As of: 25 September 2026

Wild camping on the Säntis

The boundary of the federal game reserve Säntis runs across the summit, and inside it free camping is banned, CHF 150 on the spot. Outside the line up here there is only the summit building and cliff. For the sunrise, the Alter Säntis inn has beds 80 m from the top.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Legal situation checked in September 2026
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.

What "wild camping" means here: one night. A small tent or a bivvy bag, up towards evening, gone in the morning. Not a base camp, not a camper van. Most Swiss bans are written against camping; whether a single night also falls under them depends on the exact wording, so this article checks that wording. The full difference: wild camping vs bivouacking.

Wild camping on the Säntis: the summit, not the Schwägalp

Wild camping on the Säntis means the top of the Alpstein: the 2'502 m summit that the federal gazetteer calls "Alpiner Gipfel Säntis (AI) - Schwende-Rüte", LV95 2'744'171 / 1'234'917. Three cantons meet up here. The summit point lies in the Innerrhoden district of Schwende-Rüte; Hundwil in Appenzell Ausserrhoden begins about a metre to the south-west, and Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann in St. Gallen about four metres to the south.1

The Schwägalp at the foot of the cable car is a different place. It has its own report, and its valley station lies inside the same game reserve as the summit's north side. "Säntis, das Hotel" stands down there too, 2 km west-north-west of the top, not on the summit. Marked paths come up from the Schwägalp past the Tierwis inn, from the Meglisalp over the Wagenlücke and from the Rotsteinpass along the Lisengrat ridge. In 2026 you walk: the cable car is shut.18

The summit: a cable-car station, a transmitter and, this year, a building site

Ask the first question before any law: if a night up here were lawful, would anyone lie down on this ground? Hardly. The Säntis summit is built over. Eleven registered buildings stand within 116 m of the summit point: the cable-car top station, the summit restaurant building with a panorama restaurant and a terrace restaurant of 160 seats each and a hall for about 250 people, the weather-station buildings and the Berggasthaus Alter Säntis with its annexes. Above them rises the 123 m transmitter tower of Swisscom Broadcast. The weather station began work on 1 September 1882, and MeteoSwiss still measures on the summit.189

The slopes around the top average about 45 degrees. The only level ground is built: the restaurant terrace and the platform of the top station, on or just outside the reserve line, and the terrace of the Alter Säntis, inside it.1

In 2026 the summit is also a building site. The operator writes: "Die Säntis-Schwebebahn ist infolge Erneuerung der Bahn von 1. Mai bis Spätherbst 2026 eingestellt", the cable car is shut from 1 May to late autumn 2026 for its renewal. The top station is closed to guests and open only to the construction crews and a few staff, the summit restaurant is shut for the same period, and building material is stored in the Panoramahalle and the waiting area on the summit. Until the new car runs, the operator says, the summit can be reached only on foot or by helicopter.8

Outside the reserve line, nothing nearby takes a tent either. Within about a kilometre, what lies outside is cliff, the Gross Schnee firn just below the summit, limestone karst pavement in the basins, the Lisengrat path where it crosses the grassy Chalbersäntis 400 m south-east, and the grass directly around the Tierwis inn. The Chalbersäntis looks like a place to lie down, but all its level ground lies within about ten metres of the path, on an exposed ridge in full view of the summit. Neither it nor the Gross Schnee is a pitch.1

The rule: the Säntis game reserve, and a line across the summit

The summit sits on the southern edge of federal game reserve no. 16 "Säntis". The reserve covers 2'594 ha of the massif's north side in the two Appenzells, and its object sheet leaves no partial zone to look for: "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt", the whole reserve is under integral protection.12

The line runs across the summit. From the west it follows the crest from the Tierwis to the top station, passes a few metres south-south-west of the summit point and runs just south of the terrace of the Alter Säntis; then it drops into a gully and follows the crest above the Gross Schnee to the Wagenlücke. The summit point, the Alter Säntis and the top station are inside. The viewpoint 8 m south-south-east of the summit point and the summit restaurant on the St. Gallen side are just outside. Everything to the north is inside: Mesmer, the Öhrli, the Blauschnee and the whole Schwägalp side. For most of its length the path from the summit to the Wagenlücke is the boundary itself, while the Lisengrat to the Rotsteinpass lies entirely outside.12

