So you’re interested in hiking the Walker’s Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt but want to bivouac, instead of staying huts, hotels or B&Bs each night? Great choice! Although the idea of spending each night under the stars is an idyllic option, you need to be aware that you can’t bivouac along most of the Haute Route, as there are very strict rules put in place by the federal, regional and local governments.
The Walker’s Haute Route travels through 2 countries - France and Switzerland, and 2 provinces - Valais (CH) and Haute-Savoie (FR), both with very different rules about wild camping/bivouacking.
It starts to sound a little complex and difficult right? Let me break it down what’s possible so you can move out of the research phase and onto the much more fun planning phase! Here’s what I’ll cover in this blog post:
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Where can I camp on the walker's haute route?
There are 2 camping options:
Bivouac (also referred to as wild camping)
Campgrounds with amenities
Due to the strict wild camping rules along the entire Walker’s Haute Route, you’ll need to use a combination of these options.
1. Bivouac
Bivouacking in France & Switzerland is defined as camping between dusk and dawn with a non-permanent structure, such as a tent, in a non urban area (above treeline). It is about necessity to complete a journey rather than staking out an area mid afternoon to sunbake and enjoy the mountain views. Leave no trace principals apply.
Within the French section of the main trail - between Chamonix and Col de Balme - bivouacking is not possible. From Chamonix to Le Tour you are below the tree line, then you climb up to Col de Balme through a private ski area. As a great alternate, there are campgrounds with amenities in Chamonix and Le Tour.
From Col de Balme, the trail enters the canton of Valais in Switzerland, where the rest of the Haute Route hike is located. The Swiss Alpine Club have produced the best guidance on bivouacking for the country. They explain that Switzerland does not have a uniformed legal situation for bivouacking given each canton (province/regional government) and municipality (local government) can supplement national law with restrictions. There are four main parts from their guidance which impacts campers along the Haute Route;
1. Bivouacking is expressly forbidden in certain protected areas across Switzerland:
Swiss National Parks
Swiss Game/Wildlife Parks
Nature Reserves
Designated Wildlife areas
These areas can be identified using the following map from Swiss Topo which allows you to apply specific filters for each of the protected areas.
This map is from Geodata © swisstopo. The areas marked in orange are the protected wildlife reserves as of December 2020.
2. Additional restrictions apply in the canton of Valais, Switzerland
The Walker’s Haute Route is located within the canton of Valais and therefore restrictions need to be considered only in this canton. Thankfully, the Valais department of forests, rivers and landscapes has a website which lists all their local rulings on additional protected areas for both the canton and their local municipalities.
3. Bivouacking is only allowed above the forest line, in alpine meadows or in rocky terrain
The main Walker’s Haute Route trail crosses 11 mountain passes between Chamonix and Zermatt. The trail therefore follows a familiar pattern most days of climbing up above the forest line and over a rocky mountain pass, then descending into a valley below the forest line, before repeating. The forest line varies throughout the trail which makes it difficult to identify exactly where you’ll rise above it without prior experience. As a general guidance for the Haute Route, the tree line is located between 1,800m (5,900ft) and 2,200m (7,200ft) depending where you are on the trail.
4. Request permission from farmers or hut management team (or other private land owners)
Unsurprisingly, bivouacking on private land requires permission. There are sections of trail where you’ll rise above the forest line but will still be within private land and therefore unable to set up camp unless you track down the owner and ask for permission. These include ski areas (for example the 4 Vallées above Verbier), alpine farmland where livestock are feeding/breading and alpine huts which are either located in the above restricted areas or do not allow camping nearby. While ski areas and cabanes can be identified using Google or other online maps, farmland will be difficult to spot without prior knowledge of the area. If you’re trying to create a plan yourself, I’d suggest planning to camp at least one hour beyond the forest line to ensure you’ve cleared any pasture areas.
5. Finding a flat spot to camp (an additional, important point not covered in the SAC guideance)
The final part you need to factor in when bivouacking is whether there is actually a flat piece of ground to set up camp. Due to bivouacking only being permitted above the forest line, some of the areas are located on sections of trail have an average gradient of over 30%. If you don’t have experience on the trail, the GPS map program we use provides contour lines to help identify where terrain looks too steep for planning to camp (if you aren’t using our recommended locations).
So these are the steps you should follow to determine where bivouacking is permitted (and possible) on the Haute Route. If this all seems like a bit confusing and you want to be confident in your plan, use our Itinerary Builder product to design your own camping plan for the Haute Route.
