Wild camping at Schynige Platte: legal on the right side of the crest

The ban everyone assumes, and where it actually ends

Wild camping at Schynige Platte starts with a fact nobody on the viewing platform can see: the massif is split between two communes, and the line runs invisibly across the grass. The crest and the Sägistal side belong to Gündlischwand, the named summit point and the west flank to Gsteigwiler. Which rulebook applies depends on where you sleep, and neither says what everyone assumes.

"Auf öffentlichem Grund ist das Übernachten in Fahrzeugen und Zelten (Campieren) ausserhalb der speziell dafür vorgesehenen Flächen verboten."Ortspolizeireglement Gündlischwand, Art. 8 para. 1: on public ground, overnighting in vehicles and tents outside the areas specially designated for it is prohibited.

Read the first three words again. Gündlischwand's police reglement, in force since 1 January 2009, bans camping on public ground, fine up to CHF 5'000 (Art. 18), exceptions possible through the commune (Art. 8 para. 2)¹. The high ridge is not public ground: it is private alp pasture, and a ban written for public ground does not reach it. And Gsteigwiler? I went through its full published register of reglements: no police reglement, no camping reglement, nothing². On that side of the crest there is no communal camping norm to break. How this sits in the national picture is in our guide to wild camping in Switzerland.

How it is possible: the quiet single night

With no communal rule reaching the camp terrain and no protected area on it (the maps below), what remains is the customary Swiss line for the high mountains. The SAC's guidance and the TCS legal assessment of 2021 draw it identically: tolerated are single overnight stays, not in groups, in the mountains above the treeline³. On this ridge that is not a loophole, it is simply what applies when nothing stricter exists.

Tolerated is still not a free pass. The pastures belong to someone, and Art. 699 of the Civil Code opens them for crossing, not for the night. So ask where you can: the Berghotel staff, the alp personnel in the Sägistal, or the Gündlischwand administration, which can even put a yes in writing as an Art. 8 para. 2 exception (033 855 24 86)¹. One question, and the last grey zone is gone.

Where the ban does apply

The tolerance ends at the edges of the massif, and it ends hard. The Bönigen flank, falling north-east toward the lake, sits under a full Campingreglement (SRB 951.1): camping outside authorized campsites is not permitted as a rule, fine up to CHF 5'000 (Art. 29 para. 2), permits only via the Sicherheitskommission with the landowner's consent⁴.

The valley base with the trailheads and the cog railway's bottom station is Wilderswil, owner of the Oberland's newest ban: adopted on 16 June 2025, in force since 21 July 2025, same template as Bönigen's, fine up to CHF 5'000, patrols announced⁵⁶. Do not let the postal address fool you: "Schynige Platte, Wilderswil" is the railway's address, but the plateau itself lies in Gündlischwand and Gsteigwiler. It is the same wave of communal bans that reached Lauterbrunnen in 2025, one valley further south.

Two more edges. The Botanical Alpine Garden beside the station is fenced and open from 8:00 to 18:00; at night it is closed, and there is no overnight presence inside it⁷. Further east, on the ridge route toward the Faulhorn and First, begins the federal Schwarzhorn game reserve, where camping is a federal offence with fines up to CHF 20'000⁸. And down at the lakes, Interlaken banned overnighting in vehicles in April 2025. Around this mountain, the tolerant plateau is the exception, not the rule.

What the maps say

I checked the official geodata at seven points across the massif, the Oberberghorn, the Loucherhorn, the Sägistal and the Sägistalsee among them. The result is unusually clean: no federal hunting-ban district, no Wildruhezone, no cantonal wildlife zone and no BLN object anywhere on the camp terrain⁹. The Schwarzhorn district with its CHF 20'000 federal offence starts further east on the Faulhorn-First line, verified as a positive control⁸.

The only seasonal layer nearby are Zutrittsverbot zones on the Grindelwald south-east flanks, closed from 1 December to 20 April, away from the ridge. Up here the decisive norms are the two communal texts, and only one of the two even exists.

Where you can legally sleep

• Berghotel Schynige Platte: the Dine and Sleep offer with the cog railway, booked via jungfrau.ch. The mountain to yourself after the last train, no tent needed.
• Berghotel Faulhorn (2'681 m, faulhorn.ch): further along the ridge route toward First, book ahead.
• Camping Oberei in Wilderswil (campingwilderswil.ch): the legal valley base next to the cog railway.
• TCS Camping Bönigen (camping.tcs.ch): down by the lake on the Bönigen side.
• The formal route: a written Gündlischwand exception under Art. 8 para. 2, one call to 033 855 24 86¹.

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, and on this ridge more than anywhere: the tolerance survives only as long as the alp personnel keep finding untouched grass in the morning. It is not legal text, but decency and common sense.

• No fire. An open fire has no place on a dry summer pasture. 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, the Sägistalsee included, 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 July 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.

Communal reglements, ownership and enforcement practice change, and Wilderswil's camping law is barely a year old. Before every tour, check the current sources yourself, ask the landowner or the commune, and follow instructions on site. 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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