Wild camping on the Wissigstock
The 2'887 m Wissigstock ends in a rock tip 3 m outside federal game reserve Hahnen. The only flat ground at the top, the shoulder just west of it, lies inside, where free camping is banned, CHF 150 on the spot. A lawful night out is 2 km north-west, below the Rotgrätli.
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 Wissigstock: a rock summit where three communes meet
Wild camping on the Wissigstock means the 2'887 m summit on the ridge between Isenthal in canton Uri and Engelberg in canton Obwalden, the point the federal gazetteer calls "Hauptgipfel Wissigstock (UR) - Isenthal", LV95 2'681'491 / 1'188'816, WGS84 46.84549 / 8.50704. Three communes meet up here. The summit point lies in Isenthal; Attinghausen, the Surenen side of Uri, begins about 3 m to the south, and Engelberg about 12 m to the west-south-west.1
The summit point lies on one very large land-register parcel, Isenthal no. 70, 37 km² of rock, pasture, forest and glacier whose place names run from the Uri Rotstock to the Schlossfirn and the Wissigstock itself. Its owner is Korporation Uri, which also owns the Attinghausen side, parcel no. 734.7
It is an alpine hike, not a walk. The Swiss Alpine Club grades the normal route, the north ridge from the Rugghubelhütte SAC above Engelberg, T4 on its hiking scale: 650 m of ascent, 2 to 2 h 30 up and 1 h 30 to 2 h down. From the hut a white-red-white mountain path leads to a signpost below the Rotgrätli, a white-blue-white alpine route climbs to the Engelberger Lücke at 2'686 m, and from there the ridge leads south-east to the top. There is no glacier on this route. From Isenthal, a marked path climbs from St. Jakob past Alt Rüti, the Oberalp and the Engelberger Egg to the Rotgrätli and joins it there.101
The summit: a rock tip, a small shoulder and a glacier
Ask the first question before any law: if a night up here were lawful, where would anyone lie down? Not on the summit point. The top of the Wissigstock is a sharp tip of rock: within 10 m of it the slope averages about 46 degrees and is nowhere gentler than about 17. To the south, the rock bands of the Gritschenbänder fall away towards the Surenen. To the north-north-east, about 130 m away and some 230 m lower, begins the ice of the Schlossfirn.1
The only flat ground at the top is a small shoulder 10 to 60 m west-south-west of the summit point, at 2'877 to 2'886 m, where the slope eases to 3 to 9 degrees. The hut's route description calls it the "Gipfelplateau", the summit plateau. Everything else within 50 m of the top is steeper than 10 degrees.110
Outside it, nothing takes a tent. Within 500 m of the top, the Uri ground outside the two game reserves is almost half glacier, about a third rock and the rest scree and bare ground, with no vegetation at all, according to the land cover of the official survey. Its largest flat surface is the Schlossfirn, which the 2025 aerial images show as grey bare ice with crevasses. The Griessengletscher to the south-west lies on the Engelberg side, inside the reserve.1
Put plainly: the summit point is outside the reserve by 3.4 m, which is less than the error of a phone's GPS, and the only place to lie down up there is inside it.1
The rule: game reserve Hahnen, whose line runs at the summit
West and south-west of the top begins federal game reserve no. 10 "Hahnen", 2'086 ha of forest, cliff and high alpine ground north-east of Engelberg, listed under canton Obwalden. Its object sheet names the Wissigstock as one of its limits, "das weite alpine Hochland zwischen Hahnen, Ruchstock und Wissigstock mit dem Griessenfirn", the wide alpine upland between the Hahnen, the Ruchstock and the Wissigstock with the Griessenfirn, and leaves no partial zone to look for: "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt", the whole reserve is under integral protection.23
The line runs at the summit. It passes 3.4 m south-south-west of the summit point and a few metres west of it, and from there follows the ridge north-west over the Engelberger Lücke towards the Rotgrätli. The summit point itself is just outside, on Uri ground. The flat shoulder west-south-west of it is inside, on the Engelberg side, and so is the whole Engelberg flank: the Griessengletscher, almost all of the normal route from the Lücke to the top and the Rugghubelhütte, which stands almost a kilometre inside the reserve. North and east of the summit, on the Uri side, Hahnen does not reach. The next federal reserve, no. 6 Urirotstock, begins 621 m east-north-east, beyond the Schlossfirn.12
Check the line before you stop anywhere. A few metres is less than your phone's GPS error, so standing on the summit point tells you nothing about the ground next to it. Open map.geo.admin.ch with the layer "Hunting Ban Reserves", the federal game reserves, and compare it with the GPS position on your phone.1
Inside a federal game reserve one sentence of the federal ordinance decides the night:
"Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen."Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete (VEJ), SR 922.31, Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. e. In English: free tenting and camping are prohibited; the use of official campsites is reserved; the cantons may grant exceptions.