A few metres is less than the width of the line on the official 1:25'000 map, which draws it through the summit building, and nothing marks it on the ground. Check it before you stop anywhere: open map.geo.admin.ch with the layer "Hunting Ban Reserves", the federal game reserves, and compare it with the GPS position on your phone.12

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, and the reserve has no official campsite. The exception belongs to the canton alone, and none exists for the Säntis: no alp, no landowner and no commune can give you a night inside the line.3

The fine is fixed: Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005 of the federal Ordnungsbussenverordnung, "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten", CHF 150. A drone inside the line costs the same (Ziff. 12006), and so does a dog off the lead (Ziff. 12004). 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

Without a tent: why a bivvy bag is no way round it

The ordinance's verbs are "Zelten und Campieren", tenting and camping, and none of its three official language versions names the bivouac. 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 animals out of the reserve (lit. b), and the object sheet names "Schutz der Tiere vor Störung", protecting the animals from disturbance, as one of this reserve's aims. A person lying out from dusk to dawn on its edge is close to what both are about.32

At the Säntis the question hardly arises. Inside the line, a bivvy bag is an argument no court has ruled on, set against a fixed fine. Outside it, up here, there is a restaurant building, its terraces, the viewpoint and cliff, on ground that belongs to the cable-car company and the inn and that is a building site this year. A bivvy bag is no way round the ban, and nothing here says a tentless night on the summit is allowed.18

Three cantons meet at the top, and none of them changes the answer

Appenzell Innerrhoden, the summit point. The cantonal camping ordinance allows the occasional tent outside campsites only with the landowner's consent: "Das gelegentliche Aufstellen von einzelnen Wohnwagen und Zelten ausserhalb bewilligter Campingplätze darf die Dauer eines Monats pro Jahr nicht überschreiten und ist an die Zustimmung des betreffenden Grundeigentümers gebunden" (art. 4), no more than a month a year and only with the consent of the landowner concerned. No fine stands behind it: the ordinance has no penalty provision, and the cantonal list of fixed fines has no camping item. Inside the reserve no consent can lift the federal ban, and the Innerrhoden ground outside the line up here is firn and cliff.51

Appenzell Ausserrhoden, a metre away. The Hundwil ground at the top station and on the north flank lies inside the federal reserve, so the federal ban decides there, whatever cantonal law says.1

St. Gallen, four metres away. St. Gallen has no camping ban at cantonal level. Its list of fixed fines carries CHF 80 for "Unberechtigtes Campieren auf öffentlichem Grund", but under the heading "Widerhandlungen gegen Gemeindereglemente", so the item applies only where a commune bans camping. Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann, the commune on this side, does not: its police regulation, in force since 1 February 2021, has no camping clause, and its protection ordinance bans camping only in nature reserves and buffer zones, and the nearest nature reserve is 1.3 km from the summit. The St. Gallen metres at the top are the restaurant building anyway.67

A watch item. In July 2025 Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann told the press it was drafting a strict camping reglement against tents on its mountains. As of 25 September 2026 none is published or in force.7

So at the top the ban is the federal one, and the rest is building and rock. How these layers fit together across the country is set out in the national overview.

How it is possible: the sunrise from a bed on the summit

What most people want up here is the sunrise, and the lawful way to have it is a bed on the summit. The Berggasthaus Alter Säntis stands about 80 m east of the summit point, inside the reserve, where sleeping indoors is of course lawful, and it recommends exactly this: the sunrise from its terrace, then breakfast.9

Berggasthaus Alter Säntis, +41 71 799 11 60, bookings by phone. Dormitory with 65 places in rooms of 4 to 10, CHF 66 per person with breakfast; double rooms CHF 178 with running water or CHF 222 with shower and WC, per room with breakfast, bookable Sunday to Thursday; tourist tax extra. Overnight stays are booked only together with dinner in the house. Closed on Tuesdays from 16.00, so no night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Open in good weather until about Sunday 18 October 2026, and this year reachable only on foot.9

