Wild camping at the Tomasee

Wild camping at the Tomasee: the source of the Rhine, in a commune that bans camping

The Tomasee, in Romansh Lai da Tuma, is a cirque lake at 2'345 m in the commune of Tujetsch, Graubünden. The federal landscape inventory counts it as the source of the Rhine: the young Vorderrhein leaves the lake at its east end and drops through a narrow gorge to the valley floor of Plidutscha. Scree from the Piz Badus and the Rossbodenstock frames the cirque, the headwaters wander across a marshy plain at its west end, and the pastures round about are the cattle alp Alp Tuma. The Oberalp Pass, on the border with canton Uri, is 2.9 km away.⁵

Hikers come for the source, along a marked path on the north shore to the outlet at the east end. A new path from the Oberalp Pass to the Rheinquelle and the Maighelshütte is open; the old direct path is closed after a rockfall.⁷

Across the pass, Andermatt bans camping on its whole territory too, which the Lutersee report sets out. Graubünden leaves the question to its communes, as the Graubünden overview shows, and Tujetsch has answered it.

Tujetsch bans camping on all its ground

The rule is the commune's camping law. Tujetsch adopted its Lescha davart il parcar e campar sin intschess communal, the law on parking and camping on communal territory, at the assembly of 18 August 2023. It has been in force since 1 December 2023 and exists in Romansh only. Article 13 is the camping rule:¹

"Igl ei scumandau da campar sin igl entir intschess communal ordeifer las plazzas da campar che disponan d'ina lubientscha da menaschi."Lescha davart il parcar e campar sin intschess communal da Tujetsch (LPCT), art. 13 para. 1. In English: camping is prohibited on the entire communal territory outside campsites that hold an operating licence.

It covers the whole territory, with no altitude line and no exempt zone. The law's title and article 13 speak of "intschess communal", communal territory, and the commune's message to the assembly calls the article "in scamond general da campar sigl entir intschess communal", a general ban on camping on the entire territory.¹³ The ground around the lake is grazed as the Alp Tuma, and the commune's pasture regulation says its alps and pastures are commune property.⁴ Tujetsch's campsite is Camping Viva in Rueras.³

What it costs. The commune's fines list names camping outside the campsite at CHF 100 and charges it to the keeper of the vehicle; the law lets the council set fines up to CHF 500 (article 16). The message to the assembly says what the commune had in mind: caravans and campers parked on roads and car parks in forest and fields, at CHF 100 for a night.²³

Tent or bivvy bag. Article 2 defines a campsite as an area for tents or caravans, and the message talks about caravans and campers, so a tent is covered. A bivvy bag without a tent is not named. The ban's verb, campar, is the general one, and the commune calls the article a general ban. The text leaves the bivvy bag open, which is a gap and not a permission. If the answer matters to you, ask the commune before you go.¹³

Other communal acts add nothing for a tent at the lake. The building law of 2008 zones the campsite and lets the council allow tent camps for a limited time outside it (article 39). The forest regulation bans camping in forest (article 27), and there is no forest at 2'345 m. A revised building law goes to the assembly on 7 October 2026 and to the ballot on 29 November 2026; its draft article 90 repeats the ban outside licensed campsites and keeps two weeks as the limit for a temporary tent camp, leaving the details to the camping law.⁴⁸

The permit route: two weeks ahead, CHF 100, and an answer nobody has published

The exception is written into the same article. Article 13 paragraph 2 lets the Gemeindevorstand, the communal executive, permit camping outside the campsite for up to 14 days, for youth organisations, event organisers and "auters cass giustificai", other justified cases. Paragraph 3 bars permits that run against public or private interests and puts the stay at the camper's own risk. The fee is CHF 100, set by the commune's ordinance within the range of CHF 100 to 200 that paragraph 4 gives.¹²

