Wild camping at the Ruosalper Chulm

Wild camping at the Ruosalper Chulm: the hollow below the pass

Wild camping at the Ruosalper Chulm is a question about the ground just below the pass, on the Unterschächen side. The Ruosalper Chulm is a notch at 2'177 m in the ridge between the Schächental and the Bisistal, above the Klausen road in canton Uri. About 250 m south-west of it and 70 m lower lies a grazed hollow with a small lake of about 0.8 ha, its water at about 2'100 m. This report grades that hollow. Its reference point is 46.881738 / 8.813438 (LV95 2'704'788 / 1'193'208), at 2'108 m, on the bench west of the lake.¹

One place, several names. The national map calls the pass the Ruosalper Chulm, and that is the name used here; the hollow itself is Unter Chulm. The commune of Unterschächen calls the lake the Chulmseeli on its hiking page and the "Bergsee Unter Chulm" in its building regulation. Some hiking sites call it the Ruosalpersee, which misleads: the Ruosalp is the alp on the far side of the pass, about 1.5 km to the north-east and 600 m lower.¹⁵⁸

All of it is Unterschächen, and all of it is Uri. The hollow, the lake, the pass and the whole Ruosalp side lie in the commune of Unterschächen. The pass is not on the cantonal border: Schwyz begins about 2.7 km to the north-east, down in the Bisistal, so no Schwyz rule reaches this ground.¹²

Would anyone sleep here? Yes. The hollow is open alp pasture about 425 m above the tree line, a short way off a marked mountain trail over the pass. No dwelling stands within 640 m, and the alp huts below, at Chäseren and Heidmannegg, are out of sight behind the rim of the hollow. The pass itself is a narrow, steep-sided notch: a place to cross, not to pitch.¹

The rules: no ban at the federal, cantonal or communal level

The canton. Uri has no cantonal rule on wild camping, and its government said so on 4 November 2025, in its answer to a motion that asked for a general ban. It named the five communes with rules of their own and put all the others in one sentence:⁴

"Im Kanton Uri besteht auf kantonaler Ebene, wie in vielen anderen Schweizer Kantonen, keine gesetzliche Regelung für Wildcamping. ... Die übrigen Urner Gemeinden haben keine kommunale Regelung über Wildcamping erlassen."Regierungsrat Uri, answer to the Inderkum motion, 4 November 2025, section 2.1. In English: at cantonal level Uri, like many other Swiss cantons, has no statutory rule on wild camping; the other Uri communes have enacted no communal rule on wild camping.

The five are Göschenen and Gurtnellen, which have camping ordinances, and Andermatt, Hospental and Realp, which wrote a ban into their building and zoning rules. Unterschächen is one of the others.⁴

The commune. Unterschächen's building and zoning regulation, adopted by the communal assembly on 9 November 2017 and approved by the government on 13 March 2018, has no rule on camping or bivouacking; its one mention of camping allows campsites in the zone for sport and leisure facilities. The hollow lies in the agricultural zone. The same regulation protects the lake as a local nature object, which matters for where you pitch, further down.⁵

The fine that has nothing to attach to. Uri's list of fixed fines prices "Lagern, Zelten oder Campieren in Schutzzonen" at CHF 150, but only "in Verbindung mit dem jeweiligen Reglement", that is, in a protection zone whose own regulation bans it. Unterschächen has one such regulation, the one protecting the Aue Rüti on the Vorderschächen. It bans "zu lagern, zu zelten oder zu campieren" in its single nature protection zone, on the valley floor 1.86 km south of the hollow.⁶¹

The federal level. No federal protected area covers the hollow: no game reserve, wildlife rest zone, landscape inventory object, mire or floodplain. The nearest federal game reserve, no. 9 Silbern-Jägern-Bödmerenwald, begins 4.2 km to the north-east and lies wholly in Schwyz. The nearest wildlife rest zone, Wannelen, is 2.7 km away and closed only from 1 December to 30 April.¹

Tent or bivvy bag makes no difference here. Whether a night without a tent counts as camping only matters where a rule bans camping, and none reaches this ground. The Korporation's page is headed "Wildcampieren/Biwakieren" and covers both. In the Aue Rüti it would cut the other way: "lagern" catches a night without a tent too.³⁶

What may change. On 18 March 2026 the cantonal parliament turned down a general ban and asked the government for a cantonal basis that keeps wild camping allowed in principle and lets communes draw perimeters where it is banned. As of 26 September 2026 no draft has been published, so nothing of it is in force. How the rules fit together in Uri is in the Uri report, and the national picture in the overview for Switzerland.⁴

How it is possible: the landowner has already said yes

The ground belongs to the Korporation Uri. The land register shows the hollow and the lake on its parcel 1027, and the pass and the Ruosalp side on its parcel 1026. On its own page the Korporation publishes where it stands:²³

"Im Kanton Uri besteht kein generelles Verbot für Wildcamping. Auf Gebiet der Korporation Uri ist das Campieren somit grundsätzlich erlaubt und muss nicht angemeldet werden."Korporation Uri, page "Wildcampieren/Biwakieren", re-read on 26 September 2026. In English: there is no general ban on wild camping in canton Uri; on the Korporation Uri's land, camping is therefore allowed in principle and does not have to be registered.

