Wild camping at the Siebenbrünnen

Wild camping at the Siebenbrünnen: Lenk's two camping rules

The Siebenbrünnen are in Lenk, and Lenk regulates tent nights twice. The springs rise on the Rezliberg alp at 46.41349 N, 7.49083 E, 1'445 m. The pasture and the Berghaus beside them are in Lenk too, and the nearest other commune, Adelboden, begins more than 3 km away. ^{1 4}

The police regulation bans a tent night on public ground. The Gemeindepolizeireglement, in force since 1 January 2008, says in art. 21 para. 1:

Auf öffentlichem Grund ist das Übernachten in Fahrzeugen und Zelten (Campieren) ausserhalb der speziell dafür vorgesehenen Flächen verboten.

Sleeping in vehicles and tents on public ground is banned outside designated areas. The communal police can allow exceptions in justified cases (para. 2). Breaches are fined up to CHF 5'000 (art. 50), with a warning possible in light cases. That is the ceiling for the offence, not the price of a night. ¹

The camping regulation of 1969 reaches every other piece of ground. The Reglement über das Campingwesen, adopted by the Gemeindeversammlung on 1 November 1969 and approved by the cantonal government on 16 December 1969, says in art. 6:

Das vereinzelte gelegentliche Campieren abseits von bewilligten Campingplätzen, ist nur mit Zustimmung des Grundeigentümers und der Gemeindebehörde gestattet

An isolated, occasional night away from approved campsites is allowed only with the consent of the landowner and of the commune; the Gemeinderat sets how long it may last. Breaches are fined up to CHF 200 (art. 25). The commune still publishes it among its regulations, and the police regulation reserves it (art. 44 para. 3). ^{1 2}

Both texts are written for tents and vehicles. Art. 21 names "Fahrzeugen und Zelten", and art. 2 of the 1969 regulation defines camping as staying temporarily in "Zelten, Wohnwagen, Wohnschiffen oder ähnlichen beweglichen und unbeweglichen Einrichtungen". A night in a bivvy bag is not named, and Lenk has published no reading of either rule for it. That is a point about wording, not a permission: the landowner can still say no, and the ground described below does not change. ^{1 2}

The springs rise at a cliff foot, and the flat ground is farm pasture

The springs are not a place to put a tent. Seven branches of the Simme come out of a limestone wall at the head of the valley, 1'445 m up. Within 30 m of the spring point the median slope is 35.7 degrees, and 74 percent of that ground is steeper than 30 degrees. The nearest 10 by 10 m window under 8 degrees is 85 m north-west and 33 m lower. ^{4 6}

The open flat ground is the alp pasture beside the Berghaus. A level meadow of about 1.3 hectares lies at 1'403 m, 313 m north of the springs and 85 m from the Berghaus buildings. A marked hiking path runs within 10 m of it. The Allemann family, who run the Berghaus, write that their cows graze the Staldenweid and Rezliberg alps in turn until October. A pasture with cattle and a path is farmed ground, not a pitch, and it lies far below the tree line, which the Lenk-Simmental tourist office puts by the Fluhseeli at about 2'045 m. ^{4 7 8} Stay on the marked path across the pasture: art. 28 para. 2 of the police regulation bans walking over farmland without right during the growing season. ¹

The aerial photo shows the same picture. The cliff foot lies in deep shadow, with a spray fan falling into a stand of spruce, and the clear grass begins about 100 m north-west. ⁴

Whose ground it is and who to ask

The cadastre names no owner. The springs, the Berghaus and the pasture are part of Lenk parcel 60, 30.5 hectares, and the official extract does not say who owns it. The federal land-use data show one summer pasture there with a register number and no name. Whether the ground is private, held by an alp cooperative or public decides which of the two rules bites first: art. 21 reaches only public ground, art. 6 reaches all ground. ^{1 3}

Ask both doors before you carry a tent up. The commune decides its half of art. 6 and any art. 21 exception: Gemeindeverwaltung Lenk, +41 33 736 32 00, info@lenkgemeinde.ch, Kronenplatz 3b, 3775 Lenk. The Allemann family run the Berghaus Siebenbrunnen and keep cows on the Rezliberg; their restaurant line is +41 77 457 40 42. They are the first people to ask who owns the pasture, though the cadastre does not make them the owner. ^{2 7}