The sentence has no zone qualifier, and the reserve has no official campsite. The exception belongs to the canton alone, and there is none for the Wissigstock: no landowner, no alp and no commune can give you a night inside the line.3
The fine is fixed: Anhang 2 Ziff. 12005 of the federal Ordnungsbussenverordnung, "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten", CHF 150. A drone inside the line costs the same (Ziff. 12006), and so does a dog off the lead (Ziff. 12004). The CHF 20'000 you may read online is the hunting act's ceiling in ordinary proceedings, not a camper's fine, and the act punishes negligence too: not knowing where the line runs is no defence.4
Without a tent: why a bivvy bag is no way round it
The federal ordinance's verbs are "Zelten und Campieren", tenting and camping; the official French text says "camper librement", the Italian "piantare tende o campeggiare". None of the three versions names the bivouac, and no court has decided whether a night in a bivvy bag in a federal game reserve counts.3
Obwalden, the canton the reserve is listed under, has answered for its own reserves. In a notice of 1 June 2025 its Amt für Wald und Landschaft wrote: "In Schutzgebieten jedoch gilt ein absolutes Campierverbot. Hier sind das Campieren, Biwakieren sowie das Abstellen von Wohnmobilen ausdrücklich untersagt." In protected areas an absolute camping ban applies: camping, bivouacking and parking motorhomes are expressly prohibited there. The notice names the game reserves among these areas and adds that offenders must expect a fine.5
So on the Wissigstock tent and bivvy bag are treated alike. The question hardly arises anyway: outside the line the summit point is a rock tip too steep to lie on, and the reserve-free ground around it is ice and cliff. A bivvy bag is no way round the ban.1
Uri, Isenthal and the landowner: no ban on a night, and no ground at the top
Canton Uri. Uri has no general camping ban: neither its police act nor its police regulation mentions camping. Its only camping fine is item 2.1 of the cantonal list of fixed fines, "Lagern, Zelten oder Campieren in Schutzzonen", CHF 150 (Ordnungsbussenreglement, RB 3.9223), and it applies only inside a zone whose protection reglement bans camping. None covers the summit. The one cantonal protection area that reaches it, the alpine flora reserve Waldnacht-Surenen of 1968, begins 3.4 m south of the top and bans only "Ausreissen, Ausgraben, Abschneiden oder Pflücken von wildwachsenden Pflanzen", pulling up, digging up, cutting or picking wild plants, with fines of CHF 20 to 200. The protection zones at Gitschenen, which do ban camping, lie 5.7 km north, and no approach to the Wissigstock touches them. The summit also lies in a cantonal inventory landscape whose sheet proposes a protection reglement; the inventory is only indicative, and no such reglement has been enacted.61
The commune of Isenthal has no police regulation and no camping rule in its published collection of regulations. It prices a night instead. Its guest-tax regulation, in force since 1 January 2025, applies to everyone without a residence in the commune who spends a night there, nights "in Zelten", in tents, included, all year and "auf dem gesamten Gebiet der Gemeinde Isenthal", on its whole territory: CHF 2 per adult, CHF 1.50 from 12 to 16, children under 12 free. People in tents pay "bei den dafür bestimmten Zahlstellen (Hinweistafeln mit QR-Code)", at the payment points marked by boards with a QR code; where those boards stand is not published. A tax on a night is not a ban on it.9
The landowner. Korporation Uri, which owns the summit's Uri side, writes: "Im Kanton Uri besteht kein generelles Verbot für Wildcamping. Auf Gebiet der Korporation Uri ist das Campieren somit grundsätzlich erlaubt und muss nicht angemeldet werden." Canton Uri has no general ban on wild camping, so on Korporation ground camping is allowed in principle and needs no registration. The conditions are short: keep to the rules of nature and landscape protection zones, spare the pasture, contact the alp farmer if your spot is near a working farm, tell the Korporation in advance if you stay more than three nights or come with more than ten people, bag your rubbish and leave the place tidy. The first condition is the one that matters on the Wissigstock: the rules of the federal reserve apply whatever the permission says, and the Korporation ground outside it at the top is rock and ice.87
Obwalden, the shoulder. Obwalden lets you pitch a tent for a single night outside campsites, as long as no public or private interests are harmed. Its own notice makes the protected areas the exception, the game reserves among them, and within 500 m of the top practically all the Obwalden ground lies inside Hahnen.51
So at the top the ban is the federal one, and the rest is rock and ice. How these layers fit together across the country is set out in the national overview.