The light. At the summit the sun rises at about 05.30 to 05.40 in mid-July, 06.50 to 07.00 in mid-September and 07.35 to 07.45 in mid-October, summer time, and the peaks on the eastern horizon can delay the moment it appears. The cable car would not get you there in time anyway: even the special days the operator has published for the new car start at 07.30 at the earliest.18

Or sleep lower and walk up in the dark. The Berggasthaus Tierwis, 2'085 m, about 1.1 km west on the Schwägalp side, has 50 places and opens daily from July to mid-October, 071 364 12 35; the cable-car company says the path from the Tierwis to the summit stays open during the works, with small diversions possible. The Berggasthaus Rotsteinpass, 2'124 m, lies 1.8 km east-south-east as the crow flies and 2.3 km along the Lisengrat, dormitory CHF 53 with breakfast, June to October, +41 71 799 11 41. The Lisengrat is exposed but secured, and the inn calls it well passable "für geübte und schwindelfreie Berggänger", for practised hikers with a head for heights. Walk it in daylight before you walk it by headlamp.108

At the foot. "Säntis, das Hotel", with 68 rooms and suites at the Schwägalp valley station, stays open during the rebuild, and so do the restaurants down there. From the Schwägalp it is about 1'150 m of climbing to the summit.8

A night outside: past the Rotsteinpass, never on the north side

If it has to be a night outside, the nearest lawful ground in our reports lies beyond the Lisengrat. The Fleckli, a shoulder about 300 m south of the Altmann summit at about 2'145 m, 47.23686 / 9.37079, is 2.5 km east-south-east of the Säntis and about 800 m past the Rotsteinpass inn. It lies outside the game reserve, in Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann, where neither the police regulation nor the protection ordinance bans a tent on that ground; the details are in our Altmann report. It sits right beside the path from the Rotsteinpass to the Zwinglipass: pitch well back from it, late, and leave nothing behind.17

The Meglisalp, 3.3 km east and about 900 m lower, is the other option, on Innerrhoden ground outside the reserve. There a tent needs the landowner's consent, and in practice you ask the Berggasthaus, +41 71 799 11 28; our Meglisalp report says where the ground takes a tent. From the summit, the way over the Lisengrat and the Rotsteinpass stays outside the reserve all the way down.5101

Not to the north. Do not pitch or lie out anywhere on the Säntis north side, at Mesmer, the Öhrli, the Blauschnee or above the Schwägalp: it is all inside the reserve, CHF 150, whatever an alp may say. The path down to the Wagenlücke runs along the line itself, and from the Wagenlücke to Mesmer it is inside.14

The cable car, the path and the rules in the reserve

The cable car. Out of service since 1 May 2026 for its renewal, until late autumn 2026, and the operator has not yet set a reopening date: "Definitives Datum Neueröffnung folgt!" The hotel, the shop and the restaurants at the Schwägalp are open; the summit restaurant stays shut until the new car runs. The Alter Säntis, the Tierwis and the Rotsteinpass are open in their seasons and reachable on foot.8910

In the reserve. Keep your dog on the lead and leave the drone at home: each costs CHF 150 inside the line. No fire anywhere up here, and take everything down with you, organic scraps included.4

  • Berggasthaus Alter Säntis, 80 m from the top. +41 71 799 11 60; only with dinner, no Tuesday nights, open to about 18 October 2026.9
  • Berggasthaus Tierwis, 2'085 m. About 1.1 km west, 071 364 12 35.10
  • Berggasthaus Rotsteinpass, 2'124 m. Over the Lisengrat, +41 71 799 11 41.10
  • Säntis, das Hotel, Schwägalp. At the valley station, open during the rebuild.8
  • Fleckli below the Altmann, about 2'145 m. 47.23686 / 9.37079, outside the reserve; pitch well back from the Zwinglipass path.1
  • Meglisalp, 1'589 m. With the landowner's consent, through the Berggasthaus, +41 71 799 11 28.10
  • Not on the summit, its terraces, the Gross Schnee, the Chalbersäntis or anywhere on the north side. Game reserve or no ground to lie on; inside the line CHF 150.14