That is a standing permission, given to everyone in advance. For one night with a small group there is nothing to apply for and nobody to call. The page attaches conditions, and at this spot they come down to four:³

• Protection zones and pasture. Where a nature or landscape protection zone applies, its rules come first, and the pasture is to be spared. No protection zone covers the hollow; the lake is protected as an object, see below.
• Near a farm, contact the alp. The Korporation asks you to get in touch with the alp farmer if you pitch near a farm. Here the nearest huts are more than 640 m away and out of sight, so this does not apply; if cattle are grazing by the lake, give them room.
• More than three nights or more than ten people: tell the Korporation beforehand.
• Rubbish goes into fee bags and down to the next collection point, and the place is left tidy.

One thing to watch, beyond the Klausenpass. The Urner Wochenblatt reported on 19 August 2026 that the Korporation wants to ban wild camping on the Urnerboden up to the Klausenpass once a campsite exists there. That is the Spiringen side, east of the Klausenpass and more than 3.5 km from the hollow, and nothing of it is in force: the page quoted above reads as it did. The Griessseeli and Fisetenpass reports cover that side.³

Where to pitch: the level grass, well back from a protected lake

The lake is protected, as an object. Unterschächen's building regulation lists it among its protected local objects as "NO.1219.31 Bergsee Unter Chulm", and its Art. 23 says such objects "gelten als schutzwürdig. Sie sollen erhalten bleiben": they are worthy of protection and are to be preserved. The article governs buildings and installations around them and sets no rule on access, camping or bivouacking. Take it for what it is, a reason to pitch, wash and relieve yourself well away from the water.⁵

The pitch. The best ground is the level grass about 20 m west of the reference point: WGS84 46.881845 / 8.813203 (LV95 2'704'770 / 1'193'220), at 2'107 m, sloping about half a degree and 62 m back from the shore. It is grazed turf with cattle tracks and a few stones, a rare level pocket in steep ground. The trail over the pass runs on the far side of the lake.¹

Keep to the southern half of the bench. Grey scree cones come down from the ridge to the north and end 35 to 45 m short of the bench, with loose blocks lying on the grass below them. The pitch above is 45 m from the foot of the scree; the further south you stay, the more margin you keep.¹

Getting there, fire, the hunt and the season

The approach. The Klausen bus, PostAuto line 408, stops at "Unterschächen, Untere Balm", 1'773 m. From there a marked mountain trail, white-red-white, reaches the lake after about 1.9 km and 360 m of ascent, and the pass in about 1 h 15. The bench lies about 200 m off the trail, on the west side of the lake. The last bus of the season runs on 18 October 2026.⁸¹

No fire. Since 25 August 2026 Uri's Sicherheitsdirektion has banned lighting fires at improvised fireplaces anywhere in the canton, and at any fireplace in or within 50 m of forest, "bis auf Weiteres", until further notice. Since 25 September 2026 the forest-fire danger in Uri has stood at "Grosse Gefahr", high. Cook on a stove, standing on rock.⁷

The hunt. Uri hunts red deer again from 28 to 30 September 2026, and small game from 12 October to 30 November 2026. Hunters are out at first light: in those weeks wear something bright and make yourself heard.⁷

The cattle. The hollow lies in the alp of Heidmannegg, a cattle pasture. Keep clear of the animals, close every gate you open, and carry everything down again. When the herd has left for the year, the grass is still pasture.¹³

Where you can legally sleep

• The level grass west of the lake, 2'107 m. One night, a small group, no registration: 46.881845 / 8.813203, 62 m from the shore, on the southern half of the bench.¹³
• Hotel Klausenpass, 2.15 km away. Rooms, and two dormitories with 30 places in its annexe; open until 18 October 2026; +41 41 879 11 64.⁹
• Stell- und Campingplatz Unterschächen, in the village. Small tents on the area set aside for them, paid on arrival, seven nights at most; +41 77 462 86 68.⁹
• Alpbeizli Heidmannegg, on the alp. Food and drink from about June to October, but no beds.⁹
• Not in the notch of the pass, and not at the water's edge. The saddle is narrow and steep, and the lake is a protected object.¹⁵

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which at the Ruosalper Chulm means the level grass west of the lake. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense on a cattle alp whose owner has said yes in advance, next to a lake the commune protects.

• 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 rests on the land register, which shows the Korporation Uri as owner of the hollow, the lake and the pass; on the Korporation's published permission and its conditions; on the government's statement of 4 November 2025 that Uri has no cantonal rule on wild camping and that five named communes have their own, Unterschächen not among them; on Unterschächen's building and zoning regulation approved in 2018; on Uri's list of fixed fines and the regulation for the Aue Rüti; and on the federal and cantonal protected-area layers at the point. Unterschächen publishes no collection of its regulations online, so for the communal level the canton's statement is the evidence. A permission can change faster than a law: the Korporation could change its conditions, and the cantonal basis the parliament asked for in March 2026 would let communes draw perimeters where camping is banned. Distances and the pitch are taken from the published geometry and elevation model, not from a visit. Dates, prices and seasons are taken from their publishers as of September 2026 and can change. 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.

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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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