As of: 26 August 2026

Wild camping in the Val Mingèr

The request arrived as bare coordinates, and they land inside the Swiss National Park, where bivouacking is banned outright. It costs CHF 200, plus CHF 250 for leaving the marked route to do it. The only lawful bed inside the park is the Chamanna Cluozza.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Legal situation checked in August 2026 · Published 26 August 2026
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.

What "wild camping" means here: one night. A small tent or a bivvy bag, up towards evening, gone in the morning. Not a base camp, not a camper van. Most Swiss bans are written against camping; whether a single night also falls under them depends on the exact wording, so this article checks that wording. The full difference: wild camping vs bivouacking.

Two fines, and the second one is the reason the first is unavoidable

The request came in as coordinates, 46°42'41.0"N 10°18'34.9"E, with no name attached. They convert to LV95 2'819'489 / 1'177'370, 2'363.7 m, in the commune of Scuol, and the nearest named ground is the Val Mingèr, with the Val Tavrü and the Spi da Tavrü alongside. Federal geodata returns three overlapping designations at that point: the Swiss National Park, the wildlife rest zone that is the park itself, and the BLN object "Schweizerischer Nationalpark und angrenzende Gebiete".1

The National Park is the strictest protected area in the country, and unlike almost every other spot in this series the answer does not turn on how a communal drafter phrased something in 1993. It is written out:

"Es ist ferner verboten, im Nationalpark: a) Feuer zu machen, zu biwakieren oder die ganze Nacht auf Parkplätzen zu verbringen, Abfälle und dergleichen wegzuwerfen, liegen zu lassen oder zu vergraben"Verordnung über den Schutz des Schweizerischen Nationalparks, BR 498.200, art. 5 "Andere Verbote", lit. a.

Note the verb, because this series usually has to argue about it. Elsewhere the operative word is "Campieren", which describes a night in a tent, and a bivvy bag on the ground can sometimes be argued outside it. Here the ordinance says "zu biwakieren". It names the thing itself. There is nothing to read around.37

And then the second rule, which is what makes the first inescapable. Art. 2 para. 1 says the park may be walked only on a list of marked routes set out in the ordinance itself, "die nicht verlassen werden dürfen", which may not be left. The list is specific, and letter r is the one that matters here: II Fuorn to Val dal Botsch, Val Plavna, Il Foss, Val Mingèr, Val S-charl. You may walk that. You may not step off it.3

What it costs, exactly. The canton publishes a fixed-penalty schedule for the park, and it prices each item separately:4

  • Bivouacking (art. 5 lit. a): CHF 200
  • Leaving the marked routes (art. 2 para. 1): CHF 250
  • Making fire (art. 5 lit. a): CHF 300
  • Spending the whole night, 22:00 to 05:00, on a car park: CHF 150
  • Bringing or carrying a dog (art. 5 lit. g): CHF 200
  • Picking flowers, berries, wood or stones (art. 5 lit. d): CHF 150

Behind the tariff sits the federal act. Art. 7 of the National Park Act has the canton of Graubünden issue the park ordinance subject to Federal Council approval, and art. 8 makes anyone who breaches it liable to a fine, with the cantons prosecuting and the park organs entitled to confiscate.2

The boundary is 29 metres away, and it is legally out of reach

The geometry of this point is genuinely unusual, and it is worth setting out because it looks like an escape and is not one.

Bisecting the park boundary outward from the coordinates on twelve bearings:1

  • East-south-east: 29 m. East 32 m, south-south-east 35 m, east-north-east 49 m, south 66 m.
  • North-north-east 117 m, north 184 m.
  • Then it reverses completely: west-north-west 3'850 m, west 4'079 m, north-north-west 4'826 m, south-south-west 8'849 m, and on a bearing of 240 degrees still inside at fifteen kilometres.

