Wild camping on the Unterer Segnesboden
The Unterer Segnesboden, Plaun Segnas Sut in Romansh, is the flat plain at 2'094 m above Flims. Flims bans camping on its whole territory, and its one bivouac exception leaves out exactly this ground, a federal floodplain and mire landscape. The lawful night out here is a booked one.
What do these mean?
Illegal A specific rule bans it, usually with a fine, and it can be enforced. Sleep somewhere else.
Not allowed No real place to camp here. A gated site, a developed area, or nowhere sensible to lie down, even if no fine is attached.
It depends You can sleep here, but there's a condition first: ask the landowner, book a spot, stay inside a set zone, or use a bivvy instead of a tent. The report says which.
Tolerated No rule clearly allows or bans it, but a single night is accepted in practice and nobody enforces against it. Normal for high bivouacs above the treeline.
Legal Camping one night is fine here. Either a rule allows it, or we checked every law and found nothing against it. Still: pitch late, leave early, no trace.
Wild camping on the Unterer Segnesboden: a floodplain at 2'094 m above Flims
Wild camping on the Unterer Segnesboden means a night on the lower of the two Segnes plains above Flims, in the canton of Graubünden. The national map calls it Plaun Segnas Sut, Romansh for the lower Segnes plain, and puts the name at WGS84 46.87466 / 9.23666 (LV95 2'737'059 / 1'193'074), at 2'094 m. The upper plain, the Oberer Segnesboden or Plaun Segnas Sura, lies about 1.4 km to the north-east. The lower plain is entirely Flims ground; the commune of Laax begins 434 m south-west of the pin.5
The plain is the flat floor of a cirque, and the federal inventory calls it a textbook one: steep walls, a level floor and a sill of ice-smoothed rock closing it off. Streams feed the basin from three sides, and the glacier streams wind across the floor in countless arms, always changing course. At every snowmelt the gravel fan that comes down from the upper plain spills over the edge of the fen beside it.5
It is busy by day and easy to reach. Since December 2024 the FlemX gondola from Flims has stopped at Segnes, about 840 m from the pin, and the Segneshütte stands on the plain about 810 m to the south-south-east, with the visitor pavilion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona beside it. The old chairlifts from Flims to Foppa and Naraus made their last run in March 2023. There is no public road, only an alp track across the plain.510
Would anyone sleep here if it were allowed? Yes, and people do. The plain is almost level, at 2'094 to 2'096 m, and far above the tree line: no forest grows on the plain or its rim, and the rangers who patrol it find tents at dawn. But it is the wettest and most fragile ground in the basin. The pin lies 3 m from a stream arm, in riparian vegetation to which the federal floodplain vegetation map gives a very high conflict potential, and the fen of national importance begins 92 m away. The dry gravel bars that look like pitches are ground the streams keep moving over, and a thunderstorm in the night can flood them.59
Flims bans camping on its whole territory
The rule that applies on the plain is communal. The Gastwirtschaftsgesetz der Gemeinde Flims, the commune's hospitality act, was adopted at the ballot box on 28 November 1999 and has been in force since 1 January 2000. It regulates permits, opening hours and fees in the hospitality trade and, in its own words, "das Campingwesen in der Gemeinde Flims", camping in the commune (Art. 1). Its Art. 17, headed "Camping", has two sentences:1
"Das Campieren ausserhalb von bewilligten Campingplätzen ist verboten. Über Ausnahmen kann der Gemeinderat befinden."Gastwirtschaftsgesetz der Gemeinde Flims, Art. 17 "Camping", in force since 1 January 2000. In English: camping outside authorised campsites is prohibited; the council may decide on exceptions.