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which from the Säntis means the Fleckli below the Altmann, or the Meglisalp with the landowner's consent. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense in a massif where the game reserve begins at the summit and 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 Säntis summit, where Schwende-Rüte, Hundwil and Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann meet, and the ground around it on both sides of the line of the federal game reserve Säntis. It rests on the reserve boundary as published in the federal inventory, which runs within a few metres of the summit point, closer than the official map can draw it; on the federal ordinance and the federal list of fixed fines in force; on the absence of any cantonal exception; and on the built summit. Whether a tentless bivouac counts as camping under the federal ordinance has not been decided by a court. Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann announced a stricter camping reglement in July 2025; as of 25 September 2026 none is in force. The cable-car works, the inns, their prices and seasons are taken from their operators as of September 2026, the sunrise times are calculated, and all of it 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.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sleep on the Säntis for the sunrise?
Not outside. The boundary of federal game reserve no. 16 Säntis runs across the 2'502 metre summit, in Schwende-Rüte, Appenzell Innerrhoden: the summit point, the Berggasthaus Alter Säntis and the top station are inside, and Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. e of the federal ordinance on game reserves (VEJ, SR 922.31) bans free tenting and camping there, with a fixed fine of CHF 150 under Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005 of the federal fixed-penalty ordinance (OBV, SR 314.11). Outside the line, the summit is a restaurant building, terraces and cliff. The lawful way is a bed in the Alter Säntis, about 80 metres from the top: dormitory CHF 66 with breakfast, booked only with dinner, +41 71 799 11 60, no Tuesday nights, open to about 18 October 2026. In mid-September the sun rises there at about 06.50.
Is a bivvy bag without a tent allowed on the Säntis?
Not safely, and there is nowhere to lie down anyway. The federal ordinance bans "Zelten und Campieren", tenting and camping, in the game reserve; none of its official language versions names the bivouac, and no court has decided whether a night in a bivvy bag counts. The same article forbids disturbing the animals, and the reserve's object sheet names protecting them from disturbance as one of its aims. Outside the line, the summit is a restaurant building, terraces and cliff, and in 2026 a building site. A bivvy bag is no way round the ban: sleep in the Alter Säntis, or outside the reserve at the Fleckli below the Altmann.
Where exactly is the reserve boundary on the Säntis?
Across the summit. From the west, the line of federal game reserve no. 16 follows the crest from the Tierwis to the top station, passes a few metres south-south-west of the summit point, runs just south of the Alter Säntis terrace and follows the crest above the Gross Schnee to the Wagenlücke. Inside: the summit point, the Alter Säntis, the top station and the whole north side, with Mesmer, the Öhrli, the Blauschnee and the Schwägalp side. Outside: the viewpoint 8 metres south-south-east of the summit point, the summit restaurant and the whole Lisengrat to the Rotsteinpass. The path to the Wagenlücke is the line for most of its length. To see where you stand, open the layer "Hunting Ban Reserves" on map.geo.admin.ch and compare it with your phone's GPS.
Is the Säntis cable car running?
Not in 2026. The Säntis-Schwebebahn has been shut since 1 May 2026 for its renewal and stays shut until late autumn 2026; the operator has not yet given a reopening date. The top station is closed to guests, the summit restaurant is shut and building material is stored on the summit, which until then can be reached only on foot or by helicopter. The hotel and restaurants at the Schwägalp are open, and so is the Berggasthaus Alter Säntis, reachable this year only on foot. Even the special days the operator has published for the new car start at 07.30 at the earliest, after sunrise.
Where can I camp near the Säntis?
Not on the Säntis itself, and not on its north side, which is all inside the federal game reserve. The nearest lawful ground for a night outside is the Fleckli, a shoulder at about 2'145 metres, 300 metres south of the Altmann summit (47.23686 / 9.37079), 2.5 kilometres east-south-east and about 800 metres past the Rotsteinpass inn, outside the reserve in Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann; pitch well back from the path to the Zwinglipass. The other option is the Meglisalp, 3.3 kilometres east, where Appenzell Innerrhoden's camping ordinance ties a tent to the landowner's consent; ask the Berggasthaus, +41 71 799 11 28. From the summit, the way over the Lisengrat and the Rotsteinpass stays outside the reserve.
Leon Helg

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.