How it is possible: a bivouac below the Rotgrätli, on the Isenthal side
The lawful night out lies about 2 km north-west of the summit and some 500 m lower, where the marked path from Isenthal climbs towards the Rotgrätli. The ground there is Korporation Uri land in Isenthal, outside both game reserves and outside every cantonal protection zone: the flora reserve is more than 2 km away. Two places take a tent or a bivvy bag.17
The Schöntaler Moränen, a level scree bench at about 2'365 m, LV95 2'679'916 / 1'190'266, WGS84 46.858727 / 8.486649. It lies 422 m outside the Hahnen reserve and about 100 m off the marked mountain path, 2.1 km north-west of the summit and about 520 m below it.1
The Engelberger Egg, level grass at about 2'290 m, LV95 2'679'991 / 1'190'841, WGS84 46.863890 / 8.487733. It lies 944 m outside the reserve and 85 m from the marked path, 2.5 km north-west of the summit and more than 2 km from any building. A sheep pasture begins about 100 m away: spare the grass, as the Korporation asks.18
Nothing to register, two francs to pay. For one night on its land Korporation Uri needs no notice. For more than three nights or more than ten people, tell it in advance: 041 874 70 90, mail@korporation.ch. Isenthal's guest tax is CHF 2 per adult and night, paid at the QR-code boards; if you find none, the commune is at 041 878 11 31, gemeinde@isenthal.ch. No other fee for a night is published.89
From there to the top. From either place the summit is the path up to the Rotgrätli junction, the white-blue-white route to the Engelberger Lücke and the ridge: roughly 2 to 2.5 km and 520 to 600 m of climbing. From the Rotgrätli on you walk inside the reserve or along its edge, so walk through and do not stop there for the night.110
Nearer the top, for experienced alpine hikers only. The closest reserve-free ground that is not ice is a rubble shelf just north-east of the Engelberger Lücke, around LV95 2'680'995 / 1'189'630 at 2'630 to 2'638 m, 140 to 170 m outside the reserve and about 950 m from the summit. It is off the marked route, some 50 m below the Lücke over one steep step, on loose moraine at the edge of a retreating glacier that the official survey still maps as ice. It is not the recommendation here: if you cannot judge ground like that, stay on the Isenthal side.1
From the Surenen, the Attinghausen meadows below the Gritschenbänder are Korporation Uri land too, and the flora reserve there bans only picking plants; our Surenenpass report covers that side. No route links them with the Wissigstock: the Gritschenbänder are cliff.76
Or a bed: the Rugghubelhütte, and the sunrise from the top
If you want to be on the summit at first light, the lawful way is a bed on the Engelberg side. The Rugghubelhütte of the SAC's Titlis section stands at 2'296 m, 3.4 km west of the summit and inside the Hahnen reserve, where sleeping indoors is of course lawful; the hut itself says it lies "im Wildschutzgebiet", in the wildlife protection area. So do not pitch or lie out anywhere around it.101
Rugghubelhütte SAC, +41 41 637 20 64, info@rugghubel.ch, online booking. 80 beds in 15 rooms. Staffed from early June to mid or late October, depending on the weather; when it is not, a winter room with 19 beds is always open. 2026 prices in summer: SAC members CHF 24 for the bed alone or CHF 75 with half board, on showing a valid card; non-members CHF 35 or CHF 89. Winter room CHF 29 for members, CHF 41 for others. A sheet or silk sleeping-bag liner is compulsory, and a sheet liner can be rented for CHF 12. No dogs overnight. In winter, call the mobile: +41 79 366 43 69.10
Getting there. From the top station of the cable car from Engelberg to Ristis, the hut path takes about 2 h 30, from the Brunnihütte about 2 h 15. If you leave a car at the Brunnibahn valley station overnight, give your number plate at the ticket office: a night-parking ban applies there, and parking costs CHF 5 a day and CHF 10 a night.10