There is no altitude, no season and no zone in it: the ban covers the whole commune, from the village to the Segnes cirque. The commune says the same on its own FAQ page. Apart from the campsite in Flims Waldhaus, camping is prohibited on the whole communal territory, and Flims voters approved the ban at the ballot box by a large majority.1
What a breach costs. Under Art. 18 the council punishes offences against the act within the cantonal hospitality act, and that act sets the limit: breaches of cantonal or communal hospitality law are fined by the commune, up to CHF 10'000 (GWG, BR 945.100, Art. 11b para. 1). That is a ceiling, not a price list. Flims publishes no fixed fine for camping, and no published case shows what a camper on the Segnesboden has paid.12
The exception clause. The second sentence of Art. 17 lets the council decide on exceptions. The council of 1999 is today's Gemeindevorstand, the executive, which the 2015 constitution makes the commune's administrative and police authority (Art. 41). Flims publishes no practice for such exceptions, and on this plain federal law obliges the authorities to keep recreation in line with the protection aims, so do not count on a permit for a private night here. Questions about the rule go to the Gemeindeverwaltung Flims, +41 81 928 29 29, gemeinde@gemeindeflims.ch.16
The verb, for anyone with a bivvy bag. Art. 17 bans "Campieren" and does not define it. A tent is plainly caught. Whether a night in a bivvy bag without a tent counts as camping has never been tested, and the wording alone leaves room for doubt. What settles it at this pin is everything around the wording: the one bivouac tolerance that Flims Laax publishes excludes this ground, and the commune is writing the bivouac into the ban by name. Both follow below. A bivvy bag is no way round the ban here.138
The one exception, and why it stops at this plain
Flims Laax, the destination organisation for Flims, Laax and Falera, publishes the one exception there is, on its camping page:3
"In der Destination Flims Laax ist das Wildcampen verboten. Lediglich auf dem Gemeindegebiet Flims darfst du im Rahmen einer Mehrtages-Hochtour biwakieren. Strikte Sperrzonen sind dabei Naturschutzgebiete, Naturpärke, Jagdbanngebiete, Wildruhezonen sowie Auen- und Moorlandschaften."Flims Laax, camping page, read on 26 September 2026. In English: wild camping is prohibited in the destination Flims Laax; only on the territory of the commune of Flims may you bivouac as part of a multi-day high tour; strict no-go zones are nature reserves, nature parks, game reserves, wildlife rest zones and floodplain and mire landscapes.
The Unterer Segnesboden is three of those zones at once. The pin lies inside federal floodplain no. 1316 "Plaun Segnas Sut", an alpine alluvial plain of 51 hectares, all of it in Flims; inside federal mire landscape no. 359 "Plaun Segnas Sut", 207 hectares; and inside the communal nature protection zone of the same name, which Flims drew in 2002 over the fen of national importance and the floodplain. The floodplain's edge is 117 m from the pin, the mire landscape's 274 m. The destination's own link for the no-go zones opens the federal map on this area, with the floodplain and fen layers switched on.357
The English version of the same page renders "Moorlandschaften" as "moraine landscapes". The German means mire landscapes, and the Segnesboden is one of national importance.35
The condition would not fit anyway. The exception covers a bivouac "im Rahmen einer Mehrtages-Hochtour", within a multi-day high tour. A night on a plain that the gondola reaches from Flims is not what that describes. And even a genuine multi-day tour does not open a floodplain or a mire landscape: the same sentence names them as strict no-go zones.310
The destination's rules for the plain say the same. On its page about the Tectonic Arena Sardona, Flims Laax lists conduct rules for the Segnesboden: use only signposted paths, take your rubbish home, keep dogs on the lead, "Campieren nur auf Campingplätzen erlaubt", camping only at campsites, and light fires only at official fireplaces. "So schützen wir die sensible Moorlandschaft", that is how we protect the sensitive mire landscape. It is phrased as a request, "bitten wir dich", and it matches Art. 17.41
Floodplain, mire landscape, nature zone: what binds whom
The federal inventories bind the authorities, not you. The floodplain ordinance says its objects "sollen ungeschmälert erhalten werden", are to be preserved undiminished, and has the cantons ensure that recreation is in line with the protection aim (Art. 4 para. 1, Art. 5 para. 2 lit. c). The mire-landscape ordinance does the same for tourism and recreation (Art. 5 para. 2 lit. e), and the federal nature protection act leaves it to the cantons to make the protection aims concrete and enforce them (NHG, Art. 23c para. 2). None of the three contains a rule addressed to a hiker, and none mentions camping.6
