Wild camping on Piz Mitgel

Wild camping on Piz Mitgel: the summit is Filisur public ground

Three communes meet on Piz Mitgel. The commune boundary runs over the summit: the summit point at 3'158 m lies on Bergün Filisur ground, Surses begins on the same line to the south-west, and Albula/Alvra begins 230 m to the north. The Bergün Filisur side was the commune of Filisur until the merger of 2018. The merger contract keeps each former commune's own laws in force on its old territory until the new commune replaces them, and Bergün Filisur has not replaced Filisur's police ordinance. ^{1 2}

That ordinance, of 30 March 1967, governs camping on public ground. Its Art. 21 reads: ²

Auf öffentlichem Grund sind das Campieren und das Aufstellen von Wohnwagen nur auf den vom Gemeindevorstand bezeichneten Plätzen zulässig.

In English: on public ground, camping and setting up caravans are permitted only at places designated by the commune board. Art. 43 lets the board fine breaches up to CHF 2'000, and Art. 44 lets the police collect up to CHF 20 on the spot if the offender agrees. The commune has designated no camping place on the mountain. ²

The summit is public ground. It lies on Bergün Filisur parcel 2758, 24.5 km² of mountain land, which the land settlement approved by the commune assembly on 26 August 2020 lists among the former Filisur parcels owned jointly since 1986, half each, by the political commune and the Bürgergemeinde. At the summit, the cadastre of public-law restrictions links the zone to the Filisur building law. That building law adds no tent ban of its own; it lets the commune board allow temporary tent camps outside the camping zone (Art. 55 para. 4). ³

A tent is camping; a bare bivvy bag is not named. Art. 21 speaks of "Campieren", and a tent pitched for the night is camping in the ordinary sense of the word. It does not mention bivouacking or sleeping out, and no ruling settles whether a sleeping bag without a tent counts. Do not plan around that gap. On the summit the question does not arise in practice: within 30 m of the top the median slope is 56 degrees, and nobody lies down on that block. ^{1 2}

The north side: Albula/Alvra allows tents only at designated places

North of the summit the ground belongs to Albula/Alvra, on what was Tiefencastel's territory before the merger. Its police law of 2017 is stricter in wording than Filisur's. Art. 20 para. 1: "Das Campieren sowie das Aufstellen von Zelten und bewohnten Wohnwagen ist nur auf bezeichneten Plätzen zulässig." In English: camping and putting up tents and inhabited caravans are permitted only at designated places. Para. 2 lets the commune assign sites to scout and holiday tent camps with a permit. ⁴

The fine is fixed. Albula/Alvra's list of fixed fines prices "Campieren auf öffentlichem Grund ausserhalb der von den Behörden bezeichneten Stellen" at CHF 100, payable on the spot. In ordinary proceedings the police law allows fines up to CHF 5'000 (Art. 35). The line starts 230 m north of the summit and less than 100 m north of the scree saddle described below. ^{1 4}

The Savognin side: no rule bans one night today

South and west of the summit lies Surses, on the ground of the former communes of Savognin and Tinizong-Rona. Surses has no police law: its assembly rejected the draft on 7 April 2025. The building laws still in force on this ground are the old ones. Savognin's Art. 34 para. 5 lets the commune board allow temporary tent camps outside the camping zone and bans caravans used for living there; Tinizong-Rona's Art. 59 para. 4 has the same tent-camp rule in Romansh. Neither forbids a lone hiker's tent for one night. ^{5 6}

A ban is coming, but it is not in force. The new Surses building law, adopted by the assembly on 9 March 2026, prohibits camping outside zones where it is allowed (Art. 14). Under its Art. 98 it takes effect only with the cantonal government's approval. On 8 October 2026 the cadastre extracts at the saddle and the summit still name the old Savognin, Tinizong-Rona and Filisur acts, and the commune's planning page stops at the appeal period that began on 17 April 2026. Ask Surses before you go: +41 81 659 11 60, info@surses.ch. ^{5 6}