How to ask. The commune publishes a request form headed "Campieren ausserhalb des Campingareals auf Gemeindegebiet von Tujetsch". It has to reach the Gemeindevorstand at least two weeks before the stay. It asks for the applicant ("Lager, Schule"), the number of people, the dates and the place, and for a map with the exact spot. Its conditions: clear and clean the ground before leaving, and use only the official fire places.³

What is unpublished. The form is framed for camps and schools, and the law names youth organisations and events. A single hiker's night is not among the examples, and the commune has not published how it decides such a request. So the permit is the lawful route, but it is one you ask for and wait to have answered, not one you can plan on.¹³

What the protection of the Rhine source does and does not do

The lake lies inside a protected landscape, and that protection does not ban a night. It is the federal inventory object BLN 1901 "Lai da Tuma", 1'108 ha, whose goals include keeping the source area of the Vorderrhein in its original state and keeping the quiet, the untouched character and the lack of development in most of it. An entry in the federal landscape inventory binds federal authorities when they fulfil federal tasks (NHG art. 6). It carries no rule and no fine for a person with a tent.⁵

No game reserve, wildlife rest zone or mire covers the lake. The Maighels mire landscape of national importance begins at the lake's east end; federal law there allows use that does not harm its typical character (NHG art. 23d) and has no camping rule. The nearest federal wildlife rest zone, Egerten-Rossboden in Uri, is 1.2 km away and binds only from 1 December to 30 April.⁵

The commune's zoning plan puts the lake in a landscape protection zone. The building law of 2008, the act the cadastre names as in force here, says nothing about camping beyond the campsite zone. The nearest nature protection zone is 0.2 ha and lies 744 m from the lake.⁴

Graubünden has no camping rule for the public. The camping article of its ordinance on hunting operations (JBV art. 13) binds hunters only. The lake lies in the cantonal bird sanctuary Cavradi, which bans hunting of the birds concerned and has no entry ban (VWSG art. 9 and 10). How to read these layers yourself: protected areas explained.⁶

The ground by the lake, and the driest patch near it

There is no level, dry ground right at the water. The gazetteer's point for the lake lies on the open water, 60 m from the nearest shore. The marsh of the headwaters fills the west end, scree fills the south side, the marked path and a stony bank run along the north shore, and the east end is polished rock with footpaths around the outlet.⁵

The flattest dry grass within reach is a patch among boulders at 46.63304 N, 8.66864 E (LV95 2'694'186 / 1'165'381), 2'349 m, about 6 degrees, 137 m west of the lake. It lies 30 m from the marked path and 31 m from a stream, on the cattle alp and inside the landscape protection zone, so everyone who walks to the source passes close by. If the commune permits a night, this is the spot to name on the form; look at the ground when you arrive and move if it is wet.⁴⁵

Where you sleep instead: the Maighelshütte, or the campsite in Rueras

Camping Viva, Via Prau Cumin 10, Rueras, is open until 18 October 2026. A tent for up to two people costs CHF 11 and each adult CHF 14, taxes included; 079 126 80 61, hallo@campingviva.ch. It is the commune's campsite, where a tent needs no permit.⁷

The Badushütte SAC, at 2'503 m and 540 m from the lake, has closed for the 2026 season and reopens in early July 2027; it has no winter room open to the public.⁷

General rules for wild camping

This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, at the Tomasee only with the commune's permit in hand. The basin is a cattle alp and the source area of the Rhine, so keep the camp small and leave nothing behind.

• 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, based on the official and public sources below. It does not replace legal advice and is not a binding statement by a public authority.

Communal rules, opening dates, prices and the weather change. Tujetsch's camping law was in force on 30 September 2026; a revised building law goes to a communal ballot on 29 November 2026. The law exists in Romansh only, and the Romansh text governs. The owner of the ground is taken from the commune's own regulation, not from the land register, which is not public. The ground by the lake was judged from official aerial imagery and the federal elevation model, not surveyed on site. 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 night. Anyone who spends the night outside bears responsibility for their own conduct and its consequences. 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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