Wild camping at Tanzbödeli

Wild camping at Tanzbödeli: apply before the hike

A planned tent night on Tanzbödeli needs a lawful exception to Lauterbrunnen's camping rule. The municipality's Camping-Reglement took effect on 1 January 2025. Art. 2(1) defines camping as temporary staying and overnighting in tents, caravans, motorhomes, mobile homes or similar accommodation. One small tent, just from dusk to dawn, fits the words about tents and overnighting. The duration alone does not take it outside the rule. ¹

Art. 3(1) begins with the general rule: camping outside campsites is not permitted. It then exempts occasional camping on private ground for private purposes, with the owner responsible for the necessary hygiene facilities. This is a real exception for a genuine private arrangement. It is not an open invitation to use any alpine grass, and passing access on a hiking trail supplies neither consent nor toilet facilities. ¹

"Das Campieren ausserhalb von Campingplätzen ist grundsätzlich nicht gestattet."

For this exposed meadow, the concrete route is Art. 3(2): the Sicherheitskommission can issue an exception permit after an application, with the consent of the landowner and the responsible tourism association. Under Art. 3(3), the permit carries hygiene, cleanliness, peace and order conditions and is limited in time. It can name the approved ground and the night. Have that decision before putting up the tent; a pending request or silence is not a yes. ¹

Contact Marcel Sarro, secretary of the Sicherheitskommission: marcel.sarro@lauterbrunnen.ch. The municipal office is reachable on +41 33 856 50 50, or gemeinde@lauterbrunnen.ch. Ask for the Art. 3(2) camping exception, rather than a general opinion about bivouacking in Switzerland. Give the plateau coordinates, your date, group size and shelter, and ask how the owner and tourism association are to be involved. ²

The municipal rule applies high above the village as well as on the valley floor. The SAC's advice for quiet nights above the treeline is useful mountain practice, but the SAC expressly directs campers to cantonal and communal rules. Height does not cancel this regulation. The Swiss wild-camping overview explains how these levels fit together. ^{1 7}

The meadow is real; the permission is individual

The destination is a small grassy plateau above the treeline, not a roadside viewpoint. Berner Wanderwege places Tanzbödeli at 46.527033, 7.887781, approximately 2'132 m. Swisstopo writes Tanzbedeli. The map's name label lies close to the steep northern edge, while the viewpoint sits on the usable part of the meadow. These are two references to the same destination. ³

The plateau has roughly level grass with stones and hollows. At the viewpoint, the local ground is about 6 degrees; the surrounding 30 m has a median slope of about 9 degrees. A small patch nearby is gentler. The slopes fall sharply beyond the rim, especially north and east. Inspect any approved site in daylight, keep away from the edge and leave the footpath and the viewpoint free for other walkers. This is exposed mountain ground, with wind and lightning risk, not sheltered campground infrastructure. ³

The official cadastre places this point on Lauterbrunnen parcel 960, EGRID CH188046352509. Its applicable base zone is agricultural land, overlain by a landscape-care area and water-protection area Au. The landscape-care rule, Baureglement Art. 41(3), keeps the landscape open and controls buildings, installations and terrain changes. It does not itself grant a tent night. A temporary camping decision still comes through Art. 3. ⁵

The village's historical trail identifies Bergschaft Schilt und Busen as the owner of Schiltalp and Busenalp. That is an institutional lead for the surrounding alp, not a current land-register identification of every square metre of the plateau. Bern now makes current owner data available through GRUDIS public with an AGOV login. Ask the commission to identify who can consent for parcel 960; do not use an old alp resident's name as today's permission. ⁶

There is no published standing tent arrangement or nightly camping fee for Tanzbödeli. A toilet-free backpack is not an answer to the regulation's hygiene condition. Include waste and toilet arrangements in the application, and ask whether this particular site can be approved. If the owner or commission refuses, take the booked-bed option below. The useful condition here is the actual decision for your night, not a promise that every application succeeds. ^{1 2}

Outside the reserve does not mean outside the municipal rule

Tanzbödeli is outside the mapped nature reserve of the back valley. The nearest Hinteres Lauterbrunnental nature-reserve boundary is about 645 m south-east of the viewpoint, measured in a straight line. Its protection decree of 21 June 1960 remains linked by the canton. Ziff. 5(e) prohibits fires, camping and pitching tents inside that reserve. A permit for Tanzbödeli would cover the place named in the permit, not a later move into the back valley. ⁴

Ziff. 7(b) reserves exceptions for the execution of Hochtouren, high mountaineering tours within the reserve. That is about the actual mountaineering undertaking, not any hike which reaches an alpine meadow. Walking to Tanzbödeli for an overnight view supplies no automatic reserve exception. Ordinary breaches of Bern's nature-protection prohibitions can fall under NSchG Art. 57, with a statutory range of CHF 100 to 50'000. That is a separate reserve sanction, not a fixed Tanzbödeli ticket. ⁴

