Wild camping on the Pizol
This is about the Pizol summit, 2'844 m, not the five lakes below it. The top lies inside the federal game reserve Graue Hörner, where free camping is banned and fined CHF 150 on the spot. The Schottensee, 3.3 km down the trail, is outside the reserve.
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 Pizol: the summit, not the five lakes
Wild camping on the Pizol is two questions under one name. The Pizol is the 2'844 m summit above Wangs and Bad Ragaz that gives the lift area its name, and "Pizol" is also what most people call that lift area and its five-lakes walk. This report answers for the summit: the point the federal gazetteer calls "Alpiner Gipfel Pizol (SG) - Mels", LV95 2'748'262 / 1'202'738.1
The top lies in Mels; Pfäfers begins 42 m to the south-south-east. From the Pizolhütte, at the top of the lifts from Wangs, the summit route follows the five-lakes trail to the Wildseeluggen, passes the Wildsee and crosses the old glacier bed to the Pizol saddle. From the south, the Pizolbahnen's "Alpinroute" climbs from Gigerwald in the Calfeisental through the Tersol basin to the same saddle.110
If you came for the lakes, here is the short version: a night is lawful at the Schottensee and at the Wangsersee. At the Baschalvasee and the Schwarzsee a narrow protected band along the shore is off limits, and the ground beyond it is not. The Wildsee lies inside the same game reserve as the summit, and the answer there is the one this report gives for the top.18
The summit: steep rock, a crater of rubble and nowhere to lie
Ask the first question before any law: if a night up here were lawful, would anyone lie down on this ground? Hardly. Within 60 m of the top nothing is flatter than 10 degrees, and half the ground is steeper than 54. The summit block is brittle rock, the SAC tour portal warns of rockfall off the standard routes, and there is no water and no shelter. Just outside the reserve line, 122 m south-south-east, the steep south face drops towards the Tersol basin.110
The only flat ground within 400 m is the bed of the former Pizol glacier, 300 m north-east at about 2'600 m, a crater of rubble and snow that the Pizolbahnen call the "steinigen Krater des ehemaligen Pizolgletschers"; it lies inside the reserve like the summit. The two flatter patches just outside the line, 290 m east-south-east and 537 m south-east, are loose rubble under a summit that sheds rock, off any path.110
The route sets its own condition. The Pizolbahnen grade their route from the south a "hochalpine Wanderroute (T2 & T4)", and the SAC tour portal gives T4+. A start in the dark for sunrise is only for people who already know this ground.10
The rule: a federal game reserve that bans free camping
The summit lies inside federal game reserve no. 15 "Graue Hörner", in the part the federal inventory types as "Gebiet mit integralen Schutzbestimmungen": 4'055 ha under integral protection between the Weisstannental and the Taminatal, where, in its object sheet's words, "Alpweiden, Geröllhalden und Felspartien dominieren das Gebiet". The top is 122 m inside the nearest edge, which crosses the south face in Pfäfers.12
The line runs close to the path. It passes just south of the Pizol saddle, rounds the summit block to the south and east and follows the crest to the Wildseeluggen, which sits 4.7 m outside; from there it swings around the Wildsee basin and passes 72 m from the centre of the Schottensee, leaving that lake's whole shore outside. Inside are the summit, the saddle, the glacier bed, the Wildsee, the Lavtina side and the last 2.3 km of the summit route.1
Inside a federal game reserve one sentence of the federal ordinance decides the night:
"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 Abs. 1 lit. e. In English: free tenting and camping are prohibited; the use of official campsites is reserved; the cantons may grant exceptions.
