Wild camping at the Lötzisalpsattel: the reserve line runs through the saddle

The one boundary that decides everything here

Wild camping Lötzisalpsattel is unusual because the answer changes inside the saddle. Almost everywhere else you check a spot against a boundary that is a hundred metres away or more. Here the boundary of the federal Säntis game reserve runs through the pass, and the ground on either side of that line is governed by two completely different regimes.

The outside side: Appenzell, and no camping fine. The saddle high point and the grass to its north and east sit outside the reserve, on Appenzell Innerrhoden ground. There the operative rule is a single paragraph from 1973.

"Das gelegentliche Aufstellen von einzelnen Wohnwagen und Zelten ausserhalb bewilligter Campingplätze darf die Dauer eines Monats pro Jahr nicht überschreiten und ist an die Zustimmung des betreffenden Grundeigentümers gebunden."Campingverordnung (GS 935.610), art. 4: the occasional erection of individual caravans and tents outside licensed campsites may not exceed one month a year and is tied to the consent of the landowner concerned.

Two things follow. The route is the landowner's yes, which is why the useful part of this article is a name and a phone number rather than a statute. And there is no fine behind it: the penalty articles of that ordinance, arts. 11 to 15, were each repealed on 31 October 2005 as part of the cantonal parliament's own revision, and nothing has replaced them. Appenzell has no general camping fine.¹

But consent alone is not a clean yes even on the outside grass. Art. 6 para. 3 of the same ordinance applies the exclusions in art. 6 para. 2 to the consent route as well. Those exclude, among others, terrain exposed to rockfall and areas of particular value on grounds of nature or heritage protection. The saddle sits inside the federal landscape inventory object Säntisgebiet, and there is loose rock and scree close by. There is no sanction behind that and the application is by analogy rather than a direct ban, so we are not going to overstate it. But it means the sensible reading is: ask, and pitch with care.¹⁶

"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: free tenting and camping is prohibited, save for the use of official campsites; the cantons may authorise exceptions.

The reserve side: forbidden, regardless of the owner. About 55 metres south of the high point and about 200 metres west, toward the Altenalptürme and the point where the traverse abseils off the last tower, the ground is inside object 16 Säntis of the federal game reserve inventory. There art. 5 para. 1 lit. e VEJ bans free tenting and camping outright. The exception it allows is a cantonal permit, not a landowner's consent, so the owner saying yes does not cure a breach on the reserve side. The whole reserve is integrally protected, 2'594.2 hectares, and its stated purpose is the protection of wildlife from disturbance.²⁵

The number to plan around inside is CHF 150. That is the federal fixed penalty for free tenting or camping in a game reserve, under annex 2 no. 12005 of the federal fixed-penalty ordinance. The CHF 20'000 that gets quoted is the ceiling under art. 18 of the Hunting Act if a case ever leaves the summary procedure, not the on-the-spot fine. A separate line, no. 12003, of the same value covers wildlife rest zones, which is a different offence and does not apply here.³⁴

Where exactly the line falls, and who to ask

The pin is on the outside grass, and we checked the boundary at close range. The saddle high point is at 47.26855, 9.37456 (LV95 2'746'488 / 1'237'101), 1'899 metres. Querying the federal game reserve layer point by point, the pin, a point 80 metres north and a point 120 metres east all return outside object 16 Säntis. Points 60 metres south, 200 metres west and anywhere toward the towers return inside. So the reserve edge threads between them, and the safe ground is the grass on the north and east of the high point.⁵

Do not camp on the mathematical edge. A handheld GPS wanders five to ten metres, and the boundary is a line on a map, not a fence you can see. Pitch well inside the outside grass, not on the last metre before the reserve. If you are unsure which side you are on, you are too close, and the answer there is a fine, not a warning.⁵

Be honest about the flat plateau. A hiker who bivouacked in this saddle found a nice flat grass plateau between the Lötzlisälplisattel and Hinter Öhrligrueb and wrote it up plainly: the spot "gerade so", just barely, lay inside the Jagdbanngebiet, and it "sollte daher an dieser Stelle nicht nachgeahmt werden", should therefore not be copied here. That is the trap. The most inviting flat ground is on the wrong side of the line. Take the honesty and leave the location.⁸

