Tent camping near Swiss mountain huts allowed?

Hi everyone,

I am planning to do a 6 day hike through the South-Western part of the Swiss Alps. I plan to follow a route that leads me from mountain hut to mountain hut. In France its mostly allowed to set up a tent close to the hut, sometimes for a small payment. This is great since I sleep in my own tent, but can still decide to eat dinner or breakfast in the hut (if there are eating spots available).

Is this also allowed at Swiss mountain cabins and huts?? Any help would be much appreciated!

Jorn

No, "wild camping" (as it's called in Switzerland) is not allowed. Only within designated campgrounds.

Hi Jorn, welcome to MySwissAlps!

There are options for wild camping in Switzerland, but those are rather restricted. The general rule is that wild camping is allowed above the tree line, but not so in conservation areas. Also, it's not common use to put up your tent next to a mountain hut. Please read about the options and limitations using the information and links at myswissalps.com/campsi tes.

Thank you for your answer Annika,

So would you discourage me from my initial plan to hike from mountain-hut to mountain-hut and try to see if I can pitch my tent in close proximity?? ;)

Personally I would not consider this wild camping, since you camp next to a designated place for hikers to spend the night, albeit mostly in the hut. Besides that, most mountain huts are also above the tree line anyway.

That being said, if its really not allowed I will not bring my tent. There are enough free riders out there and one should always respect local rules and regulations regarding mountain preservation.

Another question: where can I find out which parts of the mountains are marked as conservation area??

Again, thanks for the fast reply.

Hi Jorn,

There are two aspects to this:

• The wild camping in general: your plan is definitely considered wild camping as it's not on a designated camp ground. Please see the links Annika referred to (under "More on other websites") for details about regulations and conservation areas.
• Whether or not to put up in tent close to a hut. I recommend to contact each hut first before doing so. I don't think it's what they prefer but I might be wrong.

Thanks for your answer Arno,

I will take this in to consideration. And yeah, I think asking all the huts directly is the best way to go.

Please let us know how it turned out for you. Have fun Jorn!