Sampling confirms it from the other side: points 200 m north, south and east of the coordinates are already outside the park, returning only the BLN object, while 200 m west is still inside. This point sits on the park's north-eastern edge.1

So why is that not the answer? Because of art. 2 para. 1. Inside the park you may be on the marked routes and nowhere else. Walking 29 metres cross-country to reach the boundary is itself "Verlassen der markierten Wege und Routen", the CHF 250 item on the schedule, and you would be committing it in order to stop committing the other one. The short distance is a fact about the map, not a route out.34

What is on the other side, honestly. Once you are genuinely outside the park you are still in Scuol, Graubünden, and Graubünden has no camping norm addressed to the public: the only article in Bündner law headed "Campieren" is art. 13 of the hunting operating rules and it opens "Für die Ausübung der Jagd". You would also still be inside the BLN object, which binds authorities rather than fining a camper. But getting there legally means walking the marked route out of the park rather than stepping over the line, and at that point you are a long way from these coordinates.61

Is there any way to be granted an exception? One, and it is not a local one. Art. 6 lets the Eidgenössische Nationalparkkommission permit exceptions to the prohibitions in arts. 2, 3 and 5. That is a federal commission, not a landowner, not the commune of Scuol and not the park wardens, and it is not a mechanism aimed at people who want a night out.3

The rest of the park rules, because they catch people before camping does

Most visitors who get fined in the National Park are not camping. They are doing something the rest of Switzerland treats as normal, so the list is worth carrying.

Daylight only. The park may be visited only during daylight, from the beginning of civil dawn to the end of civil dusk. That rule alone answers the overnight question before any camping provision does: you are not supposed to be inside the perimeter at night at all, whatever you are or are not sleeping in.5

Stay on the marked paths and the posted rest places. "Die markierten Wanderwege sowie die mit Pfosten gekennzeichneten Rastplätze dürfen nicht verlassen werden." There is no off-path walking in this park, none, not even to take a photograph a few metres away.5

No dogs at all, not even on a lead and not even carried, which is unusual enough that people arrive not believing it, and it is CHF 200. No fires, CHF 300. No swimming in the lakes and streams. No bicycles and no drones. Nothing may be taken: no flowers, berries, wood or stones, CHF 150. Animals may not be disturbed by shouting, noise or rolling stones.35

Two administrative rules that surprise groups. People under 15 may enter only accompanied by adults, and schools or youth groups only under a responsible leader. Parties and school groups of more than 20 people must register in advance with the park directorate at the Nationalparkhaus in Zernez. Both carry CHF 100.34

Where to ask, and where to sleep instead. The park administration is at Runatsch 124, 7530 Zernez, +41 81 851 41 11, info@nationalpark.ch. Inside the perimeter the only lawful overnight option is the Chamanna Cluozza, the park's own hut, which appears in the route list in the ordinance itself. Everything else means being outside the park before dusk.53

  • Chamanna Cluozza, the park's own hut, which the ordinance names in its route list. The only lawful bed inside the perimeter3.
  • Outside the park entirely, reached by walking a marked route out before dusk, not by stepping over the nearest line3.
  • Not at these coordinates. Bivouacking CHF 200, plus CHF 250 for leaving the route to do it4.
  • Not 29 metres east either. Getting there off-path is the CHF 250 offence in its own right14.
  • Not by asking locally. Only the federal National Park Commission can grant an exception3.

General rules for wild camping

This is the one place in the series where the list below is not a set of edge cases but the actual visiting rules. The park is not a landscape with restrictions attached, it is a reserve you are allowed into on conditions.

  • 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 August 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 is for the submitted coordinates, which lie inside the park perimeter. The boundary is close enough that a handheld GPS error could put you on either side of it, and that cuts both ways: do not treat a reading near the edge as proof you are outside. Before every tour, check the current sources yourself and follow instructions and signage 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 wild camp in the Swiss National Park?
No, and it is one of the few places in Switzerland where the rule says so in plain words. Art. 5 lit. a of the park ordinance forbids making fire, bivouacking and spending the whole night on car parks. The fixed-penalty schedule prices bivouacking at CHF 200. On top of that, art. 2 para. 1 permits walking only on the listed marked routes, which may not be left, at CHF 250. Since you cannot pitch on a marked path, the realistic exposure is both fines together.
The park boundary is only 29 metres away. Can I just step outside?
Not lawfully, and that is the trap. Bisecting the boundary from the submitted coordinates gives 29 m east-south-east, 32 m east and 35 m south-south-east, and points 200 m north, south and east are already outside. But inside the park you may only be on the marked routes. Walking those 29 metres cross-country is exactly the CHF 250 offence of leaving them. The way out of the park is along a marked route, and from these coordinates that is a long walk rather than a short step.
Does the ban cover a bivvy bag without a tent?
Yes, and here the wording leaves no room at all. In several other reports in this series the communal rule bans "Campieren", which describes a night in a tent, and a tentless bivouac can be argued outside it. The park ordinance uses the other verb: "zu biwakieren". It prohibits bivouacking by name, and the fixed-penalty schedule has a line item called Biwakieren at CHF 200. There is no version of sleeping out here that the rule does not reach.
What else gets fined in the park?
Most of it is not about camping. Leaving the marked routes CHF 250, making fire CHF 300, bringing or even carrying a dog CHF 200, disregarding the fishing ban CHF 300, spending the whole night from 22:00 to 05:00 on a car park CHF 150, picking flowers or berries or taking wood or stones CHF 150, letting livestock graze CHF 200, commercial filming CHF 200, littering CHF 100. Groups of more than 20 who do not register in advance at Zernez, and youth groups without a responsible leader, are CHF 100. The park is also daylight-only and closed in winter.
Can anyone give me permission?
Only the federal National Park Commission. Art. 6 of the ordinance lets the Eidgenössische Nationalparkkommission grant exceptions to the prohibitions in arts. 2, 3 and 5. That is not the commune of Scuol, not a landowner and not the wardens on the ground, and it is not a route intended for someone who wants to sleep out. For a night in the open, the answer is to be outside the park before dusk.
Leon Helg