The sentence has no zone qualifier, so it applies in the integral part where the summit is, and the reserve has no official campsite. The exception belongs to the canton alone: no alp, landowner or commune can give you a night here, and St. Gallen has no act that uses the power; its hunting act and both of its hunting ordinances contain no camping rule.35
The fine is fixed: Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005 of the federal Ordnungsbussenverordnung, "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten", CHF 150, and the same for a dog off the lead (Ziff. 12004) or a drone (Ziff. 12006). The CHF 20'000 you may read online is the hunting act's ceiling in ordinary proceedings, not a camper's fine, and the act punishes negligence too: not knowing where the line runs is no defence.4
Who checks. The cantonal game wardens enforce the reserve, and the cantonal hunting act, Art. 62 Abs. 2 lit. c, gives them "Bussenerhebung auf der Stelle", the power to collect a fine on the spot. The Pizol is in Wildhut district 3, St.Galler Oberland.6
Without a tent: why a bivvy bag is no way round the ban
The ordinance's verbs are "Zelten und Campieren", tenting and camping. Read literally, a night in a bivvy bag without a tent is arguable, and no court has decided it for a federal game reserve. The reserve's purpose cuts the other way: the same article forbids disturbing, driving off or luring out the animals (lit. b), and a person lying out from dusk to dawn on a crest where ibex and chamois move is close to what that letter is about.32
The bodies that enforce the ban read the bivouac in. The notice the Pizolbahnen publish with the commune of Mels and the Wildhut, re-issued on 3 July 2026 and linked from the five-lakes page, says:
"Von der Wildseeluggen bis nach dem Schottensee befindet sich ein Jagdbanngebiet. Dort ist Campieren und Biwakieren strikt verboten! Es werden Kontrollen durchgeführt und Zuwiderhandlungen werden gebüsst."Pizolbahnen, commune of Mels and Wildhut, notice "Camping (inkl. Wildcamping, Biwakieren)", PDF of 3 July 2026. In English: from the Wildseeluggen to the Schottensee there is a game reserve; camping and bivouacking are strictly forbidden there; checks are carried out and offences are fined.
The trail it describes runs inside the reserve until the Schottensee, whose shore lies just outside the line. A notice cannot widen the ordinance, but it tells you how the people with the fine book read it, and the boards put up in 2022 at the Wildseeluggen, by the Wildsee and at the Schottensee say the same. So a bivvy bag is not a safe way round the ban, and nothing here says a tentless night inside the reserve is allowed.9
Canton and communes add nothing: at the top the ban is federal
Canton. St. Gallen has no camping offence of its own: its summary-offences act has no camping term, and its police act mentions overnight stays only for hotel guest registration. The cantonal list of fixed fines carries CHF 80 for "Unberechtigtes Campieren auf öffentlichem Grund", but under the heading "Widerhandlungen gegen Gemeindereglemente", so it applies only where a communal reglement bans camping. For federal game reserves it has no item; there the federal CHF 150 applies.5
Mels, the summit commune. Its police regulation is silent on camping, and its protection ordinance bans camping only in nature reserves, "wie Lager, Zelten, Campieren" (art. 7), and at the Chapfensee reservoir by the village (art. 16bis). At the summit the cadastre shows only a core habitat, which the ordinance's register describes as the game reserve (art. 15), and a geotope zone (art. 13). Neither article names a tent: the drafters wrote a camping clause where they wanted one.7
Pfäfers, 42 m south. Pfäfers has no police or camping regulation. Its protection ordinance bans camping in its nature reserves (art. 8), none of them on the summit's south flank, and in the Calfeisental core zone (art. 18), 1.9 km away. The core zone over the Pizol's south side and the Tersol basin falls under the general article, art. 17, which has no camping clause.8
So at the top the ban is the federal one alone, and it is enough. How these layers fit together across the country is set out in the national overview.