The sunrise. From the hut the SAC gives 2 to 2 h 30 for the 650 m to the top, on T4 ground. A start in the dark puts the Engelberger Lücke and the ridge in headlamp light: walk them by day first, and add a margin to the SAC time.10
The route, the reserve rules and the season
In the reserve. From the Rugghubelhütte to the summit the normal route runs inside Hahnen or on its edge: the Engelberger Lücke is on the line, and almost all of the alpine route from the Lücke to the top is inside. Keep your dog on the lead and leave the drone at home: each costs CHF 150 inside the line. Lower down on the Isenthal side, near St. Jakob, the paths in the Grosstal skirt and partly cross the partial zone of the Urirotstock reserve: walking through is fine, a night there is not.14
Fire. On 25 September 2026 the federal fire-danger map puts Uri at "high" danger, with an absolute ban on fire in and near forest, and Obwalden at "considerable", with a conditional fire ban. There is no forest up here, and still no fire: take a gas stove.1
Hunting. The Uri hunt takes place outside the reserves, on ground like the Isenthal side below the Rotgrätli: red deer from 28 to 30 September 2026, small game from 12 October to 30 November 2026.6
Take everything down. Rubbish, organic scraps and toilet paper included. The Korporation asks for rubbish in the charged bags, taken to the nearest collection point.8
Where you can legally sleep
- Schöntaler Moränen, about 2'365 m. 46.858727 / 8.486649, a scree bench outside the reserve on Korporation Uri land; pay Isenthal's guest tax.19
- Engelberger Egg, about 2'290 m. 46.863890 / 8.487733, grass outside the reserve; spare the sheep pasture beside it.18
- Rugghubelhütte SAC, 2'296 m. +41 41 637 20 64; staffed to mid or late October, winter room the rest of the year.10
- The Attinghausen meadows below the Gritschenbänder, if you come over the Surenen. Korporation Uri land; no route from there to the Wissigstock.7
- Not on the summit, the shoulder, the Schlossfirn, the ridge of the normal route or anywhere around the Rugghubelhütte. Game reserve, ice or no ground to lie on; inside the line CHF 150.14
General rules for wild camping
This applies wherever you are genuinely allowed to sleep outside, which from the Wissigstock means the Isenthal side below the Rotgrätli. It is not legal text, it is decency and common sense on the Korporation's ground next to a game reserve, where the animals come first.
- 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 covers the Wissigstock summit, where Isenthal, Attinghausen and Engelberg meet, and the ground around it on both sides of the line of the federal game reserve Hahnen. It rests on the reserve boundary as published in the federal inventory, which runs within a few metres of the summit point, closer than a phone's GPS can tell apart; on the federal ordinance and the federal list of fixed fines in force; on the absence of any cantonal exception; on Obwalden's notice that bivouacking is banned in its protected areas; and on the terrain at the top. Whether a tentless bivouac counts as camping under the federal ordinance has not been decided by a court. The landowner's permission, Isenthal's guest tax and the hut's prices and season are taken from their publishers as of September 2026 and can change; nothing posted on site was checked. Uri's parliament has asked for a cantonal act on wild camping, which could change the rules, and fire rules change with the weather. 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 sleep on the Wissigstock summit for the sunrise?
Is a bivvy bag without a tent allowed on the Wissigstock?