What the maps add: no reserve, but springs, a fen and water protection

No federal or cantonal reserve covers the point. The springs, the Berghaus and the pasture lie outside every federal game reserve and wildlife rest zone, outside the federal landscape inventory (BLN), the mire and floodplain inventories and the national and regional park perimeters. Canton Bern has no general camping ban; its wildlife-protection ordinance bans free camping only inside the objects it lists, and the nearest listed object is 2'968 m away. The nearest cantonal nature reserve is 1'990 m away. ^{4 5}

The commune protects the springs themselves. The building regulation lists "Siebenbrunnen" among the protected waterfalls and springs (art. 32 and annex 3): the water is to be kept as it is, and interventions in the water regime and withdrawals that change its appearance are banned. The text names no tent and no access rule. The whole area lies in the landscape-protection area Wildstrubel / Rägeboldshore, whose article regulates building only. ³

Three things on the pasture side deserve distance. A fen of regional importance begins 128 m from the meadow. The protection zones of the Rezlisbergli drinking-water spring begin 148 m from the Berghaus and 158 m from the meadow. And the meadow is part of a working alp. None of these is a camping ban in the texts above; together they mean the pasture is not open ground for a tent. ³

Higher up: the Fluhseeli, where the forest ends

The tree line is reached at the Fluhseeli, 2'045 m, about 600 m above the springs. The tourist office puts the tree line right by the lake, and the Fluhseehütte stands beside it at 2'049 m, 708 m east-south-east of the springs. The same two Lenk rules apply there, the hut stands on Lenk parcel 51, and its owner is not published either. ^{4 6 8}

The level ground by the hut is mostly the lake. The flattest ground on the terrain model, about 29'000 m2 at 2'045 m and 190 m south-south-west of the hut, is the lake surface. The dry shelves are small: 252 m2 under 8 degrees at 2'059 m, 93 m east of the hut, and 784 m2 at 2'045 m, 149 m west-south-west of it. No federal inventory, no Bernese wildlife-protection area and no nature reserve covers the hut; the nearest nature reserve is 2'256 m away. ^{4 5}

This is a different destination with its own question, and the hut is the bed there: a tent by the lake would need the same two yeses as at the springs. ^{1 2 8}

Where to sleep: the Berghaus, the Fluhseehütte and Lenk

Berghaus Siebenbrunnen, 1'402 m, 394 m north of the springs. The tourist office lists a mountain inn where you can also spend the night, open only in the alpine summer. Its listing shows daily 11:00 to 17:00 from 21 September to 18 October 2026 and says "closed in winter, all information without guarantee". Call +41 77 457 40 42 to ask for a bed; the listing gives no bed count or price. ⁷

Fluhseehütte, 2'049 m, 708 m east-south-east of the springs and 600 m higher. The hut of the Fluhsee association is unstaffed, with 14 places, a wood stove for heating and cooking, and water from the fountain or the lake; you bring your food. The association winterises it from the end of October, so ask Lenk-Simmental Tourismus (+41 33 736 35 35) about the hut's state before you go. ⁸

In Lenk: the Hotel Restaurant Simmenfälle, +41 33 733 10 89, is open daily and expects to close for the season around 9 November 2026, weather and operations permitting. Camping Hasenweide, +41 33 733 26 47, takes tents until 1 November 2026: a small tent pitch is CHF 5.00 plus CHF 6.40 per adult and the tourist tax. ⁹

Getting there and what to bring

The walk from the Simmenfälle takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. The road ends in the valley, five kilometres behind Lenk village: walk, or take the bus to the Simmenfälle and walk from there. The tourism page describes the springs as the end of the walk and does not mention camping. ⁶

Take a gas stove and leave open fire out of it: Bern lists the forest-fire danger as low in the Oberland on 8 October 2026, but a fire has no place beside protected springs or on a grazed pasture. Keep dogs on the lead and take every scrap of waste down. SAC's guidance on camping and bivouacking applies to any night you do arrange. ¹⁰

General rules for wild camping

For a night you have arranged with the owner and the commune, or any day at the springs, keep to these.

• 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 journalistic assessment uses official sources and operator pages checked on 8 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and we call on no one to break applicable law.

Lenk's regulations name tents and vehicles; a bivvy bag is not mentioned, and no ruling reads the texts either way. The owner of the ground is unpublished. Opening dates, availability and conditions change: confirm them with the operator before setting out.

Frequently asked questions

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