answers before the law does. Within 30 m of the top, half the ground is steeper than 43.5 degrees, and the only level surface is the summit platform with the restaurant and its terrace. The first level ground lies 485 m north of the top and 538 m lower, still deep inside the game reserve. A limestone horn with a building on it is no place to lie down.3
The house has no beds. Its operator writes "Das Mythenhaus wird vom Verein der Mythenfreunde unterhalten, es hat für Gäste keine Übernachtungsmöglichkeit." The Mythenhaus, kept by the club, has no place for guests to stay the night, and the operator sends them down to Holzegg: "Im Schihaus Holzegg oder im Berggasthaus Holzegg kann man schlafen." On the same page: "Campieren und Biwakieren ist auf dem Gipfel nicht erlaubt, das ganze Mythengebiet befindet sich im eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiet." Camping and bivouacking are not allowed on the summit, because the whole Mythen area lies in the federal game reserve.7
The law: a federal game reserve and a cantonal plant reserve
The summit lies 693 m inside federal game reserve no. 8 Mythen. The reserve covers 844.9 ha around the two limestone blocks of the Chli Mythen and the Grosser Mythen and reaches down towards Schwyz in the south-west. Its object sheet sets one rule for all of it, "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt." There are no zones and no route exceptions. Federal law is short there:23
"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), "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten". Only the canton can grant an exception, through its Amt für Wald und Natur, Jagd und Wildtiere, and none is published for hikers. The landowner, the restaurant and the club that keeps the path cannot.1
The canton bans it a second time. The summit also lies 532 m inside the Pflanzenschutzreservat Mythengebiet, the plant reserve the cantonal government drew in 1970, decision no. 521/1970. The Schwyz landscape and nature protection act (LSG, SRSZ 721.110) lists it in its annex, and its § 9a para. 3 bans picking or digging up plants there and adds: "Das Campieren ist untersagt." Under § 26 a breach is punished with a fine.4
What that cantonal fine costs is less clear. The canton's fixed-fine act (KOBG, SRSZ 233.210) prices a breach of § 9a paras. 2 and 3 at CHF 100, under the heading "Verstoss gegen das Artenschutzgebot", a breach of species protection. The camping sentence and that tariff were both set on 17 November 2021, which suggests the CHF 100 covers a tent as well as a picked flower, but no published decision says so. If it does not, the ordinary fine of § 26 applies. Either way the federal CHF 150 stands on its own.4
A bivvy bag is no way round it. Both texts say "Campieren", neither defines it, and neither names the bivouac; no court has ruled on a bivvy bag in either reserve. The operator's page puts camping and bivouacking in one sentence. Against a fixed federal fine, a tentless night is an argument, not a plan.147
Below the canton, nothing changes it. The commune of Schwyz publishes no police or camping regulation, and its protection ordinance of 1999 has no camping provision; at the summit the cadastre shows ordinary communal land with no nature protection zone. The canton's police act and police ordinance have no camping provision either. How the levels fit together: the Schwyz overview and the national overview.64
Where the reserves end: at Holzegg, and then the next one begins
The federal line runs over the Holzegg pass. The pass at the foot of the summit path, LV95 2'695'753 / 1'209'402, lies 3 m from the line of the game reserve, and the Haggenegg on the north side 2 m. Between and above them the whole Mythen block is inside: both flanks of the Grosser Mythen, the path with its 47 hairpins, the saddle of the Zwüschet Mythen and the Chli Mythen, 982 m inside.3
The plant reserve covers Holzegg itself. Its line runs east of the pass: the Holzegg pass lies 41 m inside it and the Berggasthaus Holzegg 17 m inside, while the Skihaus Holzegg lies 282 m outside. On the north side the Haggenegg lies 481 m outside it.4
From about 40 m east of the Skihaus, the cantonal Ibergeregg reserve begins. Its ordinance, in the version in force since 1 September 2013, bans "das Campieren sowie das Überlassen von Flächen hiezu", camping and letting ground for it (§ 4 para. 1 lit. b), and the canton's fixed-fine list prices that at CHF 150. The canton's leaflet for the reserve puts it plainly: "Das Campieren ist im ganzen Naturschutzgebiet verboten." The reserve covers the open alp ground east of Holzegg, the Schwarzenstock and the moors towards the Müsliegg and the Ibergeregg. The level ground next to the lifts at Holzegg, LV95 2'696'017 / 1'209'407, lies 30 m inside it.5