The canton puts them into practice through zoning. In Graubünden that happens in the communal zoning plan. On the Flims plan, approved by the cantonal government in 2003, the pin lies in a nature protection zone with the same outline as the floodplain, and in a landscape protection zone carrying the mire-landscape perimeter. Cantonal planning law bans new buildings, drainage and fertilising in nature protection zones (KRG, Art. 33 para. 2) and leaves mire landscapes to federal law (Art. 34); it says nothing about a night outside. In March 2026 Flims voters adopted a revision of the mire landscape with a regulation of protection aims. It is waiting for cantonal approval and has no camping or access rule either: visitor steering is meant to do that work.7
So the rule that binds a visitor is the communal one, Art. 17. The protection layers decide where the destination's exception does not reach.137
Damage is a separate matter. Destroying or seriously damaging a protected biotope is a federal offence, and negligence is punishable too (NHG, Art. 24). Where the path runs along the fen, it is fenced off with tape and wire at the start of each season, and boards on the fence point visitors to a no-entry rule. Stay out of it.69
Other layers at the pin. The plain lies in the cantonal plant protection area Flimserstein, where picking, digging up or pulling out up to five plants carries a fixed fine of CHF 400; the destination asks you not to pick flowers and to stay on the path. It lies within the UNESCO World Heritage Site Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, which comes with conduct requests, not rules, and within a geotope of the federal inventory, which has no rule for visitors. There is no federal game reserve within 4 km and no BLN landscape, and there is no wildlife rest zone at the pin: the nearest begins about 1.6 km away and applies from 20 December to 30 April.457
Laax, next door. The commune boundary runs 434 m south-west of the pin, and Laax bans camping without a permit from its executive as well; the Sogn Martin report sets out that rule. Crossing the line changes nothing. How the levels fit together across the country is in the national overview.5
A stricter law is on the way
Flims has no police law yet, and it is writing one. The draft of its Gesetz über öffentliche Ruhe, Ordnung und Sicherheit, the police law, was open for consultation from 1 to 31 August 2026 and drew numerous responses; the vote is planned for 29 November 2026, and the law would come into force on acceptance (Art. 62). Its Art. 23, "Camping und Biwakierverbot", bans "das Campieren und das Biwakieren" on the whole commune outside authorised campsites and the camping zone, names spending the night as well, and has no exception clause. Fines would run from CHF 50 to 5'000, fixed fines from CHF 50 to 500 (Art. 53 and 54), and Art. 17 of the hospitality act would be repealed. Art. 31 would have the executive regulate the use of the Segnes plains in rules of their own. This is a draft and may still change before the vote; if it passes as drafted, a bivvy bag is caught by name.8
On the plain: rangers, the last gondola, fire and dogs
Rangers. A ranger service run by the association Die Rheinschlucht/Ruinaulta for the Tectonic Arena Sardona patrols the Segnesboden, mostly at weekends from late June to late October. Its 2024 report says that tents are still found in the early morning, and that people come down from the Cassons or the upper plain with mats and sleeping bags on their packs; the rangers talk to them and explain the camping ban and the reasons for it. One photo in the report carries the caption "Wildcamper am frühen Morgen auf dem unteren Segnesboden", wild campers early in the morning on the lower Segnesboden. Many come late in the evening or during the week, when no ranger is about. In 2022 the rangers noted that campers often pitch after the cable car's last trip down. The reports mention no fines, and they warn that the conflict could sharpen now that the area is easier to reach.9
The gondola. The FlemX runs daily from Flims to Segnes, until 25 October 2026 from 09.00 to 17.00; from 4 June to 30 August it ran from 08.30 to 18.00. The Segneshütte is open until 26 October 2026, and the booked night includes a lift ticket from Flims to the hut.10
No fire. The commune's FAQ states an absolute fire ban outside the settlement area. On 3 September 2026 the commune confirmed that the cantonal fire ban stays in force outside it and that its official grill sites remain closed until further notice. Take a stove for the day.1
Dogs. The destination asks you to keep dogs on the lead on the Segnesboden, and the booked night does not take them at all.410
How it is possible: the booked night under the stars by the Segneshütte