Where exactly does the game reserve boundary run on the Wissigstock?
Uri allows camping on Korporation land. Why not on the Wissigstock?
Where is the nearest place I can legally sleep out near the Wissigstock?
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
- Official federal geodata, identify service queried on 25 September 2026 at the summit, LV95 2'681'490.9 / 1'188'815.5 (WGS84 46.84549 / 8.50704; gazetteer name "Hauptgipfel Wissigstock (UR) - Isenthal"), terrain height 2'886.7 m, map height 2'887 m, commune Isenthal (UR) from the current-year boundary, Attinghausen (UR) 3.4 m south and Engelberg (OW) 11.8 m west-south-west, the three communes meeting 12.2 m west-south-west, tolerance 0, with a bogus-layer control returning HTTP 400 and the positive control at 2'626'000 / 1'154'500 returning the Kiental game reserve in the same run. Federal game reserves: object no. 10 "Hahnen", canton Obwalden, type "Gebiet mit integralen Schutzbestimmungen", 2'086.4 ha; the summit point lies outside, 3.4 m from the nearest boundary point at a bearing of 205 degrees; the boundary is reached within 3.5 to 8.5 m on bearings from 195 to 270 degrees and not within 2 km on bearings from north through east to south. Object no. 6 "Urirotstock", integral zone, begins 621 m east-north-east, at the Schlossstocklücke. The shoulder 10 to 60 m west-south-west of the summit point, 2'877 to 2'886 m, with slopes of 2.6 to 9.3 degrees, lies inside Hahnen, most of it in Engelberg; the federal wildlife-area layer records for Hahnen "freies Zelten und Campieren ist verboten", leash duty and a drone ban, all year. Terrain from swissALTI3D: a median slope of 45.6 degrees within 10 m of the summit point and nothing under 16.8 degrees; within 50 m, all ground under 10 degrees lies on that shoulder. Land cover of the official survey within 500 m, Uri ground outside both reserves: 45.8 percent glacier, 30.1 percent rock, 14.9 percent scree and 9.2 percent other bare ground, no vegetation; within 500 m, practically all Obwalden ground lies inside Hahnen. SWISSIMAGE (2025): the Schlossfirn as bare ice with crevasses. Marked trails: the Engelberger Lücke lies on the Hahnen boundary, almost all of the marked alpine route from the Lücke to the summit lies inside the reserve, the Rugghubelhütte 981 m inside; the Isenthal approach over the Engelberger Egg stays outside both reserves up to the Rotgrätli junction, and near St. Jakob the Grosstal paths touch the partial zone of reserve no. 6. The Schöntaler Moränen, LV95 2'679'916 / 1'190'266 (2'365 m, 2.1 degrees), and the Engelberger Egg, LV95 2'679'991 / 1'190'841 (2'292 m, 1.8 degrees), queried the same day: 422 m and 944 m from Hahnen; no wildlife rest zone, mire, amphibian site, dry meadow, park, military area or herd-protection-dog pasture; the Emerald site "Walenstöcke - Brisen" only, which designates habitat and carries no camping rule; no cantonal protection zone (geo.ur.ch), the flora reserve 2.1 to 2.5 km away. The rubble shelf north-east of the Engelberger Lücke, around LV95 2'680'995 / 1'189'630 (2'630 to 2'638 m), lies 140 to 173 m outside Hahnen. Cantonal protection zones of Uri (geo.ur.ch): the flora reserve RB 10.5120 3.4 m south of the summit, the Gitschenen zones RB 10.5114 5.7 km north, no approach within 460 m of them. Fire danger, federal layers on 25 September 2026: Uri "Grosse Gefahr" with "Absolutes Feuerverbot im Wald und in Waldesnähe"; Obwalden "Erhebliche Gefahr" with a conditional fire ban. map.geo.admin.ch (game reserves), reserve geometry (GeoJSON). ↩