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

Sources

  1. Official federal geodata, queried 26 August 2026. The submitted coordinates 46°42'41.0"N 10°18'34.9"E convert to LV95 2'819'489 / 1'177'370, 2'363.7 m, commune of Scuol (the boundary layer serves every year back to 1850, so it was read with the full 177-year series and the current year filtered; a control at the Vilan summit returns Seewis im Prättigau by the same method). At the point: Schweizerischer Nationalpark (kategorie SNP, objektnummer 37), the wildlife rest zone "Schweizerischer Nationalpark (Nr. 1.00)", and BLN object "Schweizerischer Nationalpark und angrenzende Gebiete". Nearest named features Val Mingèr, Val Tavrü, Val Foraz and Spi da Tavrü. Verified with an invalid-layer control returning HTTP 400 in every run and a positive control at 2'626'000 / 1'154'500 returning the Kiental hunting-ban district. Park boundary bisected on twelve bearings: 29 m ESE, 32 m E, 35 m SSE, 49 m ENE, 66 m S, 117 m NNE, 184 m N, then 3'850 m WNW, 4'079 m W, 4'826 m NNW, 8'849 m SSW and still inside at 15 km on 240 degrees. Points 200 m N, S and E return only the BLN object and are therefore outside the park; 200 m W is inside. map.geo.admin.ch. ↩
  2. Bundesgesetz über den Schweizerischen Nationalpark im Kanton Graubünden (Nationalparkgesetz), SR 454, of 19 December 1980, consolidated version in force since 1 January 2017, retrieved through the fedlex SPARQL endpoint and read as the pdf-a. Art. 1 defines the park as a reserve in which nature is protected from all human intervention. Art. 7 has the canton of Graubünden issue the park ordinance after consulting the National Park Commission, subject to Federal Council approval. Art. 8 Strafbestimmungen: "Wer Vorschriften der Parkordnung, die unter Hinweis auf die Strafdrohung dieses Artikels erlassen worden sind, zuwiderhandelt, wird mit Busse bestraft"; prosecution falls to the cantons, and the park organs may confiscate objects appropriated contrary to the ordinance. The conduct rules themselves therefore live in the cantonal ordinance, and this act supplies the penalty. fedlex.admin.ch. ↩
  3. Verordnung über den Schutz des Schweizerischen Nationalparks, BR 498.200, in force, consulted 26 August 2026. Art. 2 para. 1 "Wege und Routen": "Der Nationalpark darf nur auf folgenden, im Gelände markierten Wegen und Routen begangen werden, die nicht verlassen werden dürfen", followed by a lettered list; letter r is "II Fuorn – V. dal Botsch – F. Val dal Botsch – (Val Plavna) – II Foss – Val Mingèr – Val S-charl", the route serving the area of these coordinates. Art. 5 "Andere Verbote" lit. a: "Feuer zu machen, zu biwakieren oder die ganze Nacht auf Parkplätzen zu verbringen, Abfälle und dergleichen wegzuwerfen, liegen zu lassen oder zu vergraben". Further prohibitions in art. 5: killing, injuring, catching or disturbing animals by noise, shouting or rolling stones (lit. b); taking nests, eggs or broods (c); picking flowers or berries, cutting or gathering wood, taking stones (d); grazing livestock (e); carrying weapons, trapping or botanising equipment (f); taking or carrying dogs (g); commercial filming (h). Art. 3: under-15s only accompanied by adults, schools and youth groups only under a responsible leader, and parties or schools of more than 20 must register in advance with the park directorate at the Nationalparkhaus in Zernez. Art. 6: the Eidgenössische Nationalparkkommission may grant exceptions to the prohibitions in arts. 2, 3 and 5. gr-lex.gr.ch. ↩