How it is possible: sleep outside the reserve and walk up for the light
The lawful night is below the reserve line, and on the lakes side it is close. The Schottensee, 2'332 m, lies 3.3 km and about 510 m of height down the trail; its whole shore is outside the line, Mels bans nothing there, and our Schottensee report gives a pitch on its north-west side at 46.97856 / 9.39145, about 300 m from the line. Keep the lake between you and the Wildsee.17
The Wangsersee, 2'205 m, 0.5 km from the Pizolhütte, lies 2 km outside the reserve, and a night there is lawful too. On its southern, Bad Ragaz half the camping regulation exempts the occasional single tent and asks only for a short note to the Gemeinderat, 058 229 54 20; the northern half, in Vilters-Wangs, has no camping rule. The details are in our Wangsersee report.18
On the south side the Tersol basin is open alp turf, mostly outside the reserve. A grass bench at 2'407 m, 46.94479 / 9.39641 (LV95 2'749'040 / 1'201'160), about 0.5 km east of the route from Gigerwald, is nearly level and lies 1.4 km outside the line, in Pfäfers and clear of the Calfeisental core zone. It is grazed: keep clear of the stock. The route enters the reserve only about 400 m below the saddle.18
Two lakes need a margin. The Schwarzsee and the Baschalvasee in Vilters-Wangs lie outside the reserve, but each is ringed by a protected shore band where the commune bans "das Zelten, Campieren, Lagern und Feuern, ausser auf den bewilligten Arealen" (art. 11 para. 2), a bivvy bag included. The band is 20 to 49 m wide at the Schwarzsee and 6 to 32 m at the Baschalvasee (see our Baschalvasee report), so stay more than about 50 m from the water, whatever online advice about pitching on the shore says.8
The Wildsee is a no. It lies 221 m inside the reserve, and the fine is the same as on the summit.1
No one can say yes, and one number for questions. Inside the reserve there is no consent route: only the canton could grant an exception, and none exists. The game warden for the Pizol is Rolf Wildhaber, Wildhut district 3 St.Galler Oberland, +41 58 229 00 56, the line the canton publishes.6
For the light on the summit the workable plan is the Schottensee: pitch late, start in the dark and climb the 510 m, but only if you have walked this T4 ground in daylight. Otherwise take the evening light at the Schottensee itself, or the first lift and a daylight ascent.10
Beds, lifts and the rules on the trail
There is no summer bed at the top of the lifts. The Pizolhütte, 2'222 m, is the Pizolbahnen's mountain restaurant, not an SAC hut, and has no rooms; the Alte Alp Gaffia says "Keine Übernachtungen möglich", and the Berghotel Gaffia opens only in winter. The nearest summer bed is the Alpenhotel Furt, about 1'550 m, at the Furt top station of the gondola from Wangs: "Täglich bei Bahnbetrieb geöffnet", rooms with half board and a small dormitory, 081 723 21 66. On the south side the Ortsgemeinde Vättis runs two campsites in the valley, Hüttenwiese and Luterenzug.10
The lifts. The gondola Wangs-Furt and the chairlifts Furt-Gaffia and Gaffia-Pizolhütte run daily from 19 June to 18 October 2026, the top one from 08.45 to 16.00; infoline 081 300 48 20. After that you walk up from Wangs or Bad Ragaz, and snow can close the summit route earlier: the Pizolbahnen give June to October, depending on snow.10
On the trail. The operator's notice asks for "keine Lagerfeuer", no campfires, and no cairns or stone walls: "baue keine Steinmännchen und errichte keine Steinmauern". Take everything down with you. Herd-protection dogs work on Alp Gaffara near the five-lakes trail for about two weeks each season: stay on the marked path and keep your dog on the lead, which in the reserve is the law anyway. No drone in the reserve, CHF 150.94
Where you can legally sleep
- Schottensee, 2'332 m. 3.3 km down the trail, outside the reserve; north-west side, 46.97856 / 9.39145.1
- Wangsersee, 2'205 m. By the Pizolhütte; on the Bad Ragaz half, a short note to the Gemeinderat, 058 229 54 20.8
- Tersol basin, 2'407 m. South side, Pfäfers, 46.94479 / 9.39641, 1.4 km outside the reserve; grazed.18
- Schwarzsee and Baschalvasee. Only more than about 50 m from the water.8
- Alpenhotel Furt, about 1'550 m. The nearest summer bed, 081 723 21 66.10
- Not on the summit, the Pizol saddle, the glacier bed, at the Wildsee or on the Lavtina side. Federal game reserve, CHF 150, tent or bivvy bag alike in the reading of those who check.14
General rules for wild camping
This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which around the Pizol means the lakes and the alp ground outside the game reserve. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense on a busy trail at the edge of a reserve where the animals come first.