There is one way to spend a night outside on the Segnesboden, and it is organised. "Übernachten unter dem Flimser Sternenhimmel", a night under the Flims sky, is an outdoor night next to the Segneshütte at the Sardona visitor pavilion, offered by Gästeinformation Flims, the guest information office. You sleep outside, and dinner and breakfast are served in the hut. On Saturdays and Sundays a GeoGuide at the hut explains how the Alps were formed.104
How to book it. CHF 89 per person, including the night outside, dinner and breakfast in the Segneshütte, a packed lunch for the next day, a lift ticket from Flims to the Segneshütte and the loan of a sleeping bag, a mat, a bivvy bag and a solar lamp. Collect the gear at the hut from 17.00; dinner is at 18.30, breakfast from 07.30. No dogs. In bad weather, heavy rain or thunderstorms, it is called off by 12.00 the day before. In 2026 it was bookable one night at a time, in good weather, from 1 July to 30 August. For next season's dates: Gästeinformation Flims, Via Nova 62, 7017 Flims, +41 81 920 92 00.10
A bed on the plain. The Segneshütte, 2'100 m, stands on the lower Segnesboden about 810 m south-south-east of the pin. It has four double rooms, one triple and three four-bed rooms, always with half board: a double from CHF 240, the triple from CHF 395, a four-bed room from CHF 460, per room. Check-in from 15.00, dinner from 18.30, breakfast 07.30 to 09.00. It is open daily until 26 October 2026, and from Sunday to Thursday until 18 October three nights cost the price of two. +41 81 927 99 24, segnes@laax.com.10
For a tent. The one authorised campsite in the commune is Camping Flims in Flims Waldhaus, and that is where the commune sends tents.1
On a multi-day tour. The crest above the plain has its own Fil de Cassons report. There the destination asks walkers to refrain from camping and bivouacking on the Flimserstein, and the draft police law would end the high-tour tolerance on the whole commune unless its final text adds one. On the Segnes pass, 3.2 km north-north-west, the Mountain Lodge Segnespass at 2'627 m has ten places in summer; it has closed for this season.4810
Where you can legally sleep
- The booked night under the stars by the Segneshütte. CHF 89 with the lift, dinner, breakfast and bivvy gear; 1 July to 30 August in 2026; dates for next season from Gästeinformation Flims, +41 81 920 92 00.10
- Segneshütte, 2'100 m, on the plain. Half board, a double from CHF 240 per room; open until 26 October 2026; +41 81 927 99 24.10
- Mountain Lodge Segnespass, 2'627 m, on the pass 3.2 km north-north-west. A former military shelter with ten places, half board CHF 95 a person including guest tax; closed for the rest of this season.10
- Camping Flims, Flims Waldhaus. The one authorised campsite in the commune, for a tent.1
- Not on the lower or the upper plain, and not on the slopes by the hut and the gondola. Both plains are federal floodplain and communal nature zone, the lower one mire landscape as well, and the whole commune is under the camping ban.157
General rules for wild camping
This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which near the Segnesboden means the booked night by the Segneshütte or a pitch at Camping Flims. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense on a plain whose fen is fenced off every summer, whose streams keep changing course and where the alp's cattle graze in summer.
- 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. 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.
The verdict rests on Art. 17 of the Flims hospitality act, which bans camping outside authorised campsites on the whole commune, and on the bivouac exception published by the destination Flims Laax, which names nature reserves, floodplains and mire landscapes as strict no-go zones. That exception is the published practice of the destination organisation, not an act of the commune; the commune's executive may grant exceptions under Art. 17, and it publishes none. Whether a night in a bivvy bag without a tent counts as "Campieren" has not been decided by any court, and no published case shows how the cantonal ceiling of CHF 10'000 is applied to a camper. The draft police law may change before the vote planned for 29 November 2026, or be rejected. The protected-area boundaries and every distance here are taken from the published geometry, which is as accurate as the data and not as a marker on the ground. Prices, dates and timetables are taken from their publishers as of September 2026 and can change; nothing posted on the plain was checked 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 camp. 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.
Frequently asked questions
Can I camp on the Segnesboden?
Is a bivvy bag without a tent allowed?
What is the booked night under the stars?
Does the new police law change anything?
Where can I put a tent near Flims?
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.