What is left is ski-area ground. Around Holzegg, the strip that none of the three reserves covers holds the Skihaus, the lift stations and the pistes, at about 1'400 m and below the natural tree line. On the north side the Haggenegg is a pass with a Berggasthaus at about 1'414 m, also below the tree line, with the federal line across the saddle. Within reach of the summit there is no lawful ground for a tent or a bivvy bag: the night here is under a roof.35
Where you sleep: Holzegg, at the foot of the path
Holzegg, 1'405 m, is where the summit path starts, and where the night belongs. Two houses stand there, both outside the federal reserve. The Berggasthaus stands inside the plant reserve, which bans camping, not a bed.34
Skihaus Holzegg, about 1'410 m, commune of Schwyz, 228 m outside the game reserve. One room with 10 bunks, one with 8 and a double room; CHF 95 per person with a three-course dinner, breakfast and tourist tax. No shower, quiet from 22:00, and no overnight stays on Sundays. Hosts Csilla and Ronny, skihaus-holzegg.ch.9
Berggasthaus Holzegg, 1'405 m, commune of Alpthal, 11 m outside the game reserve. 21 rooms for 41 guests, showers and WC on the floor, breakfast included, half board CHF 35 on Fridays and Saturdays; room rates through its booking page. Hotel guests ride the cableway free; arrive at the Brunni valley station by 16:30. +41 41 811 12 34, gastgeber@holzegg.ch.8
Getting to Holzegg. The Luftseilbahn Brunni-Holzegg climbs from Brunni in Alpthal, 1'105 m, to 1'410 m in 5 minutes: 08:00 to 17:15 every 30 minutes, with a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:45. Adults pay CHF 13 one way and CHF 20 return; +41 41 811 12 49, luftseilbahn@holzegg.ch. On foot it is 45 minutes to 1 h from Brunni and 35 minutes from the Ibergeregg pass, or take the Rotenfluebahn from Rickenbach and walk 20 minutes.89
Sunrise on the summit: timing, season and the path
The Mythenhaus opens at sunrise. Its page says "Das Mythenhaus ist täglich von Sonnenaufgang bis Sonnenuntergang offen." Open every day from sunrise to sunset. From Holzegg the 47 hairpins take 1 to 1.5 h, so leave in the dark with a headlamp and you stand on top for first light, with the restaurant opening as you arrive. The other way round works too: up for sunset, down by headlamp.7
The path is a mountain path. It is kept by the Verein der Mythenfreunde, "Der Bergweg wird vom Verein der Mythenfreunde unterhalten." It is steep and exposed in places: walk it in the dark only if you know it by day, and not on wet or icy rock.7
The season is ending. "Die Saison dauert bis ca. Ende Oktober/Mitte November, je nach Wetter." The summit house closes around the end of October or in mid-November, depending on the weather; on 19 October 2026 it was still open. The Berggasthaus terms name a summer season from 1 May to 31 October and a winter season from 1 November to 31 March, with reception until 16:30 in winter. Call before a late-autumn night.78
Place by place: what applies where
- Grosser Mythen summit, 1'898 m: no. Inside federal game reserve no. 8 and the Mythen plant reserve; a restaurant on rock, with no beds.347
- Chli Mythen and the Zwüschet Mythen saddle: no. Inside the federal reserve; the Chli Mythen also inside the plant reserve.34
- Holzegg pass, 1'405 m: no. The federal line runs over it and the plant reserve covers it; around it lift stations and pistes, below the tree line.34
- Alp ground east of Holzegg, the Schwarzenstock and towards the Ibergeregg: no. The cantonal Ibergeregg reserve bans camping, CHF 150.5
- Haggenegg: no. A pass with a Berggasthaus below the tree line, with the federal line across the saddle.3
- Skihaus and Berggasthaus Holzegg: yes, in a bed. The lawful night for a sunrise on the summit.89
- Elsewhere in Schwyz: the Fronalpstock, the Rigi and the Muotatal.
General rules for wild camping
On the Grosser Mythen these apply to the path and the summit by day, and to the night you spend at Holzegg. The reserve exists to protect the animals from disturbance, and a headlamp procession at dawn is part of that.
- 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 as of 19 October 2026, based on the official sources linked below. It does not replace legal advice and is not a binding statement of the current legal situation.
The lines of the two reserves and every distance here are taken from the published geometry of the federal inventory and the canton's geodata, which are as accurate as the data and not as a marker on the ground; the plan attached to the government decision of 1970 was not consulted. Whether the canton's CHF 100 fixed fine is applied to camping in a plant reserve is not published. The owner of the summit parcel was not looked up, and no landowner's consent can lift a federal game reserve ban. Seasons, prices and timetables are taken from their publishers as of October 2026 and can change; the last day of the 2026 summit season is not published. Nobody at the commune, the canton or the houses was asked. 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 its consequences. Hikebeast, Leon Helg and Saftladen GmbH accept no liability for decisions made on the basis of this text, and call on no one to break applicable law.