- 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 September 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 verdict covers the Pizol summit in Mels and the ground around it inside the federal game reserve Graue Hörner. It rests on the reserve boundary as published in the federal inventory, on the federal ordinance and the federal list of fixed fines in force, on the absence of any cantonal exception, and on the terrain at the top. Whether a tentless bivouac counts as camping under the federal ordinance has not been decided by a court; the bodies that enforce it treat it as included. The operator's notice, the beds, the lift times and the season are taken from their publishers as of September 2026 and can change from one season to the next. 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 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.
Frequently asked questions
Is wild camping allowed on the Pizol?
Which Pizol is this: the summit or the five lakes?
Can I bivouac on the Pizol without a tent?
Where can I sleep to see the sunrise from the Pizol summit?
What is the fine on the Pizol, and who checks?
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
- Official federal geodata, identify service queried on 24 September 2026 at the summit, LV95 2'748'262.4 / 1'202'738.1 (WGS84 46.959160 / 9.386718; gazetteer name "Alpiner Gipfel Pizol (SG) - Mels"), terrain height 2'843.7 m, commune Mels from the current-year boundary (Pfäfers begins 42 m south-south-east, Bad Ragaz 1'351 m north-east, Vilters-Wangs 1'605 m north-north-east), tolerance 0, with a bogus-layer control returning HTTP 400 and the positive control at 2'626'000 / 1'154'500 returning the Kiental game reserve in the same run. Federal game reserves: object no. 15 "Graue Hörner", type "Gebiet mit integralen Schutzbestimmungen", 4'055.3 ha; the point lies inside, 121.9 m from the nearest edge of the whole reserve at bearing 167 degrees, on Pfäfers ground. Along the boundary: the Pizol saddle inside; the Wildseeluggen 4.7 m outside; the Wildsee 221 m inside; the centre of the Schottensee 72 m outside, its whole shore outside; the Tersol bench at LV95 2'749'040 / 1'201'160 (2'407 m) 1'406 m outside; the Wangsersee 2'083 m outside; the Schwarzsee 1'004 m outside. Marked trails (swissTLM3D), shortest path from the summit: Wildseeluggen 2.30 km, 2.17 km of it inside the reserve; Schottensee 3.28 km; Pizolhütte 4.71 km; Wangsersee 5.18 km; Tersol basin 3.15 km, 0.44 km of it inside. Also at the point: the UNESCO World Heritage site Tektonikarena Sardona, a label with no camping rule. Empty at the point: wildlife rest zones (nearest Calfeisental, 1'869 m, winter only), parks, BLN, floodplains, mires, amphibian sites, dry meadows, Ramsar, Emerald, forest reserves, military areas. Terrain from swissALTI3D through the federal profile service: within 60 m of the top a median slope of 54.2 degrees and nothing under 10 degrees; the flattest ground within 400 m, 2 to 5 degrees at about 2'600 m, 300 m north-east, is the bed of the former Pizol glacier (glacier inventory A50d-01, 0.07 km²), inside the reserve; the Tersol bench measures 0.3 to 1.3 degrees; no building within 300 m of the summit. map.geo.admin.ch (game reserves), reserve geometry (GeoJSON). ↩