- Federal Office for the Environment, inventory of federal game reserves, object sheet "10. Hahnen Kt. OW" in the 2023 revision set: "Das nordöstlich von Engelberg gelegene Schutzgebiet umfasst im wesentlichen drei Teile: den Nadelwald der subalpinen Stufe, die unbewaldeten Steilhänge und Felspartien am Hahnen, Wissberg, Engelberger Rotstock und grossem Sättelistock sowie die das weite alpine Hochland zwischen Hahnen, Ruchstock und Wissigstock mit dem Griessenfirn." Objectives: "Erhaltung des Gebiets als vielfältigen Lebensraum für wildlebende Säugetiere und Vögel", "Erhaltung des Rauhfusshuhnbestandes". Special measures: "Das gesamte Banngebiet ist integral geschützt." Object sheet "6. Urirotstock" for the neighbouring reserve east of the Schlossfirn. object sheet JBG 10 Hahnen (PDF), object sheet JBG 6 Urirotstock (PDF). ↩
- Verordnung über die eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebiete (VEJ), SR 922.31, version in force since 1 February 2025. Art. 5 Abs. 1: "In den Banngebieten gelten folgende allgemeine Bestimmungen: ... b. Tiere dürfen nicht gestört, vertrieben oder aus dem Banngebiet herausgelockt werden. ... c. Hunde sind an der Leine zu führen ... e. Das freie Zelten und Campieren ist verboten. Vorbehalten bleibt die Benutzung offizieller Zeltplätze. Die Kantone können Ausnahmen bewilligen. ... f bis. Der Betrieb von zivilen, unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen ist verboten ..." The official French text of lit. e reads "il est interdit de camper librement", the Italian "è vietato piantare tende o campeggiare"; none of the three names the bivouac. Art. 2: the reserves are the objects listed in the annex, among them no. 10 Hahnen, canton Obwalden, and no. 6 Urirotstock, canton Uri, and the federal inventory holds a map of each perimeter. fedlex.admin.ch (VEJ). ↩
- Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), SR 314.11, version in force since 1 August 2026, Anhang 2: Ziff. 12004 "Missachtung der Leinenpflicht in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten (Art. 18 Abs. 1 Bst. e und Abs. 3 JSG, Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. c VEJ) ...", 150 francs; Ziff. 12005 "Freies Zelten oder Campieren in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten (Art. 18 Abs. 1 Bst. e und Abs. 3 JSG, Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. e VEJ)", 150 francs; Ziff. 12006 "Betrieb von zivilen, unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen in eidgenössischen Jagdbanngebieten (Art. 18 Abs. 1 Bst. e und Abs. 3 JSG, Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. f bis VEJ) ...", 150 francs. Jagdgesetz (JSG), SR 922.0, Art. 18: a fine of up to 20'000 francs in ordinary proceedings (Abs. 1), negligence punishable as well (Abs. 3). fedlex.admin.ch (OBV), fedlex.admin.ch (JSG). ↩
- Kanton Obwalden, Amt für Wald und Landschaft, public notice of 1 June 2025 following repeated violations, read on 25 September 2026 on the police news wire that carried it verbatim, because the canton's own copy at ow.ch/aktuellesinformationen/126685 returns HTTP 404. Outside protected areas: "Im Kanton Obwalden ist es grundsätzlich erlaubt, ein Zelt, einen Wohnwagen oder ein Wohnmobil für eine einmalige Übernachtung ausserhalb bewilligter Campingplätze aufzustellen, solange keine öffentlichen oder privaten Interessen beeinträchtigt werden." Inside them: "In Schutzgebieten jedoch gilt ein absolutes Campierverbot. Hier sind das Campieren, Biwakieren sowie das Abstellen von Wohnmobilen ausdrücklich untersagt. Dieses Verbot betrifft folgende Gebiete: Moorlandschaft Glaubenberg, Jagdbanngebiete (z.B. Huetstock, Gemeinde Kerns), Naturschutzzonen (z.B. Wichelsee, Gemeinden Sarnen und Alpnach), Geschützte Auen (z.B. Aue Laui, Gemeinde Giswil)." And: "Wer gegen das Campierverbot verstösst und ohne Bewilligung campiert, muss mit einer Busse rechnen. In den jeweiligen Gebieten weisen Schilder gut sichtbar auf das Verbot hin." No amount is stated; in a federal game reserve the federal CHF 150 applies. polizei.news (notice of 1 June 2025). ↩
