Wild camping in Switzerland, what the SAC rule actually allows

What does the SAC say exactly?

In 2018 the Swiss Alpine Club published an information sheet, "Camping and bivouacking in the Swiss mountains", which to this day is the central reference for all bivouac trips in the Swiss mountains¹. The sheet is not a law. It is the mountain-sport community's reading of how federal law and the cantonal regulations are to be understood in practice. Hut wardens, gamekeepers and the police take their cue from it, which is why it counts as the standard.

The SAC sets out four key points. First, single overnight stays above the treeline are unproblematic in principle, as long as nature and the environment are treated considerately. Second, protected areas are excluded, where the site-specific regulations apply. Third, the camp is to be set up so that no water is contaminated; for relieving yourself, the SAC gives a guide value of at least 50 metres' distance from any body of water. Fourth, on private land and for multi-day tent camps, the consent of the landowner must be obtained; for a single bivouac above the treeline, by contrast, the access right of Civil Code (ZGB) Art. 699 applies.

What the SAC does not say is at least as important. It does not grant a "permission". It cannot, because bivouacking is not regulated in federal law at all. The SAC merely interprets what is tolerable. If a gamekeeper or a cantonal police officer decides otherwise, he or she has the law on their side, not the SAC.

Where does the treeline run in the Swiss Alps?

"Above the treeline" is the central condition of the SAC rule. It is not the same everywhere. On the northern side of the Alps, that is the Bernese Oberland, Central Switzerland, Glarus Alps, the treeline typically lies between 1,600 and 1,800 metres²¹⁸. On the southern side of the Alps, in Ticino, it lies similarly low to the northern side, mostly between 1,700 and 1,900 metres. Both edges of the Alps are wet, which is why the forest does not stand any higher there. The treeline only climbs higher in the dry, sunny central-alpine valleys: in the sheltered Engadine up to 2,300 metres, in Valais similarly. It reaches its maximum value of around 2,500 metres in the central-alpine valleys of Valais and the Engadine, where the solar radiation is strongest.

The treeline is not a sharp line but a gradual transition zone, in which larch, Swiss stone pine and mountain pine get smaller, bend crooked and finally stop. In practice this krummholz belt often spans 100 to 200 metres of altitude. Anyone standing on the slope with no more trees above them is above it. Anyone who can still see crooked larches is in the transition zone, and therefore, by the SAC's reading, formally still below it.

That is the most common mistake in practice. Bivouacking at 1,700 metres in an alpine pasture among pine remnants is not "above the treeline", even if no forest happens to stand there. Anyone who wants to be sure looks at the topographic map and picks a spot above 1,900 metres on the northern side, above 2,000 metres in Ticino, and above 2,500 metres in the central-alpine valleys of Valais and the Engadine.

The law: no bivouac act, but Civil Code Art. 699

Switzerland has no federal act that explicitly regulates bivouacking or wild camping³. That is often overlooked. There is only what is not prohibited, plus a general access provision in the Civil Code.

Civil Code (ZGB) Art. 699, "entering forest and pasture", allows any person to enter forest and pasture to the locally customary extent, as long as the competent authority does not issue specific, clearly delimited prohibitions in the interest of crops⁴. The Federal Supreme Court reads Art. 699 as a right of access and passage, not as a right to stay overnight. A single night spent outdoors is therefore not a statutory entitlement but a tolerated practice, as long as it leaves no lasting traces and no conflicting regulations apply. The SAC's tolerance rests on this access right plus that toleration.

Policing law in Switzerland is a cantonal matter; in nature protection the federation has the framework competence through the NHG, JSG and USG, but enforcement and additional protected areas lie with the cantons. Every canton can set a prohibition or a restriction in its own policing act or nature-protection act. Ticino, Valais and Graubünden regulate the most clearly on top of that, but they are not the only cantons with their own restrictions (above all for tenting). For a single night above the treeline, outside the protected areas, the SAC practice rule applies as the default across the rest of the country.

The SAC puts it clearly: bivouacking above the treeline is not a general permission but a toleration that can be restricted again by protected-area regulations, cantonal rules or the landowner's wishes⁵.

Where it does not work: the four protected-area categories

Four categories of protected area lift the bivouac tolerance. Anyone who wants to bivouac checks beforehand on map.geo.admin.ch with the layers "wildlife rest zones", "Federal inventory of the federal hunting ban districts", "Swiss National Park" and "Federal inventory of landscapes and natural monuments (BLN)" whether the planned spot is free⁶.

Three cantons that regulate more strictly

Above all three cantons, Ticino, Valais and Graubünden, regulate bivouacking or wild camping beyond the SAC rule. Anyone who wants to bivouac there also looks at the cantonal and municipal law.

