There are sounds you are happy to switch off your alarm for: waves lapping against a jetty. A fishing boat turning away at six in the morning. Coffee water starting to boil next to the sliding door. Here are five pitches from our community where that is exactly how your morning looks.
1. The lakeside meadow near Beckenried (Lake Lucerne)
Two pitches in a family business's orchard, fifty metres from the shore. In the evening you watch the lights of Gersau drift across the lake, and in the morning you have the bathing jetty all to yourself. On request, your host brings fresh bread; order by 8 pm the evening before. → Open pitches on Lake Lucerne
2. The winegrower's pitch on Lake Biel
Between rows of vines with a view across the water: three pitches, gravel surface, perfectly level. On Fridays the winegrower holds a tasting in the carnotzet, and if you like, you can take a bottle from your own sleeping spot home with you. Quiet from 10 pm, with a birdsong concert from six. → Open pitches on Lake Biel
3. The quiet pond in the Jura
No signal, no kiosk, no facilities, just a moorland pond, a fire pit and a farm ten minutes' walk away that the pitch belongs to. If you are looking for solitude, you will find it here. Important: take your grey water with you, as the nearest disposal point is down in the valley. → Open pitches in the Jura
💡 You will find all the pitches in this article with the search filter «By the water» on Parkn'Sleep, including live availability for tonight.
4. The river bend on the Aare near Wangen
The classic for travellers passing through: five minutes from the motorway, and yet you are parked under old willows right by the river. People drift past in rubber dinghies in the afternoon, and from eight it is quiet. Perfect if you arrive late in the evening and need to move on in the morning, but be warned: many end up staying two nights after all. → Open pitches on the Aare
5. The bay on Lago di Origlio (Ticino)
Small, warm, lined with palm trees: three pitches next to a grotto that keeps its terrace open until 11 pm. Wake up here and you have breakfast looking out over water lilies. In high season probably the fastest booked-out pitch in the network, so it is worth reserving a few days in advance. → Open pitches in Ticino
And if your favourite waterside spot is missing from this list: write to us. The best tips in the magazine have always come from the community.