Frequently asked questions
Is wild camping allowed on the Grosser Mythen?
Can I sleep in the Mythenhaus on the summit?
Does a bivvy bag without a tent get around the ban?
Where can I sleep legally near the Grosser Mythen?
What is the fine for camping on the Grosser Mythen?
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
- 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 provision carries no zone qualifier and assigns exceptions to the cantons, not to landowners or tenants; reserve no. 8 Mythen is listed in the ordinance's annex. Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), SR 314.11, Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005: "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten", 150 francs, citing Art. 18 para. 1 lit. e together with para. 3 of the hunting act (JSG, SR 922.0). A fixed fine is issued on the spot without ordinary proceedings. fedlex.admin.ch (VEJ), OBV. ↩
- Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), inventory of federal game reserves, object sheet "8. Mythen Kt. SZ" in the 2023 revision set: "Die beiden Kalkblöcke des Kleinen und Grossen Mythens ragen aus dem Flyschgestein zwischen Schwyz und Alpthal heraus und dominieren das kleine Schutzgebiet, das im Südwesten bis nach Schwyz hinunterreicht." Objectives include "Schutz der Tiere vor Störung." Special measures: "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt." Geometry of the reserve, feature 1019: one polygon without holes, 844.9 ha, type "Gebiet mit integralen Schutzbestimmungen". object sheet no. 8 (PDF), reserve geometry. ↩
- Official federal geodata, queried on 19 October 2026. Summit, swissNAMES3D "Gross Mythen" and "Restaurant Grosser Mythen", LV95 2'695'029 / 1'209'497 (WGS84 47.02970 / 8.68883), commune of Schwyz from the current-year boundary on every bearing to 300 m. At the point: federal game reserve no. 8 Mythen, 693 m inside its line; no 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. Distances to the game reserve line: Holzegg pass, LV95 2'695'753 / 1'209'402, 3 m; Haggenegg pass, LV95 2'694'660 / 1'211'915, 2 m, outside; Chli Mythen, LV95 2'694'703 / 1'210'717, 982 m inside; Berggasthaus Holzegg, LV95 2'695'776 / 1'209'413, 11 m outside; Skihaus Holzegg, LV95 2'696'066 / 1'209'230, 228 m outside. Terrain, swissALTI3D at 2 m: median slope 43.5 degrees within 30 m of the summit; the only ground under 20 degrees is the summit platform with the house, 8 m north-north-west; the first window at 8 degrees or less, LV95 2'695'087 / 1'209'979, 1'354 m, 485 m north and 538 m lower, inside the reserve. Cadastre of public-law restrictions, canton of Schwyz: summit parcel 2404 of Schwyz (EGRID CH414083227744, 183.6 ha), ordinary communal land and noise sensitivity level III, no nature protection zone. map.geo.admin.ch, cadastre extract, parcel 2404. ↩
- Canton of Schwyz statutes and geodata, consulted on 19 October 2026. Gesetz über den Landschafts- und Naturschutz (LSG), SRSZ 721.110, of 24 September 1992, § 9a para. 3, in the version of 17 November 2021: "In den im Anhang aufgeführten Pflanzenschutzreservaten dürfen mit Ausnahme der Neophyten oder Problempflanzen der landwirtschaftlichen Nutzung keine Pflanzen und Pilze gepflückt, ausgegraben oder ausgerissen werden. Das Campieren ist untersagt." The annex lists, among six plant reserves, the "Pflanzenschutzreservat Mythengebiet (Perimeter gemäss Planbeilage zum Regierungsratsbeschluss Nr. 521/1970)". § 26: "Widerhandlungen gegen § 9a und § 9b dieses Gesetzes werden mit Busse bestraft." Kantonales Ordnungsbussengesetz (KOBG), SRSZ 233.210, annex no. 2.3, in the version of 17 November 2021: "Verstoss gegen das Artenschutzgebot" (§ 9a paras. 2 and 3 together with § 26 LSG), 100 francs. Polizeigesetz (PolG), SRSZ 520.110, and Polizeiverordnung (PolV), SRSZ 520.111: no camping provision. Cantonal geodata, layer of the plant reserves: the Mythengebiet reserve, 321.9 ha; summit 532 m inside, Chli Mythen 583 m inside, Holzegg pass 41 m inside, Berggasthaus Holzegg 17 m inside, Skihaus Holzegg 282 m outside, Haggenegg pass 481 m outside. LSG (PDF), KOBG (PDF), map.geo.sz.ch. ↩