  4. Verordnung über die Erhebung von Ordnungsbussen bei Verstössen gegen die Nationalparkordnung, BR 498.210, in force since 1 July 2012, Anhang 1 "Bussenliste", consulted 26 August 2026. Verlassen der markierten Wege und Routen (art. 2 para. 1) Fr. 250.00; Befahren der markierten Wege und Routen Fr. 250.00; Parkbesuch durch Schulen und Gruppen von Jugendlichen ohne Führung (art. 3 para. 1) Fr. 100.00; Gesellschaften und Schulen von mehr als 20 Personen ohne Anmeldung (art. 3 para. 2) Fr. 100.00; Missachtung des Fischereiverbots (art. 4) Fr. 300.00; Feuer machen (art. 5 lit. a) Fr. 300.00; Biwakieren (art. 5 lit. a) Fr. 200.00; ganze Nacht (22.00 bis 5.00 Uhr) auf Parkplätzen verbringen Fr. 150.00; Abfälle wegwerfen, liegen lassen oder vergraben Fr. 100.00; Blumen pflücken, Beeren lesen, Holz schlagen oder sammeln, Steine mitnehmen (art. 5 lit. d) Fr. 150.00; Vieh weiden lassen (art. 5 lit. e) Fr. 200.00; Hunde mitnehmen oder mittragen (art. 5 lit. g) Fr. 200.00; gewerbliche Filmaufnahmen (art. 5 lit. h) Fr. 200.00. gr-lex.gr.ch. ↩
  5. Schweizerischer Nationalpark, published visiting rules, consulted 26 August 2026. Quoted: "Die markierten Wanderwege sowie die mit Pfosten gekennzeichneten Rastplätze dürfen nicht verlassen werden." The park may be visited only during daylight, from the beginning of civil dawn to the end of civil dusk, a restriction the park applies to overnight vehicle stays on the Ofenpass road as well. Further published rules: leave no waste of any kind; animals, plants and natural objects such as wood or stones may not be taken; "Kein Mitführen von Hunden, auch nicht an der Leine"; no bathing in lakes and streams; "Kein Feuer machen (Waldbrandgefahr!)"; no bicycles and no aircraft or drones; nature may not be altered; and the park is closed in winter as a wildlife rest area. Park administration: Schweizerischer Nationalpark, Runatsch 124, 7530 Zernez, +41 81 851 41 11, info@nationalpark.ch. nationalpark.ch. ↩
  6. Canton Graubünden, for the ground outside the park. Graubünden has no camping norm addressed to the public. The only article in Bündner law headed "Campieren" is art. 13 of the Jagdbetriebsvorschriften BR 740.025, headed "Campieren und Biwakieren", which permits tents, tarpaulins and overnighting in vehicles only on marked sites and only "Für die Ausübung der Jagd", so it binds hunters rather than hikers. That is why this report is about the park perimeter rather than about cantonal law: outside the boundary the cantonal level adds nothing, and inside it the park ordinance decides everything. gr-lex.gr.ch. ↩
  7. Swiss Alpine Club SAC, Merkblatt "Campieren und Biwakieren in den Schweizer Bergen". The leaflet's general line, that a single considerate night by a small group above the treeline is usually unproblematic, is guidance rather than law and it yields to an express prohibition, which is what the park ordinance is. The leaflet is cited here for its definitions, which are what make the wording point in this article precise: Biwakieren is a night without a tent under the open sky, Campieren a night in a small tent outside official campsites. The park ordinance prohibits the first by name, which is why no tentless reading survives here. Read alongside ZGB SR 210 art. 699, whose access right to forest and pasture is expressly limited by contrary official restrictions and never extended to spending the night. sac-cas.ch. ↩