Wild camping at Riffelsee, what is actually allowed

The rule: Article 43

The base for the ban is the police regulation of the municipality of Zermatt. Article 43 prohibits camping on public ground across the whole municipality, and it covers the mountain lakes explicitly¹. The definition is deliberately wide: even briefly staying in a tent, camper or similar setup, or just putting one up, counts as camping. Riffelsee is on public ground and there is no written consent from the Burgergemeinde Zermatt as the landowner, so any tent there is unlawful.

Switzerland has no single federal camping law, and the Swiss Alpine Club does tolerate a careful one-night bivouac above the treeline, but only where no local rule says otherwise⁸. At Riffelsee a local rule says otherwise, and the local rule wins. The tolerance argument does not apply here.

Why the lake is protected

Riffelsee is a designated nature reserve. Inside the reserve, swimming in the lake and lighting fires are forbidden alongside camping². The area is also part of object 1707 "Dent Blanche, Matterhorn, Monte Rosa" of the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments (BLN), which commits the authorities to keeping the high-alpine landscape and its fragile flora intact.

Right by Rotenboden station is the highest alpine garden in Europe, with over a hundred protected plant species. Small trampling damage can block their regrowth for years, which is why leaving the marked trails is not allowed either³.

The fine, and the bill behind it

The checks are real. The Zermatt regional police, together with local wardens and rangers, patrol the Rotenboden plateau to catch illegal campers. For an unauthorised tent the standard fine is CHF 200 per tent⁴. Zermatt now issues digital fines with QR codes, and the case is referred on to the responsible police court⁵.

The fine is not the expensive part. As the Zermatt rangers put it, the amount is not always the same, because in some cases the police operation costs are added, so it runs from several hundred to several thousand francs. The reason is logistics. Riffelsee has no train at night or early morning, so a reported camp is often checked and cleared by helicopter, and Zermatt charges the full flight and operation cost to whoever caused it⁴.

Summer 2026: the campsite is closed

One thing specific to 2026. After a reassessment of the rockfall risk, the municipality ordered a precautionary closure of the only official campsite at the edge of the village, and it stays closed for the whole summer 2026 season⁶. In an official media release the municipality stated plainly that the closure does not make wild camping tolerated, and that checks at the mountain lakes continue unchanged. So it is not a loophole. If anything, expect more eyes on the lakes, not fewer.

The one exception: a real emergency

There is a genuine legal exception, and it is narrow. A real, unplanned emergency bivouac, forced on you by something you could not foresee such as an injury, a sudden storm, or rockfall on your descent, is allowed everywhere in the Alps, including nature reserves, and is never fined⁷. What does not count is poor planning. Underestimating the walk, forgetting your headlamp, or deliberately staying out to be at the lake for sunrise is treated as a planned, and therefore illegal, bivouac.

The legal way to get the shot

You can still photograph Riffelsee in the best light without a tent. Three ways:

If you came here for the photo, the spot guide has the how and the when: Riffelsee, how to catch the Matterhorn reflection at sunrise. And Riffelsee is one of 141 spots in the Swiss Gems guide, each with its access, best light and a wild camping status, so you know before you go whether a night outside is on the table. That is where they all live.

Frequently asked questions

Leon Helg

Swiss filmmaker and software engineer. 26 years in Switzerland, spends his free time exploring the Swiss Alps and maps his favourite spots for Hikebeast. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

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