Swiss Guide Wildcamping Checker Color Grading

Sources

  1. Official federal geodata, identify service queried on 24 and 25 September 2026 at the summit, LV95 2'744'170.7 / 1'234'917.2 (WGS84 47.249424 / 9.343241; gazetteer name "Alpiner Gipfel Säntis (AI) - Schwende-Rüte"), terrain height 2'501.9 m, district Schwende-Rüte (AI) from the current-year boundary, Hundwil (AR) 1.1 m south-west and Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann (SG) 3.7 m south, 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. 16 "Säntis", type "Gebiet mit integralen Schutzbestimmungen", 2'594.2 ha; the summit point lies inside, 3.7 m from the nearest boundary point at bearing 202 degrees, and the cantonal reserve layer on geoportal.ch returns the same object there. Along the boundary: the viewpoint point at LV95 2'744'174 / 1'234'910, 8.2 m south-south-east, 2.5 m outside; the Berggasthaus Alter Säntis 20 m inside; the top station 10.5 m inside, on Hundwil ground; the Restaurant Säntisgipfel 13 m outside, on Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann ground; the Gross Schnee 105 m outside; the Blauschnee, the Schneeloch and the Girenspitz 256 to 317 m inside; the Wagenlücke 19 m inside; the Lisengrat and the Chalbersäntis 250 to 570 m outside; the Rotsteinpass inn 765 m outside; the Tierwis inn 13 m outside; Mesmer 550 m inside; the Meglisalp 604 m outside. Marked trails (swissTLM3D): summit to Rotsteinpass over the Lisengrat 2.29 km, 2.28 km of it outside and the rest on the line; summit to Wagenlücke 1.47 km, 1.07 km of it within 5 m of the line; Wagenlücke to Mesmer 2.24 km, all of it inside or on the line; Meglisalp to Rotsteinpass 3.39 km, all outside. Also at the point: BLN 1612 Säntisgebiet, which binds authorities, not visitors. Empty at the point: wildlife rest zones (nearest 1'234 m north-north-west, inside the reserve), mire landscapes (Schwägalp, 1'127 m north-north-west), fens, raised bogs, floodplains, amphibian sites, dry meadows, Ramsar, Emerald, forest reserves, parks, military areas. Federal register of buildings: eleven buildings within 116 m of the summit point, among them the top station, the summit restaurant building and the Alter Säntis, registered as a hotel building of 1874. MeteoSwiss station list: automatic station SAE on the summit. Terrain from swissALTI3D: a mean slope of about 45 degrees within 100 m of the summit, level ground only on the built platforms. The Fleckli below the Altmann, LV95 2'746'290 / 1'233'572 (2'144.7 m, Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann), queried the same day: no game reserve, wildlife rest zone, mire, dry meadow or military area, BLN only, 18 m from the marked trail from the Rotsteinpass to the Zwinglipass. Sunrise at the summit from the NOAA solar position algorithm, summer time, with and without the horizon dip of 2'502 m: 15 July 05.30 to 05.40, 15 September 06.49 to 06.58, 18 October 07.34 to 07.43. map.geo.admin.ch (game reserves), reserve geometry (GeoJSON). ↩
  2. Federal Office for the Environment, inventory of federal game reserves, object sheet "16. Säntis Kt. AI/AR" in the 2023 revision set, with a perimeter map at 1:25'000 (revision 2005): "Zum Schutzgebiet gehört die Nordseite des Säntismassivs, welches sich über 1'000 m hoch über das dem Säntis vorgelagerte Voralpengebiet der Petersalp, Kronberg, Wartegg, Potersalp und Schwägalp aufschwingt ..." Objectives: "Erhaltung des Gebiets als vielfältigen Lebensraum für wildlebende Säugetiere und Vögel", "Schutz der Tiere vor Störung". Special measures: "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt." The map draws the southern edge along the crest and through the summit building; the Gross Schnee, the Chalbersäntis and the Lisengrat are outside. object sheet JBG 16 Säntis (PDF). ↩