- Federal Office for the Environment, inventory of federal game reserves, object sheet "15. Graue Hörner Kt. SG": "Das Schutzgebiet liegt zwischen dem Weisstannental und dem Taminatal im hintersten Teil beider Täler und umfasst grossflächig alpine und subalpine Gebiete. Die Waldflächen sind relativ klein. Alpweiden, Geröllhalden und Felspartien dominieren das Gebiet." Objective: "Erhaltung des Gebiets als vielfältigen Lebensraum für wildlebende Säugetiere und Vögel", with populations of chamois, red deer and ibex to be regulated. Special measures: "Das Banngebiet umfasst einen integralen (I) und einen partiellen (II) Teil." The sheet in the current set is the one of 2004; the perimeter map places the Pizol summit in the integral part. object sheet JBG 15 Graue Hörner (PDF). ↩
- Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete (VEJ), SR 922.31, version in force since 1 February 2025. Art. 5 Abs. 1: "In den Banngebieten gelten folgende allgemeine Bestimmungen: ... b. Tiere dürfen nicht gestört, vertrieben oder aus dem Banngebiet herausgelockt werden. ... c. Hunde sind an der Leine zu führen ... e. Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen. ... f bis. Der Betrieb von zivilen, unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen ist verboten ..." Art. 2: the federal inventory, with each reserve's perimeter, description, objectives and measures, is part of the ordinance and is published electronically by the Federal Office for the Environment; the list of reserves includes no. 15 Graue Hörner, canton St. Gallen. The amendment of 2 June 2023 (AS 2023 286) left this reserve unchanged. fedlex.admin.ch (VEJ). ↩
- Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), SR 314.11, version in force since 1 August 2026, Anhang 2: Ziff. 12004 "Missachtung der Leinenpflicht in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten (Art. 18 Abs. 1 Bst. e und Abs. 3 JSG, Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. c VEJ) ...", 150 francs; Ziff. 12005 "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten (Art. 18 Abs. 1 Bst. e und Abs. 3 JSG, Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. e VEJ)", 150 francs; Ziff. 12006 "Betrieb von zivilen, unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten (Art. 18 Abs. 1 Bst. e und Abs. 3 JSG, Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. f bis VEJ) ...", 150 francs. Jagdgesetz (JSG), SR 922.0, Art. 18: a fine of up to 20'000 francs in ordinary proceedings (Abs. 1), negligence punishable as well (Abs. 3). fedlex.admin.ch (OBV), fedlex.admin.ch (JSG). ↩
- Canton of St. Gallen, acts read in the official collection on 24 September 2026. Strafprozessverordnung (sGS 962.11), annex "Ordnungsbussen", version in force since 1 May 2026: Ziff. 21.6 "Unberechtigtes Campieren auf öffentlichem Grund", 80 francs, under heading 21 "Widerhandlungen gegen Gemeindereglemente"; Ziff. 20.1 littering, 50 francs for a single small item and 200 francs for several; no item for federal game reserves. Übertretungsstrafgesetz (sGS 921.1): no camping term. Polizeigesetz (sGS 451.1): overnight stays only in Art. 52bis, hotel guest registration. Jagdgesetz (sGS 853.1), Jagdverordnung (sGS 853.11) and Verordnung über die Jagdvorschriften (sGS 853.111), versions in force: no provision on camping, tents or bivouacs, so no cantonal exception under Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. e VEJ. StPV annex, Ordnungsbussen, gesetzessammlung.sg.ch. ↩