One condition from the farm law. Surses' alp, pasture and field law forbids walking on other people's agricultural land from 1 May to 31 October (Art. 6 para. 2, applied to alps by Art. 19). It protects grass and crops during the growing season. On the grazed benches, keep to the paths and to ground the animals have already eaten down, and from 1 November the rule no longer applies. ⁶

The Parc Ela asks for no camping. Piz Mitgel lies in the Parc Ela, a regional nature park with no core zone. On its summer page the park association writes that free camping on communal ground is forbidden and that it does not support free camping and bivouacking. No Surses act carries that ban today, but it is the park's clear request: if you camp on the Savognin side, keep it to one quiet night. ⁹

Where a night on Piz Mitgel works

The recommended place: Colm da Betschs, 2'436 m. At 46.60752, 9.63762 (LV95 2'768'449 / 1'164'167) open, dry grass with scattered stones lies at about 4 degrees, 1 km south-west of the summit and 722 m lower, well above the forest. It is on former Savognin ground, 1.4 km from the Piz Ela game reserve, and the same place the Savognin area report recommends. ^{1 6}

The south spur, 2'519 m. At 46.60700, 9.64667 (LV95 2'769'143 / 1'164'129) the crest of a broad grass spur lies at about 3 degrees, 806 m south of the summit and 639 m below it. It falls gently to the south and rises gently towards the mountain. This is grazed land on former Tinizong-Rona ground, 779 m from the game reserve boundary to the east-south-east. ^{1 6}

For a hard bivouac only: the north-west saddle, 2'981 m. At 46.61587, 9.64408 (LV95 2'768'917 / 1'165'109), 262 m north-west of the summit and 176 m below it, a small patch of fine scree lies at 2.6 degrees. The ground rises gently towards the summit ridge to the east and to a hump about 100 m north, and falls away steeply to the west. It is exposed, without water, and in October it may already hold snow. Albula/Alvra begins less than 100 m to the north: stay on the south side of the saddle. ^{1 4}

Not the level spot east of the summit. The flat ground at about 2'486 m on the Filisur side is a small tarn, and the whole east side is Filisur public ground under Art. 21. The via ferrata is closed until further notice for rockfall, and its cables have been partly removed; do not count on it as a way up. ^{1 9}

Lai Tigiel, the game reserve and the Ela-Hütte

The Piz Ela federal game reserve begins 1'092 m east-south-east of the summit. It covers Lai Tigiel and its shores. Inside it, VEJ art. 5 para. 1 lit. e forbids free tenting and camping, the fixed fine is CHF 150 under OBV annex 2 no. 12005, and only the canton can grant an exception. None of the places recommended here is inside it. The Lai Tigiel report sets out the lake. ⁷

The roof: the Ela-Hütte SAC, 2'252 m. SAC Davos runs it in the upper Val Spadlatscha, about 3.5 km east of the summit, on former Filisur ground inside the reserve's partial-protection area. It has 26 places, is unstaffed and open all year, and booking is compulsory and online only; for questions, the hut warden is on +41 78 878 98 41. Adults pay CHF 33, SAC members CHF 23. ⁸

October on Piz Mitgel

Hunters are out. In Graubünden small game is hunted from 1 October to 30 November 2026, and ibex from 5 October to 8 November. Expect hunters on the ridges in the early morning and wear something bright. ¹⁰

Fire danger is significant. The federal forest-fire map shows level 3, "Erhebliche Gefahr", for the Surses region, with no cantonal fire ban in force. Cook on a stove and light no fire. ¹

General rules for wild camping

On the Savognin side the law leaves you one night, and the park has asked you to keep it quiet. Leave nothing behind, so that it stays that way.

• 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 8 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 Surses building law of 2026 bans camping outside approved zones once the canton approves it; from that day the Savognin side changes too. Bergün Filisur may also replace the 1967 Filisur ordinance with a new police law. Check with the communes before you go, and follow signs and instructions on site. 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.

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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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