- Canton Uri statutes, fetched by number from the cantonal Rechtsbuch on 25 September 2026. Reglement über die Erhebung von Ordnungsbussen (Ordnungsbussenreglement, OBR), RB 3.9223, version in force since 1 April 2025, Anhang 1, Ziff. 2.1: "Lagern, Zelten oder Campieren in Schutzzonen (Art. 34 Abs. 1 Bst. a des Gesetzes über den Natur- und Heimatschutz, RB 10.5101 in Verbindung mit dem jeweiligen Reglement)", 150 Franken. Polizeigesetz, RB 3.8111, version in force since 1 July 2024, and Polizeireglement, RB 3.8127: no provision on camping. Reservat für alpine Flora im Gebiet Waldnacht-Surenen, RB 10.5120, of 13 May 1968, in force since 30 May 1968, Art. 2 Abs. 1: "Im gesamten, in Artikel 1 bezeichneten Gebiet, ist jedes Ausreissen, Ausgraben, Abschneiden oder Pflücken von wildwachsenden Pflanzen jeglicher Art verboten. Ausgenommen ist die Alpenrose."; Art. 3: fines of 20 to 200 francs; no camping provision; its edge lies 3.4 m south of the summit point. Protection reglement Gitschenen, RB 10.5114: its zones lie 5.7 km north of the summit. Jagdbetriebsvorschriften, RB 40.3121, Anhang 1, the boundary of game reserve Urirotstock: "... bis zum Schlossfirn und dem Ostrand des Schlossfirnes entlang zum Schloss Stock ...". Inventory sheet LS.1211.06 "Hochgebirgslandschaft Uri Rotstock", which covers the summit: its proposed measure, "Erlass eines Schutzreglementes", has not been enacted, and the cantonal inventory "hat hinweisenden Charakter". Hunting 2026 outside the reserves: red deer 28 to 30 September, small game 12 October to 30 November. Press, not a basis for the verdict: in March 2026 the Landrat supported a motion for a cantonal act that keeps wild camping allowed and lets communes set ban zones; no draft has been published. rechtsbuch.ur.ch (RB 3.9223), RB 10.5120, RB 10.5114, RB 40.3121, inventory sheet LS.1211.06 (PDF), ur.ch, hunting, swissinfo.ch (press). ↩
- Land register of canton Uri (Grundbuchauskunft), read on 25 September 2026: "Grundbuch Isenthal Liegenschaft Nr. 70", 37'176'557 m², with place names including "Engelberger Egg", "Engelberger Rotstock", "Schlossfirn", "Schlossstock", "Schöntal", "Schöntaler Moränen", "Uri Rotstock" and "Wissigstock", among its land cover "Fels (10'216'284 m²)", "Geröll, Sand (6'679'947 m²)" and "Gletscher, Firn (3'299'856 m²)"; "Grundbuch Attinghausen Liegenschaft Nr. 734", 12'996'450 m², with place names including "Gritschen", "Gritschenbänder", "Mannsboden", "Surenen" and "Wissigstock"; owner of both "Korporation Uri, UID CHE-116.071.058, Gotthardstrasse 3, 6460 Altdorf UR". The summit point, the Schöntaler Moränen and the Engelberger Egg lie on parcel 70. geo.ur.ch, Isenthal parcel 70, Attinghausen parcel 734. ↩