  3. 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 ..." The official French text of lit. e reads "il est interdit de camper librement", the Italian "è vietato piantare tende o campeggiare"; none of the three names the bivouac. Art. 2: the reserves are the objects listed in the annex, among them no. 16 Säntis, cantons Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and the federal inventory holds a map of each perimeter. fedlex.admin.ch (VEJ). ↩
  4. 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). ↩
  5. Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, official collection, read on 25 September 2026. Campingverordnung (GS 935.610) of 12 June 1973, version in force since 1 January 2013, Art. 4 "Camping ausserhalb von Campingplätzen": "Das gelegentliche Aufstellen von einzelnen Wohnwagen und Zelten ausserhalb bewilligter Campingplätze darf die Dauer eines Monats pro Jahr nicht überschreiten und ist an die Zustimmung des betreffenden Grundeigentümers gebunden. Besondere Erlasse der Bezirksbehörden zur Wahrung öffentlicher Interessen bleiben vorbehalten." Arts. 11 to 15 repealed on 31 October 2005; the ordinance contains no penalty provision. Verordnung über die Ordnungsbussen (VOB, GS 311.010), version in force since 1 July 2025: no camping, tent or bivouac item in its list of fixed fines. ai.clex.ch (Campingverordnung), ai.clex.ch (VOB). ↩
  6. Canton of St. Gallen, official collection, read on 25 September 2026. Strafprozessverordnung (sGS 962.11), annex "Ordnungsbussen": under heading 21 "Widerhandlungen gegen Gemeindereglemente", Ziff. 21.6 "Unberechtigtes Campieren auf öffentlichem Grund", 80 francs, a tariff that needs a communal ban to attach to; no item for federal game reserves, where the federal CHF 150 applies. Übertretungsstrafgesetz (sGS 921.1) and Naturschutzverordnung (sGS 671.1), versions in force: no camping term. StPV annex, Ordnungsbussen, gesetzessammlung.sg.ch. ↩
  7. Politische Gemeinde Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann. Reglement über Ruhe, Ordnung und Sicherheit, enacted in November 2020, in force since 1 February 2021: no provision on camping, tents or bivouacs. Schutzverordnung Wildhaus (Reglement, updated to 17 August 2015), the act the cantonal cadastre names for the Säntis south side: Art. 7 (Naturschutzgebiete) and Art. 8 (Pufferzonen) ban "die Nutzung zu Erholungs- und Freizeitzwecken, wie Lager, Zelten, Campieren und das Anfachen von Feuer, ausser an bezeichneten Stellen"; Art. 13 (Lebensraum-Schongebiete), the zone on the St. Gallen side of the summit, at the Chalbersäntis and at the Tierwis, has no camping clause. Public-law restrictions cadastre (ÖREB), extracts with geometry: parcel 1484W (EGRID CH199277833544), the Säntis south side, nearest nature reserve 1'270 m from the summit; parcel 1486W (EGRID CH113583927771), the summit restaurant, habitat conservation area and no nature reserve; parcel 1470W (EGRID CH858392773562) at the Fleckli, geotope protection area and habitat core area, with no nature reserve and no buffer zone anywhere on the parcel. Press, not a basis for the verdict: Blick, 10 July 2025 (updated 15 July), and St. Galler Tagblatt, 10 July 2025, report that the commune is drafting a strict camping reglement against tents on its mountains; as of 25 September 2026 the commune's published reglements, its council bulletins up to 14 August 2026 and its annual report for 2025 contain no such reglement. Reglement über Ruhe, Ordnung und Sicherheit (PDF), oereblex.sg.ch (Schutzverordnung Wildhaus), blick.ch (press). ↩