- Kanton St. Gallen, Amt für Natur, Jagd und Fischerei, "Zuständigkeiten Wildhut" (list of 16 April 2026): "3 St.Galler Oberland, Rolf Wildhaber, +41 58 229 00 56". Jagdgesetz (sGS 853.1), version in force since 1 April 2024, Art. 62 Abs. 2: the organs of the cantonal Wildhut have, among other police powers, "c) Bussenerhebung auf der Stelle". sg.ch, Zuständigkeiten Wildhut (PDF), gesetzessammlung.sg.ch (sGS 853.1). ↩
- Politische Gemeinde Mels. Schutzverordnung, consolidated as ÖREB document 2025-3831: Art. 7 (Naturschutzgebiete) bans "die Nutzung zu Erholungs- und Freizeitzwecken, wie Lager, Zelten, Campieren und das Anfachen von Feuer, ausser an bezeichneten Stellen"; Art. 16bis bans camping in the Lebensraum Chapfensee; Art. 15 (Lebensräume, Kerngebiete) lists buildings and installations, intensification, roads, transport installations, extraction, tourist events or sporting occasions, moto-cross and mountain biking off marked roads, with no camping term; Art. 13 (Geotopschutzgebiete) covers measures that impair geotopes, terrain interventions and changes to the water regime, with no camping term; its register describes the "Lebensraum Kerngebiet Graue Hörner" as the Jagdbanngebiet Graue Hörner and lists the geotopes "Glaziallandschaft Pizol" and "Hauptüberschiebung im Pizolgebiet"; Art. 24: Haft oder Busse. Public-law restrictions cadastre (ÖREB), parcel Mels 340 (EGRID CH446639777016), extract with geometry of 24 September 2026: at the summit "Lebensraum Kerngebiet LR K" and "Geotopschutzgebiet GeoS", and no Naturschutzgebiet and no Wildruhezone anywhere on the parcel; the neighbouring parcel Mels 342 (EGRID CH467739667075) carries the same two zones at the summit. Gemeindepolizeireglement of 2 October 2001 (II. Nachtrag of 28 October 2023), in the communal collection: no provision on camping, tents or bivouacs. oereblex.sg.ch (Schutzverordnung Mels), ÖREB extract, parcel 340 (PDF), publikationen.sg.ch. ↩
- Neighbouring communes, collections read on 24 September 2026. Gemeinde Pfäfers: no Polizeireglement and no Campingreglement in its collection. Schutzverordnung Art. 8 (Naturschutzgebiete): "die Nutzung zu Erholungs- und Freizeitzwecken, wie Lagern, Zelten, Campieren und das Anfachen von Feuer, ausser an den bezeichneten Stellen"; Art. 17 (Kerngebiete): buildings, roads, transport installations, extraction, events, moto-cross, mountain biking, model aircraft and paraglider launches, no camping clause; Art. 18 (Lebensraum Kerngebiet Calfeisental, LRK 4): "die Nutzung zu Erholungs- und Ferienzwecken, wie zelten, campieren und das Anfachen von Feuer, ausser an den dazu bezeichneten Stellen", a separate zone 1'869 m from the summit and 1'521 m from the Tersol bench. ÖREB parcel Pfäfers 211 (EGRID CH294877789784) at the Tersol bench: Landwirtschaftszone and Lebensraum Kerngebiet, no Naturschutzgebiet. Gemeinde Vilters-Wangs: no Polizeireglement and no Campingreglement. Schutzverordnung Art. 11 Abs. 2, in the protection areas for mountain lakes: "das Zelten, Campieren, Lagern und Feuern, ausser auf den bewilligten Arealen"; Art. 19: Haft oder Busse. ÖREB parcel Vilters-Wangs 35 (EGRID CH187759007726): the Uferschutzgebiet around the Schwarzsee is a shore band 19.8 to 49.4 m wide. Gemeinde Bad Ragaz, Campingreglement of 1979, Art. 5 Abs. 2: short-term occasional pitching of individual tents is exempt from the ban; Abs. 3: "Dieses kurzfristige Aufstellen bedarf keiner Bewilligung des Gemeinderates. Der Gemeinderat ist jedoch hierüber zu orientieren." Gemeinde Bad Ragaz, 058 229 54 20. oereblex.sg.ch (Schutzverordnung Pfäfers), oereblex.sg.ch (Schutzverordnung Vilters-Wangs), badragaz.ch, Reglemente. ↩
