It is the favourite theory in every camper discussion: «Sleeping in a correctly parked vehicle is parking, not camping, so it is allowed.» A motorhome owner from the Lower Engadine took this theory all the way to the Graubünden administrative court. Anyone who wants to stand freely should know the verdict.
- Municipalities may independently prohibit sleeping in vehicles on public land.
- «I was only parking» does not protect you in that case, as the Graubünden administrative court confirmed.
- As a traveller passing through, you will practically never know the municipal ordinance, and that is the real risk.
- In the Engadine there are seasonal official pitches (including St. Moritz, Silvaplana/Surlej, Maloja).
What happened
A motorhome owner spends the night in a public car park in the municipality of Scuol: correctly parked, no chairs, no awning, nothing. The village police officer fines him anyway: 70 francs. The reason lies in the municipal police ordinance, which not only prohibits camping on public land but also explicitly prohibits sleeping in motorhomes and other vehicles, except at places designated by the authorities.
The camper refuses to pay and takes the case further. His argument in court: he was not camping, he was sleeping in a properly parked vehicle. The administrative court in Chur sees it differently: the municipality may regulate overnight stays on its land independently, and it has done so. The fine stands.
Why this case matters so much
The Scuol case shows the crucial gap in the popular parking theory: it only works where no municipal rule explicitly prohibits sleeping in your vehicle. Municipalities have authority over their car parks, and more and more tourist municipalities are using it. What is tolerated in the next village can cost you a fine five kilometres further on. It is precisely this unpredictability that is the real price of standing freely.
💡 The lesson for the road: it is not the cantonal rule that decides your night, but the municipal ordinance, and as a traveller passing through you will practically never know it. An agreed pitch on private land makes the question irrelevant: parknsleep.app → Engadine region.
And if the Engadine is calling you?
The Upper Engadine in particular shows that strict municipalities and good solutions can go hand in hand: during the season there are temporary, officially designated pitches, for example in St. Moritz, Silvaplana/Surlej, Maloja and at the Diavolezza valley station. On top of that there are the farm and private pitches in the Parkn'Sleep network. If you use one of them, you experience the Engadine the way it is meant to be: with a clear head and without glancing in the rear-view mirror.
By the way: before every trip in Graubünden it is worth checking map.geo.admin.ch. The national park, hunting reserves and wildlife rest areas are precisely mapped there, and in those areas the discussion is over before it even begins.
Case description based on publicly documented reports, simplified; not legal advice. As of July 2026.