  8. Säntis-Schwebebahn AG, Schwägalp, pages consulted on 25 September 2026. Timetable: "Die Säntis-Schwebebahn ist infolge Erneuerung der Bahn von 1. Mai bis Spätherbst 2026 eingestellt. Das Hotel und die Restaurationsbetriebe auf der Schwägalp sind geöffnet." "Bahnbetrieb bis Spätherbst eingestellt. Definitives Datum Neueröffnung folgt!" Special days published for the new car: 24 December 2026, 08.30 to 15.00; 26 and 29 March 2027 and 6 May 2027, 08.00 to 17.00; 17 May 2027, 07.30 to 18.30. Project page "Säntis 2026": "Das Material wird in der Panoramahalle und dem Wartebereich auf dem Gipfel gelagert"; the new cabins carry 85 people. FAQ: "Ab Mai 2026 bis im Spätherbst 2026 ist kein Gästebetrieb möglich. Der Gipfel ist in dieser Zeit nur zu Fuss oder per Helikopter erreichbar." During the interruption the top station is "für Gäste geschlossen und nur für die Bauarbeiter und wenige Mitarbeiter der Säntis-Schwebebahn zugänglich"; the path from the Tierwis to the summit "bleibt ... weiterhin zugänglich. Kleinere Umleitungen sind jedoch nicht ausgeschlossen." Restaurant Säntisgipfel: panorama restaurant with 160 seats, terrace restaurant with 160, seminar room with 100, Panoramahalle for about 250. "Säntis, das Hotel": "Unsere 68 komfortablen und individuellen Zimmer und Suiten". Background, not a basis for the verdict: the Säntis transmitter, a 123 m tower of Swisscom Broadcast built from 1995 to 1997 (Wikipedia). saentisbahn.ch, timetable, saentisbahn.ch, Säntis 2026, saentisbahn.ch, FAQ, saentisbahn.ch, Restaurant Säntisgipfel, saentisbahn.ch, hotel, Wikipedia, Sender Säntis. ↩
  9. Berggasthaus Alter Säntis, 9107 Urnäsch, +41 71 799 11 60, info@altersaentis.ch, pages consulted on 25 September 2026. Overnight stays: five double rooms with shower/WC, CHF 222, and six with running water, CHF 178, "Preise pro Zimmer", with breakfast, plus tourist tax, "Buchbar von Sonntag bis Donnerstag (keine Übernachtung am Dienstag)"; dormitory with 65 places in rooms of 4 to 10, CHF 66 per person with breakfast; "Übernachtungen sind nur verbunden mit einem Abendessen bei uns im Alten Säntis buchbar"; reservations by phone; check-in from 16.00, departure by 10.00. Opening times, summer season 2026: "Das Berggasthaus ist bei guter Witterung voraussichtlich bis Sonntag, 18. Oktober geöffnet." "Aufgrund des Bahn-Neubaus 2026 sind wir nur zu Fuss erreichbar." "Während der Saison bleibt das Berggasthaus jeweils dienstags ab 16.00 Uhr geschlossen. Übernachtungen von Dienstag auf Mittwoch sind nicht möglich." History: "Am 1. September 1882 nahm die Wetterwarte auf dem Säntis ihren Betrieb auf." The house recommends "Ein Sonnenaufgang, wie Sie ihn auf unserer Terrasse erleben können". altersaentis.ch, Übernachten, altersaentis.ch, Öffnungszeiten, altersaentis.ch, Geschichte. ↩
  10. Beds below the summit, pages consulted on 25 September 2026. Berggasthaus Tierwis, 9107 Urnäsch, 071 364 12 35: 50 places in six rooms, one double room and dormitories; open on fine weekends from about late May and every day from July to mid-October. Berggasthaus Rotsteinpass, +41 71 799 11 41: "Das auf 2124 m.ü.M. gelegene Berggasthaus liegt auf einem Pass zwischen dem Säntis und Altmann"; 80 dormitory places, two double rooms and a four-bed room; dormitory with breakfast CHF 53, half board CHF 80, double room CHF 90 per person with breakfast, tourist tax extra; on Saturdays half board only; open from June to October; path report of 30 May 2026: "Für geübte und schwindelfreie Berggänger sind der Lisengrat und die Fliswand mit gutem Schuhwerk gut begehbar." Berggasthaus Meglisalp, +41 71 799 11 28: summer season 2026 expected to run to 1 November; "Die Seilbahn auf den Säntis ist auf Grund von Ersatzarbeiten nicht in Betrieb." tierwis.ch, Schlofrüüm, rotsteinpass.ch, rotsteinpass.ch, Zimmer & Preise, meglisalp.ch, Schlafen. ↩