Sources
- Gemeinde Flims, read on 25 and 26 September 2026. Gastwirtschaftsgesetz der Gemeinde Flims, "Stand 2000", adopted at the ballot of 28 November 1999, in force since 1 January 2000, based on the cantonal Gastwirtschaftsgesetz of 7 June 1998. Art. 1: the act regulates permits, opening hours and fees "für gastgewerbliche Tätigkeiten und das Campingwesen in der Gemeinde Flims". Art. 17 "Camping": "Das Campieren ausserhalb von bewilligten Campingplätzen ist verboten. Über Ausnahmen kann der Gemeinderat befinden." Art. 18 "Im Allgemeinen": "Widerhandlungen gegen dieses Gesetz sowie gegen das kantonale Gastwirtschaftsgesetz und dessen Ausführungsbestimmungen werden im Rahmen des kant. Gastwirtschaftsgesetzes vom Gemeinderat geahndet." Art. 19: appeals within 20 days. Verfassung der Gemeinde Flims, adopted at the ballot of 13 September 2015, in force since 1 January 2017, Art. 41: "Der Gemeindevorstand ist die Verwaltungs- und Polizeibehörde der Gemeinde." FAQ: "Ausser auf dem dafür vorgesehenen Campingplatz in Flims Waldhaus ist das Campieren auf dem ganzen Gemeindegebiet verboten"; "Der Flimser Souverän hat diesem Verbot anlässlich einer Urnenabstimmung mit grossem Mehr zugestimmt."; "Es gilt ein absolutes Feuerverbot ausserhalb des Siedlungsgebietes." Notice of 3 September 2026: outside the settlement area "bleibt das kantonale Feuerverbot weiterhin bestehen", and the commune's official grill sites stay closed "bis auf Weiteres". Camping Flims in Flims Waldhaus is the commune's campsite, under its own regulation. Gemeindeverwaltung Flims, Via dil Casti 2, 7017 Flims Dorf, +41 81 928 29 29, gemeinde@gemeindeflims.ch. Gastwirtschaftsgesetz (PDF), Verfassung (PDF), FAQ, fire notice, Camping Reglement (PDF). ↩
- Canton of Graubünden, Gastwirtschaftsgesetz für den Kanton Graubünden (GWG), BR 945.100, adopted by the people on 7 June 1998, version in force since 1 January 2011, read on gr-lex on 25 September 2026. Art. 11b para. 1: "Übertretungen der Vorschriften der kantonalen oder kommunalen Gastwirtschaftsgesetzgebung werden von der Gemeinde mit Busse bis 10 000 Franken geahndet, soweit nicht Strafbestimmungen des Bundesrechts Anwendung finden." Para. 2: "Bei Gewinnsucht ist die erkennende Behörde an den Höchstbetrag von 10 000 Franken nicht gebunden." A ceiling for the whole category, imposed by the commune; the act has no tariff and no fixed fine for camping, and Flims publishes no list of fixed fines. gr-lex.gr.ch, BR 945.100. ↩
- Flims Laax, the destination organisation for Flims, Laax and Falera, camping page, German and English versions, read on 25 and 26 September 2026. German: "In der Destination Flims Laax ist das Wildcampen verboten. Lediglich auf dem Gemeindegebiet Flims darfst du im Rahmen einer Mehrtages-Hochtour biwakieren. Strikte Sperrzonen sind dabei Naturschutzgebiete, Naturpärke, Jagdbanngebiete, Wildruhezonen sowie Auen- und Moorlandschaften." The page's link for the no-go zones opens map.geo.admin.ch on the area of the Segnes plains, with the floodplain and fen layers switched on. English version: "Wild camping is prohibited in the destination Flims Laax. However, on the municipality territory of Flims, you are allowed to bivouac as part of a multi-day high-altitude tour. Strictly off-limits are nature reserves, nature parks, hunting bans, wildlife rest areas, alluvial zones and moraine landscapes", where "moraine landscapes" stands for "Moorlandschaften", mire landscapes. The published practice of the destination organisation, not an act of the commune. flimslaax.com, Camping, English version. ↩