No published fee exists for this saddle. We looked. Do not carry across the informal figures published for the Seealpsee or the Fälenalp, which are different arrangements on different ground. If the Neffs name a small contribution when you ask, that is the fee; there is no standing rate to assume in advance.⁷

One instrument is worth knowing about, even though it does not reach here. Appenzell enacted a Wildruheverordnung that came into force on 1 July 2025. It creates exactly three zones, Chalberer, Marwees and Brugger Wald. The nearest, Marwees, is off to the south-east toward the Seealpsee and Sämtisersee, and none of the three reaches this saddle. Note for anyone checking their own Alpstein spot: the federal wildlife-rest-zone map layer carries no Appenzell zone at all, so a point query on the national portal misses this ordinance entirely.⁹

Getting there, and what the ground is actually like

The saddle is the west end of the Altenalptürme traverse. It is where the exposed scramble across the towers finishes, with the last stretch abseiled off the final tower onto the saddle. That traverse is a serious, exposed route and it feeds a steady trickle of scramblers onto this ground, so it is not a quiet corner in the way an off-path bivouac usually is.⁸

The normal way in is on foot from the Ebenalp. Take the Ebenalpbahn from Wasserauen up to the Ebenalp, walk over the Schäfler, and continue to the Altenalpsattel and the Lötzisalpsattel, roughly two hours with a full pack. There is no cableway to the saddle itself; the last part is walking either way.⁸

The terrain at 1'899 metres is open above the treeline. The saddle is open scree and rock with flatter grass on the north and east. It is genuine open ground, not a cliff edge, not a road, not a hut forecourt, so common sense does not knock the answer below what the law allows: someone would plausibly sleep here. The catch is only which side of the reserve line the flat grass sits on, and the flattest patch, the plateau the hikr report describes, is the one that "gerade so" crosses inside.⁸⁶

The BLN reinforces the caution but does not fine you. The saddle sits inside the federal landscape inventory object Säntisgebiet. That binds the authorities and reinforces the art. 6 para. 2 lit. d caution above, but it carries no fine for a camper. No wildlife rest zone, high or low mire, mire landscape, floodplain or dry-grassland object hits at the pin; the game reserve and the BLN are the only two live layers here.⁶⁵

Watch item, not in force yet. In June 2025 the Appenzell Standeskommission said it is drafting a stricter Alpstein wild-camping law. The earliest it could go to a Landsgemeinde vote is 2028, and its proposed exception, camping only in emergencies or with the explicit permission of the landowner, mirrors today's art. 4 consent route almost word for word. Journalists who call Alpstein camping "aktuell bereits verboten", already forbidden today, conflate the reserve, the penalty-less consent route and tourism messaging. As of now there is no in-force canton-wide AI camping fine; the only penalised ban on this saddle is the federal reserve on the south and west sliver.¹⁰

Where you can legally sleep

• The outside north-east grass of the saddle, at about 1'899 metres, clearly outside the game reserve and with margin from the boundary, with the landowner's consent under the Campingverordnung. This is the honest answer, and the reason to ask the Neffs first.
• Altenalp, roughly 0.9 to 1.2 km east-north-east, the Neff family, +41 79 406 36 69, which already takes overnight guests in a Heulager for around 25 people plus a guest room in season.
• Berggasthaus Schäfler, on the ridge to the east, +41 71 799 11 44 in summer, phone booking only.
• Berggasthaus Ebenalp, Äscher, Seealpsee and Mesmer, all within reach on the same massif, and all simpler answers than threading a boundary in the dark.
• Not the flat plateau toward Hinter Öhrligrueb, and not anything about 55 metres south or 200 metres west of the high point, which is inside the reserve.

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which in the Alpstein means with the alp's yes and clear of the reserve line. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense, and on a massif carrying a quarter of the canton's overnight stays it is the reason the tolerance still exists at all.

• 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 federal game reserve boundary runs through this saddle, so the answer depends on where exactly you stand, and a handheld GPS is only accurate to within several metres. Appenzell Innerrhoden is also drafting a stricter Alpstein camping law that could reach a Landsgemeinde vote in 2028, so material written about this area may go out of date. Before every tour, check the current sources yourself, get the landowner's consent, stay clearly outside the reserve, 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.

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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.

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