- Pizolbahnen AG with the commune of Mels and the Wildhut, notice "Camping (inkl. Wildcamping, Biwakieren)", PDF of 3 July 2026, linked from the five-lakes walk: "Nicht erlaubt ist das Campieren im Eidg. Jagdbanngebiet, in Naturschutzgebieten und in weiteren Gebieten, die nach kommunaler Schutzverordnung geschützt sind." "Von der Wildseeluggen bis nach dem Schottensee befindet sich ein Jagdbanngebiet. Dort ist Campieren und Biwakieren strikt verboten! Es werden Kontrollen durchgeführt und Zuwiderhandlungen werden gebüsst." "Mach keine Lagerfeuer, baue keine Steinmännchen und errichte keine Steinmauern." "Auf der Alp Gaffara sind Herdenschutzhunde im Einsatz, die während rund zwei Wochen in der Nähe der 5-Seen Wanderung im Einsatz sind. Bleibe daher bitte unbedingt auf dem markierten Wanderweg und leine deinen Hund an." The operator's FAQ repeats the reserve sentence and notes drone restrictions "aufgrund von Jagdbanngebieten". Press, not a basis for the verdict: Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger, 29 July 2022, on the boards put up by the commune of Mels, the Ortsgemeinde Weisstannen, the Wildhut and the Pizolbahnen at the Wildseeluggen, by the Wildsee, at the Schottensee and at the geotope boundary beyond it, and the Wildhut's statement that the camping ban is checked and breaches are fined. pizol.com, notice (PDF), pizol.com, FAQ, wundo.ch (press). ↩
- Beds, lifts and routes, pages consulted on 24 September 2026. Pizolbahnen, operating times summer 2026: Gondelbahn Wangs, daily 19 June to 18 October 2026, 08.15 to 17.30; Sesselbahn Furt-Gaffia, daily 19 June to 18 October, 08.30 to 16.30; Sesselbahn Gaffia-Pizolhütte, daily 19 June to 18 October, 08.45 to 16.00. Pizolhütte: "Die gemütliche Pizolhütte liegt auf 2'222 m ü. M.", listed as "Bergrestaurant Pizolhütte", with no rooms; the SAC section Piz Sol lists its huts as the Spitzmeilenhütte, the Enderlinhütte and the Schräawisli shelter. Accommodation page: Berghotel Gaffia "Nur im Winter geöffnet". Alpenhotel Furt: "Täglich bei Bahnbetrieb geöffnet", "Die Zimmerpreise sind inklusiv Halbpension", single, double and family rooms and small dormitories, 80 to 90 m from the Furt top station, Thomas Wälchli, 081 723 21 66. Alte Alp Gaffia: "Keine Übernachtungen möglich". Vättis: the Zeltplatz Hüttenwiese and the Zeltplatz Luterenzug of the Ortsgemeinde Vättis. Pizolbahnen route "Alpinroute Calfeisental-Pizolgipfel": Gigerwald, Tersolschlucht, Alp Tersol, Pizolsattel, Wildsee, Wildseeluggen, Pizolhütte, 11.7 km, "hochalpine Wanderroute (T2 & T4)", "Juni bis Oktober (je nach Schneelage)", infoline 081 300 48 20; route "Gipfelduett Kombination Pizol + Hochwart": "den steinigen Krater des ehemaligen Pizolgletschers". SAC tour portal, Pizol: "Von Gigerwald durchs Tersol, Abstieg zur Pizolhütte", T4+, with a warning of poor rock off the standard routes. SAC, "Gedenkfeier für den Pizolgletscher", September 2019. pizol.com, operating times, pizol.com, Pizolhütte, pizol.com, Unterkünfte, pizol.com, Alpenhotel Furt, altealpgaffia.ch, vaettis.ch, Campieren, pizol.com, Alpinroute, SAC tour portal, Pizol, SAC Piz Sol, SAC, Pizolgletscher. ↩