- Flims Laax, area pages, consulted on 25 September 2026. Tectonic Arena Sardona: "Verhaltensregeln am Segnesboden · Damit die besondere Natur auf dem Segnesboden erhalten bleibt, bitten wir dich, folgende Verhaltenshinweise zu beachten: Bitte nur ausgeschilderte Wege benutzen · Abfall wieder mitnehmen · Hunde sind an der Leine zu führen · Campieren nur auf Campingplätzen erlaubt · Nur offizielle Feuerstellen benützen · Mach eine Pause an den ausgewiesenen Wasser Rastplätzen. So schützen wir die sensible Moorlandschaft." On the flower trail from the Segnes top station: "Achte darauf, du bist im Pflanzenschutzgebiet Flimserstein unterwegs. Keine Blumen pflücken und bleibe auf dem Weg". Under "1 Million Sterne Hotel": "Übernachte unter freiem Himmel beim Besucherpavillon Sardona ... Für feines Znacht und ein stärkendes Frühstück sorgt die Segneshütte nebenan." Flimserstein: "Mit dem FlemX sind diese Gebiete heute für uns Menschen einfacher erreichbar"; next to the dotterel's protection period from 18 August to 10 September, with dogs on the lead: "Verzichte zudem auf Drohnen sowie auf das Campieren und Biwakieren." Segnesboden, Tektonikarena Sardona, Flimserstein. ↩
- Official geodata, queried on 25 and 26 September 2026. Federal identify service at the pin, LV95 2'737'059.3 / 1'193'074.0 (WGS84 46.87466 / 9.23666; gazetteer name "Plaun Segnas Sut (GR) - Flims"), swissALTI3D 2'093.7 m, tolerance 0, with a bogus-layer control returning HTTP 400 and the Kiental game reserve returned as positive control in the same run. Commune Flims from the current-year boundary; Laax begins 434 m south-west, nearest boundary point LV95 2'736'819 / 1'192'712. Inside: federal floodplain no. 1316 "Plaun Segnas Sut", object type alpine alluvial plain, 51.14 ha, stream Ual Segnas, all in Flims, edge 117 m; alpine floodplain vegetation, riparian community, conflict potential "sehr gross"; federal mire landscape no. 359 "Plaun Segnas Sut", 207.30 ha, edge 274 m; UNESCO World Heritage Site "Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona", since 2008; geotope no. 310 "Glarner Hauptüberschiebung Foostock (GL)". Nearby: fen of national importance no. 3698 "Plaun Segnas Sut", 20.69 ha, 92 m; floodplain no. 1262 "Glatschiu dil Segnas", glacier forefield, on the upper plain, 719 m. Empty: game reserves (none within 4 km), wildlife rest zones (the nearest, Alp Nagiens, 1'649 m, and Crap da Flem, 2'004 m, both 20 December to 30 April), parks, BLN, raised bogs, amphibian sites, dry meadows, Ramsar, Emerald, forest reserves, military areas. swissTLM3D: a stream arm 3 m from the pin, the marked trail 149 m. Terrain: the plain lies at 2'094 to 2'096 m, the slope at the pin under 1 degree; no forest on the plain or its rim. Federal register of buildings: Segneshütte 812 m south-south-east (LV95 2'737'317 / 1'192'304), FlemX station Segnes 838 m. Federal object sheet, mire landscape 359: "Die Gletscherbäche durchziehen mäandrierend und in unzählige Arme aufgeteilt die Ebene. Sie fliessen in natürlicher Dynamik und stets wechselndem Lauf"; the fan from Plaun Segnas Sura, "bei jeder Schneeschmelze überschüttet er die randlichen Bereiche des angrenzenden Flachmoors erneut"; the cirque "in lehrbuchartiger Weise" with steep walls, a level floor and a sill of rock knolls. map.geo.admin.ch, floodplain 1316 (PDF), mire landscape 359 (PDF), floodplain vegetation 1316 (PDF). ↩