Bern's nearby Breithorn wildlife protection area starts roughly 547 m south-east. Its object rules concern hunting, dogs on leads and motor vehicles; its sheet carries no camping or bivouacking sentence. The wildlife and nature perimeters are different and must be read with their own measures. Neither perimeter reaches the Tanzbödeli viewpoint. ⁴

At the plateau, the federal maps show no game reserve, federal wildlife rest zone, nationally designated park, protected wetland or dry-meadow inventory, forest reserve or binding military perimeter. The BLN landscape inventory does include it, as part of the northern Berner Hochalpen and Aletsch-Bietschhorn-Gebiet. BLN guides public planning and protection decisions; it is not a separate camping prohibition for this point. The operative overnight rule here is communal. ³

The descent towards Obersteinberg and the longer loop into the back valley cross changing protections. Stay on the marked route and respect the reserve's restrictions where its perimeter begins. The commune remains Lauterbrunnen: shifting the tent to another nearby grassy shoulder does not remove Art. 3. For the surrounding rules, see the Lauterbrunnen report and the Obers Sulsseeli report. ^{1 4 9}

A sleeping bag is not a published permission

The municipal definition explicitly catches the small tent. Its words are temporary staying and overnighting in tents and similar accommodation. Calling a tent a bivouac does not change its material. The same short stay that is physically possible on the meadow still needs the exception route explained above. ¹

A person in an uncovered sleeping bag is not expressly named. The definition does include similar accommodation, and Lauterbrunnen publishes no interpretation confirming that a planned tentless night on this plateau is exempt. Give the exact shelter type when applying and ask for an explicit answer. A bivvy bag is not being offered here as a guaranteed way round Art. 3, and a planned view-seeking night is different from an unforeseen emergency. ^{1 2}

Art. 24(2) sets a fine of up to CHF 5'000 for breaches of Art. 3, unless federal or cantonal criminal provisions apply. This is the municipal statutory ceiling, not the normal or inevitable price of one night. The linked 2010 Camping-Verordnung still prints CHF 200 for camping on public ground and cites the old Art. 4. The 2025 regulation repealed the 1972 parent regulation and moved the operative outside-campsite rule to Art. 3. That older tariff does not establish an automatic CHF 200 charge under today's article. ¹

The competent authority may order restoration of the lawful state under Art. 24(1); practically, that means a tent can have to come down. A friendly answer from a tourism desk is useful coordination, but the formal Art. 3(2) decision comes from the commission and also needs the owner's consent. Follow the approved time, place and conditions, and keep its decision with you. ^{1 2}

Where to sleep when permission does not come through

Berghotel Obersteinberg is the direct summer bed for this hike. It stands at 1'778 m, below Tanzbödeli, with 12 double rooms and a 30-person dormitory. The operator publishes a June-to-September season and takes reservations only by telephone, +41 33 855 20 33. Confirm your date and price before walking up. The hotel has no electricity; bring a torch, slippers and a sheet or silk sleeping liner for the dormitory, plus cash in CHF. ⁸

Reach Obersteinberg by descending the Tanzbödeli spur back to Busenbrand and following the marked mountain path towards the hotel. Gimmelwald's official hiking directions describe a narrow section through rocks and require sure-footedness. Arrange the bed before the ascent and leave enough daylight for the descent. A hut booking is permission for the booked bed, not for pitching beside the building. ^{8 9}

The Gimmelwald tourism route is normally described for mid-June to the end of September. Its full loop via Tanzbödeli, Obersteinberg, Wilde Egg, Schürboden and Trachsellauenen takes about 6 to 8 hours; Tanzbödeli is a roughly 45-minute return spur from the junction. These are outing estimates, not a reason to descend an exposed path in the dark. Outside the normal season, snow or ice can change the feasibility of the entire plan. ⁹

For an October trip, Obersteinberg is outside its published season. Use Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen as the established year-round camping base and treat Tanzbödeli as a day hike. The campsite is at Weid 406; contact +41 33 856 20 10 or book through its operator. Confirm that the tent pitch or accommodation you need is available on your date. Its toilet and waste facilities are part of an approved camping site, which solves the overnight problem without depending on a meadow exception. ⁸

Keep the route separate from the sleeping decision: first secure the lawful night, then choose the hike for the weather and your experience. An approved camping place or booked bed lets you turn around if the upper trail is icy. A last-minute walk higher into the reserve makes neither the night nor the descent simpler.

General rules for wild camping

If the commission approves a night on the meadow, follow its conditions and these mountain rules:

• 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 assessment uses the public rules and geodata available on 6 October 2026. It is not legal advice. The commission decides individual applications; neither the landowner's consent nor a permit has been obtained for the reader. Current parcel-owner identities require Bern's authenticated land-register service. The scope of a planned tentless overnight stay is not settled by a published local interpretation.

Check current conditions, restrictions and the permit before setting out. Follow signs and lawful instructions on site, protect pasture and take all waste down. Hikebeast, Leon Helg and Saftladen GmbH accept no liability for decisions made from this text and call on no one to break the law. An unforeseen emergency bivouac is a different situation from a planned overnight stay.

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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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