- Canton of Schwyz, Verordnung betreffend Nutzung und Schutz der Ibergeregg (VSI), SRSZ 722.314, Umweltdepartement, of 18 December 2008; amendment of 26 August 2013, in force since 1 September 2013: § 4 para. 1, in the Ibergeregg area it is forbidden, lit. b, "das Campieren sowie das Überlassen von Flächen hiezu". § 21 lit. d: detention or a fine. KOBG, annex no. 3.1: "Verstoss gegen das Lagerungs- oder Campierverbot", including § 4 para. 1 lit. b together with § 21 lit. d VSI, 150 francs. The canton's leaflet: "Das Campieren ist im ganzen Naturschutzgebiet verboten." Cantonal geodata, layer of the nature reserves: the Ibergeregg reserve, 3'190.9 ha; summit 949 m outside, Berggasthaus Holzegg 198 m outside, Skihaus Holzegg 41 m outside, the level ground by the Holzegg lifts, LV95 2'696'017 / 1'209'407, 30 m inside, the Schwarzenstock 399 m inside. VSI 2008 (PDF), amendment 2013 (PDF), leaflet (PDF). ↩
- Communal level. Gemeinde Schwyz: the published list of communal regulations, read on 16 October 2026, contains no police or camping regulation; its Schutzverordnung of 1999 has no camping provision. Gemeinde Alpthal, where the Berggasthaus Holzegg stands: the list of regulations, read on 19 October 2026, contains no police, camping or fixed-fine regulation. gemeindeschwyz.ch, Reglemente, Schutzverordnung (PDF), alpthal.ch, Reglemente. ↩
- Mythenhaus, Gipfelgenuss GmbH, Lisa Reichmuth, Giessenbrücke 14, 8752 Näfels, read on 19 October 2026. Page "Mythenhaus": "Das Mythenhaus wird vom Verein der Mythenfreunde unterhalten, es hat für Gäste keine Übernachtungsmöglichkeit." "Im Schihaus Holzegg oder im Berggasthaus Holzegg kann man schlafen." "Campieren und Biwakieren ist auf dem Gipfel nicht erlaubt, das ganze Mythengebiet befindet sich im eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiet." Home page: "Das Mythenhaus ist täglich von Sonnenaufgang bis Sonnenuntergang offen." "Die Saison dauert bis ca. Ende Oktober/Mitte November, je nach Wetter." Page "Anreise": the path starts at Holzegg, 1'405 m, 47 hairpins and almost 500 m of ascent to 1'899 m, 1 to 1.5 h; "Der Bergweg wird vom Verein der Mythenfreunde unterhalten." +41 78 759 23 23, info@grosser-mythen.ch. grosser-mythen.ch, Mythenhaus, home page, Anreise. ↩
- Berggasthaus Holzegg and Luftseilbahn Brunni-Holzegg, read on 19 October 2026. Hotel: 21 rooms, 41 guests, showers and WC on the floor, breakfast included, half board CHF 35 on Fridays and Saturdays; hotel guests ride the cableway free; reached only by the cableway, arrival by 16:30 at the Brunni valley station, or on foot in about 1 h from Brunni, 305 m of ascent. Terms 2026/27: reception in summer, 1 May to 31 October, 16:00 to 17:15, in winter, 1 November to 31 March, until 16:30; children up to 6 free, 7 to 16 CHF 35 a night with breakfast. Cableway: 5 minutes, valley station 1'105 m, top station 1'410 m, 08:00 to 17:15 every 30 minutes, lunch break 12:00 to 12:45; adults CHF 13 one way, CHF 20 return. +41 41 811 12 34, gastgeber@holzegg.ch; cableway +41 41 811 12 49, luftseilbahn@holzegg.ch. holzegg.ch, Hotel, Luftseilbahn, terms 2026/27 (PDF). ↩
- Skihaus Holzegg, hosts Csilla and Ronny, 1'410 m, read on 19 October 2026. Page "übernachten": one room with 10 bunks, one with 8 and a double room; CHF 95 per person including a three-course dinner, breakfast and tourist tax; no shower; quiet from 22:00; the offer is marked "ausser Sonntags", except Sundays. Page "Lage": on foot 45 minutes from Brunni, 35 minutes from the Ibergeregg pass, 120 minutes from Rickenbach; by the Brunni-Holzegg cableway and 5 minutes on foot; by the Rickenbach-Rotenflue cableway and 20 minutes on foot. skihaus-holzegg.ch, übernachten, Lage. ↩