Bivouac location above Lac Moiry
2. CAMPGROUNDS WITH AMENITIES
There are a number of campgrounds located in alpine villages and towns along the Walker’s Haute Route. The cost for 1 adult is between 15-25 CHF per night and they offer facilities such as hot showers, kiosk/cafe and wifi. Some also have a laundry room (important every few days to wash those smelly hiking clothes!). In general, no reservations are needed for a small tent site.
Some notable campgrounds include:
Arpette: Dorm and restaurant onsite too
Les Rocailles (near Champex Lac): Toilets, hot showers, laundry
Arolla (The Highest Campsite in Europe at 1,950m): Wifi, bathrooms, hot showers, laundry, supermarket
Molignon (near Les Hauderes): Toilets, hot showers, cafe, restaurant terrace, laundry
Tzoucdana (near Zinal): Dorm and restaurant onsite too
Zermatt: Toilets, hot showers, wifi
How much does it cost to camp the Walker's Haute Route?
Using my experience and actual costs as of December 2020, I’ve calculated that once you arrive in Geneva Airport, it will cost about 860 CHF per person to camp and hike the Walker’s Haute Route.
This is based on a standard 13 day route and what you can expect by planning your trip using our self-guided products. It includes costs from transport to/from the trail, accommodation at campgrounds and huts (when needed) and food from combinations of supermarkets and huts.
I’ve written a detailed blog post that breaks down and explains all the different costs.
What kind of weather can I expect while camping on the Walker's Haute Route?
If you plan on hiking between mid July and mid September, the trail should be “mostly” snow free. However, you need to be prepared for snow at any time of the year, even the middle of summer! The Haute Route stays just under 3,000m (9,840ft) at the highest point but on most days you’ll be crossing passes above 2,700m (8,850ft) where the high alpine weather can change quickly.
Nights in the high alpine sections of the trail can be as cold as -5C/23F between June and September - I would recommend preparing for -10C/14F with thermals, sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag incase of anomolies.
If you are hiking before mid July, I recommend taking crampons/microspikes. If you are planning to hike before mid-June, you should have experience crossing steep snowy passes in the Alps and the appropriate equipment to do so. These dates will slide earlier or later depending on how big the winter has been and quickly the snow is melting each season.
You can read what it is like early season in our 2019 trail report here.
Fresh snow in July on the Haute Route
July 2020: Still plenty of snow on the trail.
How difficult is it to find water on the Walker's Haute Route?
Water fountain along the Europaweg section
There are lots of places to fill up on water along the trail. Most villages have water fountains free for public consumption. Outside of villages, you are never far from glacier fed streams or rivers, however, you should be aware that some glacier run-offs are filled with sediment/erosion. I recommend taking a 2 litre water bladder and keeping it topped up at every opportunity unless you have planned the next fill-up point - which you can do using all the water locations on our mobile map.
Where can I find camping supplies on the Walker's Haute Route?
Starting your hike in Chamonix, France is very fortunate as its one of Europe’s adventure destinations. Therefore, you can buy stove fuel, freeze-dried meals and items for your first aid kit, directly in Chamonix. Here are a couple of sports stores to visit on arrival;
There are no other locations with camping freeze dried meals on the trail, however, there are supermarkets and convenience stores where you can pick up fresh fruit/veg, instant rice, pasta, etc.
The Arolla campground has gas for camping stoves, however, I recommend contacting them to check if it is type/fitting your cooking unit requires before planning to restock here.
How long does it take to hike the Walker's Haute Route?
It depends on a few factors - predominately the route you choose, speed you hike and how long you want to hike each day.
The Walker’s Haute Route is not one single trail that leads hikers between Chamonix and Zermatt, rather a network of trails offering 10 popular alternate routes with a total distance ranging from 174km (108mi) to 227km (141mi). No matter which path is chosen, hikers are required to climb over 11 mountain passes and accomplish between 21,000m (69,000ft) and 28,000m (93,000ft) of total elevation change (ascent + descent) as they wind their way through some of the most breathtaking scenery the Alps has to offer.
It can take between 6 and 15 days to complete the Walker’s Haute Route. It depends on which route you decide to take, your hiking speed, the desired number of hiking hours per day and whether you will use transport. You can read in much more detail in my other blog post “How long does it typically take to hike the Walker's Haute Route”
WRAP UP
The ability to camp while hiking the Walker’s Haute Route is possible, however the rules and regulations across the 2 countries and provinces make it difficult to find the right locations. The best option is to use a combination of campgrounds, near mountain huts and wild camping to complete your trip.
We’ve recently launched an Itinerary Builder that allows campers to create their own Walker’s Haute Route hiking plan using the best Bivouac locations and campgrounds with ammenities along the trail.
Good luck with your planning!
Brendan
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