UKH

Can you wild camp in Switzerland? What are the rules about dossing in your vehicle t the side off the road?

In reply to captainfire576:

As a general rule the Swiss don't like anything to be free gratis. I don't know for sure but I'd be surprised if you were allowed to camp wherever you liked.

In reply to captainfire576:

It's one of these things that the police can be a bit funny about. It's not strictly legal but it is generally tolerated as long as the local police are ok with it. This will change a lot depending on the canton and the commune. Wild camping in the alps for example is rarely a problem and if you're discretely sleeping in a car that's hidden from sight you probably won't have a problem. If you're in a camping van or anything like that however you'll quickly get trouble. Just note that the Swiss are quick to call for police so try not to park up on anyone's land/road/near a house.

In reply to captainfire576:

I wild camped above Arolla many years ago. After 5 or 6 days, we had a rest day complete with visit from some local official who ordered us to move to an official campsite & charged us the 'tourist tax' we hadn't paid. Can't imagine its got any easier

In reply to captainfire576:

Yup, I believe it is most frowned upon, and apart from high up, I have never seen anyone doing it. Tbh, the fact that the sites aren't that dear (compared with Italy for example), and they usually allow you to leave your gear whilst up high, I reckon they're worth the rates.

In reply to Doug:


Now why doesn't that surprise me!?

In reply to Doug:

You do somehow have to admire the Swiss for this level of enforcement. Their society is a very odd mix of libertarianism and authoritarianism. And it all works.

In reply to captainfire576:
I don't get it why it should be illegal anywhere in the world as long as you leave no traces, do that discretely and do no harm for wildlife/plants/ecosystem/etc.. I have been sleeping in a sheepyard, bus station, many times near the road, some hundred yards away from the border (non-Schengen), next to the footpaths, next to someone house's fence, 50 yards away from the gas station on a poncho as I lost a tent, etc... The worst (!) what happened was when soldiers with rifles were doing a challenge in Glenshee and I was sleeping next to their path. I was probably still in underwear when they asked me if that was the checkpoint. I was puzzled after a cold and shivery night, but it turned out to be completely okay.

Next to the road in Slovakia: http://i.imgur.com/LZsfkm5.jpg
Next to the road/path in WHW: http://i.imgur.com/HPLYyZ3.jpg
Next to the Bridge of Orchy: http://i.imgur.com/HPLYyZ3.jpg

I am quite disappointed that I do not have any photos which would make me think I am crazy...

In reply to MG:

Swiss and admire aren't normally words I would associate with each other.
I have wild camped in Switzerland but apart from a discreet doss from behind a barn on the outskirts of Zermatt, only in the mountains. Even in the mountains I've had unpleasant encounters with angry hut guardians aggrieved that I wasn't paying for their services.

In reply to pec:

I got told off for drinking water from a fountain by a hut warden rather than buying it at 10ChF or whatever a bottle.

"Stop! Its come straight off the mountain"
"Err, yes, I know"

In reply to captainfire576:

If low down then be discreet. I've had a few bivis in Swiss forests.

If up high then it's usually more acceptable (or more likely impossible to stop). I've slept about half an hours walk above a hut. Had popped in for tea and chatted to the guardian. As long no mess was left she thought there was no problem.

In reply to MG:
Not that I'm defending the over zealous hut guardians but water is often a highly scarce and valuable resource in the huts and they have normally built small reservoirs and catchment areas at not insignificant expense to channel the mountain melt water down to the fountains at the hut (which towards the end of the summer season is often running out quickly or ends up being helicoptered in), and over-frivolous use such as washing boots or hands with a full tap flowing becomes very wasteful - which is why they want people to invest back in the infrastructure of the water.

I live in Switzerland, but am not Swiss (and know full well the strangeness of Swiss 'culture') - and unless you are very careful about where you wild camp and are completely out of sight I would expect a visit from somebody

In reply to wkrzys:

This water was just running off downhill if not used!

In reply to captainfire576:

I am planning on wild camping around the Tour de Mont Blanc this summer. Can anyone say how easy or difficult this may be from the point of view of authoritarian interference? Thinking discreetly on mountainsides above and in vicinity of huts, for food & water , on higher passes: and more discreetly on hillsides and forests lower down. Has anyone done this? easy? problematic? different as you go across borders?

In reply to ianghogg:

I've both camped and bivvied near mountain huts, sometimes for 2 or 3 nights. I've never had any bother in France or Italy but have sometimes had hassle in Switzerland but not always, it depends on how arsy the guardian is. If it really bothers them they'll just tell you to move on, though they'll probably wait until a storm is about to break before they do
If you really want to be on the safe side keep out of direct sight of the hut and say at least 100m away but if the only decent spot is closer I'd definitely chance it, just don't put your tent up until as late as you can and take it down first thing. The worst that will happen is they'll rant at you for a bit.

In reply to ianghogg:

We did the GR5, wild camping, a couple of years ago, for a couple of days it follows the TMB. Most of the time wild camping, or bivouac as they seem to call it, was OK in France. However the TMB was very busy when we went through it, in August, much more busy than the rest of the route. There are good campsites in Les Houches and Contamines, which would probably be better than wild camping and which we used for convenience and a shower! There is also an 'official' wild camp on the way up after Contamines, with water and I think a loo. I got the feeling that, as in the UK, it was more or less tolerated but definitely not encouraged and to be honest, seeing the numbers doing the TMB I think from a hygiene point of view, it is better to keep most of the camping in sites.

In reply to ianghogg:

I've trekked across the Valais a couple of times, bits coinciding with the TMB. A mix of b&b, huts and discreet wild camps. About 10 of the last, and never the slightest problem - emphasis on 'discreet' though.

In reply to captainfire576:
Thanks All for your comments. Discreet is the word, away and out of sight. Happy to climb up the hill for half a K. Wont be pitching until after 9pm and away by 6 am, and using campsites when they are handy. Not keen on low level huts though, sweaty, hot, crowded, noisy - ugh.

In reply to ianghogg:

A lot of people camp on Tour de Mont Blanc trek each year. Some huts will be okey with you pitching a tent just 10m away from the building. Most of the time for free, some want few euros for that. Or you can always camp a bit further. If you will order a dinner at hut you may even be given an advice for best spots for camping.

In reply to MG:

haha, ok, so just a grumpy warden