Ticino. In Ticino, wild camping outside authorised campsites is prohibited in principle under the Legge sui campeggi (LCamp Art. 2). The act does, however, explicitly exempt the mountain bivouac ("fa eccezione… l'attendamento a scopo di bivacco in montagna"). A single night above the treeline is therefore covered by the SAC tolerance in Ticino too. Fines under LCamp Art. 27 formally lie between CHF 50 and CHF 10,000, in practice in the low three-figure range for individual cases. In heavily frequented valleys such as the Verzasca valley, municipalities and authorities step in over the summer with awareness campaigns and occasional fines, above all for campers on parking lots¹⁹¹¹.

Valais. The canton of Valais permits the bivouac above the treeline under the SAC rule, but individual municipalities have introduced municipality-wide camping bans. Documented are Zermatt (Mattertal) and Leuk; at photo hotspots such as the Stellisee above Zermatt, fines of 200 CHF per tent are issued¹². The exact rule is set out in the respective municipal regulations, not in the cantonal act. Anyone heading to Valais checks the municipal website beforehand or asks at the tourist office.

Graubünden. The Swiss National Park in any case, that is federal regulation. Alongside it, individual municipalities have their own camping bans: Pontresina (which covers the Val Roseg, a popular photo valley) and Bever, where a municipality-wide camping ban was issued in 1962 and in 1973 the whole Val Bever was declared a rest zone¹³. In the Engadine above the treeline, the SAC rule otherwise applies.

In many other cantons there is no cantonal rule that prohibits the single bivouac above the treeline; there the SAC practice rule applies as the default. For tenting, however, cantons such as Bern or Vaud also have their own restrictions. Obwalden has an explicit cantonal permission for camping once for one night (Act on Camping), which does not, however, apply in protected areas. In towns and on the valley floor (such as the city of Bern), municipal fines for wild camping can run up to 2,000 CHF.

What else applies: fire, rubbish, drones

Even where bivouacking is tolerated, three further rules apply that take effect independently of the bivouac right.

Fire. Open fires above the treeline are formally not generally prohibited, but problematic in practice. Drought, fire-hazard levels and wildlife peace make a fire irresponsible in most cases. Gas stoves are not a fire in the legal sense and are fine. From fire-hazard level 4 the cantons issue fire bans in forest and near forest, and with absolute fire bans (level 5 in many cantons) also in the open. Gas stoves are usually exempt, provided they are used tip-proof on a fireproof surface, but individual cantons may also prohibit gas stoves near vegetation under absolute bans; that varies by canton. Current level on waldbrandgefahr.ch¹⁴.

Rubbish. The federal Environmental Protection Act (USG) requires that every piece of waste (including organic waste such as food scraps, compostables and toilet paper) is disposed of correctly¹⁵. Pack in, pack out is not a friendly request but federal law. Anyone who leaves rubbish lying in the forest or on the alp risks a fine under the cantonal policing act, in most cases 100 to 300 CHF.

Drones. Drones are prohibited in the Swiss National Park, in the hunting ban districts and in wildlife rest zones. Above 120 metres above ground there is a permit requirement from the FOCA (open category under EU 2019/947, in Switzerland since 1 January 2023)¹⁶²⁰. Anyone launching a drone for a photo at the bivouac spot checks beforehand on map.geo.admin.ch with the "drone restrictions" layer whether the spot is free.

What happens if you do not follow the rules

In most cases the first reaction of a gamekeeper or a forester patrol is a calm request to move on. Anyone who packs their gear and leaves gets off with a warning. Fines are issued for repeat offences, for fire pits, for rubbish or for a spot in a protected area.

The amount varies by canton, offence and gamekeeper. The Beobachter gives a range of typically around 200 CHF in most cantons (e.g. Lauterbrunnen, maximum 200 CHF), with higher penalties in the city of Bern (up to 2,000 CHF) and in Ticino (theoretically up to 10,000 CHF under LCamp Art. 27)¹⁷. In the Swiss National Park the standard fine typically sits around 200 CHF, more serious violations higher. Confiscating camping gear is legally possible, but rare in practice.

Anyone who follows all the rules, that is a single night, above the treeline, no protected areas, no fire, no rubbish, no noise, observes the cantonal rule, has exactly one encounter with a gamekeeper in five years of spot research: "All good, have a nice evening."

In short

Bivouacking in Switzerland is fine in most cases above the treeline for a single night. There is no bivouac act, only a tolerance that rests on Civil Code (ZGB) Art. 699 plus the SAC code of conduct. Four protected-area categories lift the tolerance, three cantons regulate more strictly. Anyone who checks the map on map.geo.admin.ch before the trip, sets up camp after sunset, breaks it down before sunrise, keeps 50 metres' distance from water, makes no fire and takes their rubbish with them is on the safe side.

If you are looking for spots in Switzerland where all of this fits together, that is a place above the treeline, no protected area, walking time and photo window known: that is exactly what is in the Hikebeast Swiss Gems Guide.

Common questions

Leon Helg

Swiss outdoor photographer and filmmaker. Has hiked in the Swiss mountains forever, has been mapping for Hikebeast for five years, 141 spots documented. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

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