- Federal law, read on fedlex. Auenverordnung, SR 451.31: Art. 4 para. 1, "Die Objekte sollen ungeschmälert erhalten werden."; Art. 5 para. 2 lit. c, the cantons ensure that existing and new uses, among them "die Erholungsnutzung", "mit dem Schutzziel in Einklang stehen". Moorlandschaftsverordnung, SR 451.35: Art. 5 para. 2 lit. e, the cantons ensure that "die touristische Nutzung und die Nutzung zur Erholung mit den Schutzzielen in Einklang stehen". Bundesgesetz über den Natur- und Heimatschutz (NHG), SR 451: Art. 23c para. 2, "Die Kantone sorgen für die Konkretisierung und Durchsetzung der Schutzziele."; Art. 24 para. 1 lit. a, imprisonment of up to one year or a monetary penalty for whoever, intentionally and without authorisation, destroys or seriously damages a protected biotope, and para. 2, a fine of up to CHF 40'000 for negligence. None of the three contains a rule on camping or on access. Auenverordnung, Moorlandschaftsverordnung, NHG. ↩
- Zoning and cantonal law, consulted on 25 September 2026. Public-law restrictions cadastre (ÖREB) of Graubünden, Flims parcel 3573 (EGRID CH872777018873): at the pin, the basic use "übriges Gemeindegebiet", a nature protection zone (Naturschutzzone, 51.4 ha, with the outline of floodplain 1316, edge 117 m) and a landscape protection zone (Landschaftsschutzzone) carrying the mire-landscape perimeter, edge 273 m; no groundwater protection zone, no planning zone. The nature protection zones "Plaun Segnas Sut" were created in the zoning revision of 22 September 2002 for the fen of national importance and the floodplain; the cantonal government approved it on 27 May 2003 (Protokoll Nr. 804), assigning mire landscape 359 to the landscape protection zone and giving its boundary "den rechtlich verbindlichen und definitiven Charakter". The upper plain, Plaun Segnas Sura, is a second nature protection zone, 150.6 ha. The Flims Baugesetz lists both zones without rules of its own and refers to cantonal planning law (Art. 8). Raumplanungsgesetz für den Kanton Graubünden (KRG), BR 801.100, Art. 33 para. 2, nature protection zones: "Neue Bauten und Anlagen sowie Eingriffe wie Entwässerungen oder Bewässerungen und Düngungen sind nicht gestattet."; Art. 34 para. 4, the communes fix the exact boundaries of mire landscapes, and "Im Übrigen gelten für die Moorlandschaften ausschliesslich die Bestimmungen des Bundesrechts." Mire-landscape revision adopted at the ballot of 8 March 2026, with a Schutzzielreglement whose Art. 3 para. 1 reads "Die Einhaltung der Schutzziele betreffend die sanfte Erholungsnutzung wird über Besucherlenkungsmassnahmen umgesetzt"; not in force as of 25 September 2026, pending cantonal approval, and without a camping or access rule. Cantonal plant protection area "Flimserstein", 3'953 ha, at the pin, designated under Art. 21 of the Kantonales Natur- und Heimatschutzgesetz (KNHG, BR 496.000); Kantonale Natur- und Heimatschutzverordnung (KNHV, BR 496.100), Anhang 3: "Unberechtigtes Pflücken, Ausgraben und Ausreissen von nicht mehr als fünf Pflanzen in Pflanzenschutzgebieten", CHF 400. ÖREB Graubünden, government approval 2003 (PDF), planning report 2002 (PDF), Baugesetz Flims (PDF), KRG, KNHV, mire-landscape revision. ↩
- Gemeinde Flims, draft police law, consulted on 25 September 2026. Notice "Gesetz über öffentliche Ruhe, Ordnung und Sicherheit in der Gemeinde Flims (Polizeigesetz), Eröffnung Vernehmlassungsverfahren": consultation from 1 to 31 August 2026; the responses are to serve for revising the draft and preparing it "für die Urnenabstimmung vom 29. November 2026". Draft, Art. 23 "Camping und Biwakierverbot", para. 1: "Auf dem Gebiet der Gemeinde Flims sind das Campieren und das Biwakieren, d. h. das Aufstellen von Zelten, Wohnwagen und Wohnmobilen sowie das Nächtigen ausserhalb von behördlich bewilligten Campingplätzen bzw. der Campingzone, untersagt." Art. 31 "Segnasböden": "Der Gemeindevorstand regelt die Nutzung der Segnasböden und der umliegenden Gebiete inkl. Flimserstein in einem separaten Nutzungsreglement, insbesondere zur Besucherlenkung und zum Schutz von Fauna und Flora." Art. 53 para. 1: a fine "von Fr. 50.- bis Fr. 5'000.