Wild camping at Oberhoresee

Wild camping at Oberhoresee: the high-tour exception

An ordinary planned tent night at Oberhoresee is prohibited. The lake and its immediate dry banks lie in the cantonal nature reserve Hinteres Lauterbrunnental. Its protection decision, RRB 3804 of 21 June 1960, is still registered as in force in the current cadastre. Ziff. 5(e) prohibits lighting fires, camping and pitching tents. A small tent from dusk to dawn is still a tent, even when the whole trip lasts one night. ^{1 4}

The same decree contains the useful limit on that prohibition. Ziff. 7(b) reserves exceptions connected with the execution of Hochtouren in the protected area. That means a genuine high mountaineering tour, with the overnight serving the undertaking. Simply walking to a high lake for a view does not turn the outing into an alpinist exception. ¹

"Ausnahmen von Ziff. 5 lit. e anlässlich der Ausführung von Hochtouren im Schutzgebiet."

The Schmadrihütte is an established base for the Lauterbrunnen Breithorn, Grosshorn, Tschingelhorn and Mittaghorn. Its operator also describes an approach via Oberhornsee. These are concrete alpine objectives and useful context for the decree's wording, rather than automatic permissions attached to mountain names. Your actual itinerary, timing, shelter and overnight location decide whether the high-tour exception fits. ⁸

For a hiking night beside the lake, use a booked indoor or valley alternative. For a genuine high tour, discuss the actual plan with the reserve manager and municipality before setting out. The exception has a legal anchor, but it does not offer a public standing campsite, a fee-paid invitation or a promise that every tour plan will qualify. ^{1 2 6}

Ziff. 8 also gives the cantonal authority a further exception power in urgent cases after consultation with the conservation organisation. That is a separate, narrow route. A friendly yes from an alp worker cannot exercise it, and the municipal camping commission cannot waive the binding cantonal reserve rule. ^{1 2}

Who to ask before relying on that exception

Start with the reserve's ranger service and give a real itinerary. Pro Natura Bern publishes +41 77 523 59 60 for questions about Hinteres Lauterbrunnental. Its office is reachable on +41 31 352 66 00. Rangers are present from May to the end of October. Ask how Ziff. 7(b) applies to your proposed high tour, who represents the landowner and whether the chosen overnight ground is acceptable. ⁶

Lauterbrunnen's Camping-Reglement has applied since 1 January 2025. Art. 2(1) includes temporary stays and overnighting in tents or similar accommodation. Art. 3(1) generally prohibits camping outside campsites. It has a narrow exception for occasional camping on private ground for private purposes, where the owner ensures the necessary hygiene facilities. Open trail access and an empty grassy bank supply neither that arrangement nor the facilities. ²

Under Art. 3(2), the Sicherheitskommission can grant an individual exception with the landowner's and responsible tourism association's consent. Art. 3(3) requires hygiene, cleanliness, peace and order conditions and a time limit. The reserve's high-tour provision addresses the reserve ban; it does not itself state that these separate municipal requirements disappear. Ask the commission which decision and consents remain necessary for the exact overnight. ²

Give the lake reference 46.50367, 7.87318, the proposed dry ground, your date, group size, shelter and complete route. The cadastre places the lake and the western bank on parcel 2399, EGRID CH222403463586. Describe toilet and waste arrangements. Ask for a clear answer before the hike, rather than treating silence or a pending request as permission. ^{4 7}

The 1960 decree identifies parcel 2399 as the conservation organisation's Unterer Steinberg property; Pro Natura confirms the acquisition of Alp Untersteinberg in 1947. Current owner information comes through Bern's authenticated land-register service. Pro Natura and the commission are the practical doors to the correct representative. There is no published standing tent arrangement or nightly camping price for this lake. ^{1 6 7}

For the cantonal interpretation or an urgent exception, the Abteilung Naturförderung is reachable on +41 31 636 14 50, info.anf@be.ch. A communal decision and an owner's consent must stay within mandatory cantonal law, as municipal Art. 26 expressly provides. Secure the necessary answers before treating the lake as your sleeping place. ^{2 6}

The banks are alpine ground inside the reserve

Oberhoresee is the lake, Oberhornsee its common destination spelling. Swisstopo places it at about 2'062 m; tourism and older route descriptions often round it to 2'065 m. It is above the forest, south of Obersteinberg. Jungfrau's destination page describes roughly four hours of walking from Stechelberg, through the nature reserve. There is no road or lift station beside the water. ^{5 9}

The map's lake reference sits on water. The shore has alpine grass, scattered rocks, footpaths and uneven slopes. Dry ground exists within a short walk, but the hollow south-west of the lake contains another small pool and wet grass. Choose no overnight location on the strength of a flat-looking map surface. A bank can be dry and physically usable while its overnight remains prohibited without the proper exception. ⁵

The immediate banks are fully inside Hinteres Lauterbrunnental. The nearest reserve boundary is approximately 526 m from the lake reference in a straight line. Moving a tent a few metres back from the water changes neither the reserve nor Lauterbrunnen's commune. The boundary measurement is map context, not a recommended walk to a legal pitch, particularly where the terrain drops towards the lower valley. ⁵