- Korporation Uri, "Wildcampieren/Biwakieren", read on 25 September 2026: "Im Kanton Uri besteht kein generelles Verbot für Wildcamping. Auf Gebiet der Korporation Uri ist das Campieren somit grundsätzlich erlaubt und muss nicht angemeldet werden." Under "Folgende Hinweise sind dringend zu beachten": "In Natur- und Landschaftsschutzzonen sind die entsprechenden Regelungen einzuhalten. Das Weideland ist zu schonen"; "Auf privaten Strassen ist die passende Bewilligung einzuholen"; "Ist der gewählte Platz in der Nähe eines landwirtschaftlichen Betriebes, ist mit dem Älpler/der Älplerin Kontakt aufzunehmen"; "Ist der Aufenthalt länger als 3 Nächte oder mit mehr als 10 Personen, sind wir vorgängig zu informieren"; "Der anfallende Kehricht ist in gebührenpflichtige Säcke zu verpacken und zur nächsten Kehricht-Sammelstelle zu bringen"; "Der Platz ist bei Lagerabbruch aufzuräumen und in geordnetem Zustand zu hinterlassen". Named exceptions: the commune of Göschenen and the Seewlisee area in Silenen, neither near the Wissigstock; the Korporation's map set of "Zeltverbot" zones, eight sheets, has none near it. Korporation Uri, Gotthardstrasse 3, 6460 Altdorf, 041 874 70 90, mail@korporation.ch. korporation.ch, Wildcampieren, Zeltverbot maps (PDF). ↩
- Einwohnergemeinde Isenthal, Dorfstrasse 21, 6461 Isenthal, 041 878 11 31, gemeinde@isenthal.ch. Gästetaxenreglement, adopted by the Gemeindeversammlung on 27 November 2024, in force since 1 January 2025: Art. 2 Abs. 1 "Wer in Isenthal übernachtet, ohne hier gesetzlichen Wohnsitz zu haben, ist verpflichtet, die Gästetaxe zu bezahlen."; Abs. 2 lists among others "Schlafen im Stroh, in Zelten, Wohnwagen, Wohnmobilen und dergleichen"; Abs. 5 "Die Gästetaxe ist während des ganzen Jahres auf dem gesamten Gebiet der Gemeinde Isenthal zu bezahlen."; Art. 3: children under 12 exempt; Art. 5: CHF 2.00 per night for adults over 16, CHF 1.50 for children from 12 to 16; Art. 8 Abs. 3 "Übernachtende Personen in Zelten, Wohnwagen oder dergleichen, haben die Pflicht die Gästetaxe bei den dafür bestimmten Zahlstellen (Hinweistafeln mit QR-Code) zu entrichten."; Art. 13 Abs. 1: a fine of up to three times the unpaid tax. The regulation contains no prohibition. The commune's published collection of regulations contains no police regulation and no camping rule. Gästetaxenreglement (PDF), isenthal.ch, Rechtssammlung. ↩
- Rugghubelhütte SAC, SAC Sektion Titlis, 2'296 m, +41 41 637 20 64, info@rugghubel.ch, pages consulted on 25 September 2026. Tours: "Wissigstock 2887 m. Leicht erreichbares Gipfelziel in alpiner Umgebung", ascent 600 m, 2 h, on the white-red-white path to the signpost below the Rotgrätli, then the white-blue-white path to the Engelberger Lücke at 2'686 m, "Von hier in südöstlicher Richtung dem Grat folgend aufs Gipfelplateau"; "Die Rugghubelhütte befindet sich im Wildschutzgebiet." Hut: staffed "Von Anfang Juni bis Mitte/Ende Oktober", depending on the weather, and elsewhere "von Anfangs Juni bis Ende Oktober bewartet"; 80 beds in 15 rooms; a winter room with 19 beds whenever the hut is not staffed; "Ein Leinen- oder Seidenschlafsack ist aus hygienischen Gründen obligatorisch", sheet liners for rent at CHF 12; no dogs overnight; winter mobile +41 79 366 43 69; about 2.5 h from the Engelberg-Ristis top station and about 2 h 15 from the Brunnihütte; at the Brunnibahn "gilt ein Nachtparkverbot", number plate to be given at the ticket office, CHF 5.00 a day and CHF 10.00 a night. Price list 2026, summer: SAC members CHF 24.00 bed only, CHF 75.00 with half board; non-members CHF 35.00 and CHF 89.00; winter room CHF 29.00 (SAC) and CHF 41.00. SAC route portal, "Wissigstock", route "Nordgrat von der Rugghubelhütte SAC (Normalroute)": T4, ascent 2 to 2:30 h and 650 m, descent 1:30 to 2 h, "Der Gipfel kann über einen Alpinwanderweg erreicht werden". rugghubel.ch, Touren, rugghubel.ch, Hütte, price list 2026 (PDF), sac-cas.ch, Wissigstock. ↩