-". Art. 54 para. 3: "Die Ordnungsbussen können Fr. 50.00 bis 500.00 betragen." Art. 62 para. 2: "Das Gesetz tritt mit der Annahme an der Urne in Kraft." Annex A, on the Gastwirtschaftsgesetz der Gemeinde Flims: "Art. 17 wird aufgehoben". The explanatory notes present Art. 23 as the general camping ban that used to stand in the communal hospitality act. Notice of 1 September 2026: the consultation closed on 31 August with "zahlreiche Eingaben"; the vote is planned for 29 November 2026, with an information meeting planned for 2 November 2026. A draft, not in force. consultation notice, draft (PDF), explanatory notes (PDF), notice of 1 September 2026. ↩
- Verein Die Rheinschlucht/Ruinaulta, Flims, ranger service Segnesboden, commissioned by the UNESCO World Heritage Site Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, final reports. 2024: "Von Ende Juni bis Ende Oktober war hauptsächlich an den Wochenenden jeweils eine Person" on duty; section 2.6, "Nach wie vor kommt es vor, dass am frühen Morgen Zelte vorgefunden oder Leuten begegnet wird, die sich mit Matten und Schlafsäcken auf dem Rucksack an den Abstieg vom Cassons oder Oberen Segnesboden machen. In diesen Fällen wird das Gespräch gesucht und über das Campingverbot und die Gründe dafür informiert."; many visitors come late in the evening or during the week, when no rangers are in the area; photo caption "Wildcamper am frühen Morgen auf dem unteren Segnesboden"; section 4.3, where the trail runs along the fen "wird Anfang Saison mittels Zaunband und neu auch mit Draht eine Absperrung erstellt. Die daran befestigten Hinweistafeln weisen die Besucher auf das Betretungsverbot hin."; section 8, "Gerade der Konflikt mit den Wildcampern könnte sich durch die einfachere Erreichbarkeit im Gebiet verschärfen." 2022: "Die Camper stellen ihre Zelte oft nach der letzten Talfahrt der Transportseilbahn auf." Neither report mentions a fine. report 2024 (PDF), report 2022 (PDF). ↩
- Operators, consulted on 25 September 2026. Gästeinformation Flims, booking page "Übernachten unter dem Flimser Sternenhimmel": "Das Welterbe-Erlebnis bietet dir eine Outdoor-Übernachtung neben der Segneshütte beim Besucherpavillon Sardona. Das Nachtessen sowie Frühstück wird dir in der Segneshütte serviert."; bookable one night at a time in good weather from 1 July to 30 August 2026; from CHF 89; included: one night under the stars, breakfast and dinner in the Segneshütte, a packed lunch for the next day, a lift ticket from Flims to the Segneshütte and "Outdoormaterial zur Ausleihe (Schlafsack, Schlafmatte, Biwack-Sack und Solarlampe)"; gear from 17.00, dinner at 18.30, breakfast from 07.30; a GeoGuide at the hut on Saturdays and Sundays; "Hunde sind nicht erlaubt"; a cancellation for weather is announced by 12.00 on the day before arrival; provider Gästeinformation Flims, Via Nova 62, 7017 Flims, +41 81 920 92 00. Segneshütte (Weisse Arena Gruppe), 2'100 m: open daily from 27 June to 26 October 2026; stays always with half board; four double rooms, one triple and three four-bed rooms, a double from CHF 240, the triple from CHF 395, a four-bed room from CHF 460; breakfast 07.30 to 09.00, dinner from 18.30, check-in from 15.00; "3 für 2" from Sunday to Thursday, 8 August to 18 October 2026; the outdoor night "Preis: 89 CHF pro Person"; FlemX daily from 4 June to 30 August 2026, 08.30 to 18.00, and from 31 August to 25 October 2026, 09.00 to 17.00; +41 81 927 99 24, segnes@laax.com. Mountain Lodge Segnespass, 2'627 m, a private hut: "Die Lodge ist nun für diese Saison geschlossen"; a former military shelter with 10 places; half board CHF 95 per person including guest tax. booking page, segneshuette.ch, segneshuette.ch, rooms, segnespass.ch. ↩