The overlapping Breithorn cantonal wildlife protection area has its own rules. WTSchV Annex 2, object 5, uses categories C, E and F: hunting only in September, dogs on leads and restrictions on motor vehicles. It carries no camping or bivouacking measure. The camping prohibition at the lake comes from the nature decree and commune, not from every wildlife colour on a map. ⁵

No federal game reserve or federal wildlife-rest zone covers the lake or its western bank. The federal wetland and dry-meadow inventories also carry no feature at these exact points. The BLN northern Berner Hochalpen and Aletsch-Bietschhorn landscape inventory does cover the lake, but it does not impose an individual camping ticket. The absence of a federal ban leaves the positive cantonal and communal rules in place. ⁵

The cadastre records agricultural land and the nature reserve around the water. The approved local Baureglement and protected water feature also matter to land use. Keep paths free, protect vegetation and leave the lake and livestock water clean. A small group and a single night reduce disturbance, but do not replace the reserve exception or required consents. ^{4 1}

The surrounding reports on Lauterbrunnen and Tanzbödeli show why nearby destinations have different protection stacks. Tanzbödeli is outside this reserve; Oberhoresee is inside. Both remain on Lauterbrunnen ground, with its current camping regulation. ^{2 5}

A bivvy bag and the actual penalty

The decree expressly prohibits camping and tents. Its verbs are Kampieren and Aufschlagen von Zelten, rather than an express reference to Biwakieren. The municipal definition expressly includes temporary overnighting in tents and similar accommodation. A planned small-tent night therefore falls within the words of both instruments, however briefly the tent stands. ^{1 2}

An uncovered sleeping bag is not expressly named. No published local interpretation grants a planned tentless night at this lake. Describe your exact shelter when discussing the high-tour exception and municipal conditions. A sleeping bag is not a dependable substitute for the necessary answer, and an intentionally planned scenic night differs from an unforeseen emergency. ^{1 2}

Current Bern nature-protection law provides the sanction. NSchG Art. 57(1) gives an ordinary statutory range of CHF 100 to 50'000 for relevant breaches of nature-protection prohibitions. Severe cases can reach CHF 100'000 under para. 2, and especially light cases can be waived under para. 3. These provisions are not a fixed price for a camper's single night. The 1960 decree's old wording about fine or detention is historical wording; today's statutory sanction is the relevant guide. ³

Municipal Art. 24(2) has a subsidiary ceiling of CHF 5'000 for violations of Art. 3 where federal or cantonal criminal law does not apply. The linked 2010 Camping-Verordnung still prints CHF 200 for public-ground camping under the old Art. 4. The current regulation repealed its old parent and uses Art. 3. That older amount is not an established automatic charge under the new article. ²

The competent authority can require restoration of the lawful state under Art. 24(1). In practice, a tent may have to come down. There is no federal game-reserve camping ticket here, because no such reserve covers the spot. Ranger presence is supervision and information, not a different legal tariff. Carry any decision you rely on and stay within its place, purpose and time. ^{2 5 6}

Where to sleep for an ordinary lake hike

Berghotel Obersteinberg is the direct summer bed below the lake. At 1'778 m, it normally opens from June to September. Reservations are taken only by telephone, +41 33 855 20 33. Arrange the bed and a return route with sufficient daylight before walking to the lake. In October it is outside its published season. ⁸

Schmadrihütte offers eight indoor places at 2'260.8 m, with mandatory online reservation and payment through its operator, AACB. A current booking secures the bed, rather than permission to put a tent beside the hut. Adult nonmembers pay CHF 35, qualifying alpine-club members CHF 25. The hut is unstaffed; take your sleeping liner and supplies, and check provision arrangements for your date. ⁸

Read the current approach warning before using Schmadrihütte. On 7 October 2026 the operator lists Schwand/Breitlouwena as closed because of glacier ice break, and Obersteinberg-Schafslägercheere as closed after a bridge was washed away. It permits only the route marked green on its current map. Obtain that map and current conditions from the operator; older generic descriptions via the lake cannot establish that your proposed traverse is open. ⁸

For a valley night, book Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen, +41 33 856 20 10, and visit Oberhoresee as a day hike. Confirm a pitch or accommodation for your actual date. Its established camping facilities solve the overnight separately from the protected lake, while the mountain outing still depends on weather and trail conditions. ⁸

The Swiss wild-camping overview explains the wider alpine practice. The SAC's above-treeline guidance still requires respect for local rules, protected areas and landowners. The practical choice at this lake is a properly clarified genuine high-tour night or a booked alternative. Plan the sleeping place before the climb. ⁹

General rules for wild camping

For an authorised high-tour night, follow the decision and these mountain rules:

• 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 assessment uses public rules and geodata available on 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice. The reserve high-tour exception is real; its application to a particular itinerary and the remaining municipal requirements need a concrete answer. No permission or owner consent has been obtained for the reader. The published wording does not settle every planned tentless overnight.

Confirm the current route, weather, restrictions and necessary decisions before setting out. Follow signs and lawful instructions, protect alpine ground and take all waste down. Hikebeast, Leon Helg and Saftladen GmbH accept no liability for decisions based on this text and call on no one to break applicable law. An unforeseen emergency is different from a planned lake night.

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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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