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Camping on a farm: is this considered wild camping?

2.9.2022

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

If you’ve ever travelled through Scandinavia with a tent, you’ll have loved the so-called «Everyman’s Right» or «freedom to roam». It allows you to set up your tent (pretty much) anywhere. To date, this hasn’t been the case in Austria. But now there are legal alternatives to wild camping. So I pack up my tent and try out what’s on offer.

Wild fjords, deep forests, clear nights under a starry sky. Unspoiled nature available to all. Scandinavia makes nature lovers and wild campers weak at the knees. Why? Because you can pitch your tent almost anywhere you like in the countryside. This is thanks to the so-called Everyman’s Right. It goes without saying that you’re expected to respect nature and pick up your rubbish when making use of this law. A few years ago, tent in hand, I also travelled to the Mecca of wild campers. Now I’m hungry for more. But back home in Austria, my enthusiasm is soon extinguished by the sobering legal situation.

If Scandinavia is the Mecca of wild campers, Austria is their tax office. Any spontaneity and sense of adventure are stifled by the network of camping laws. A camping holiday is like a trip to the authorities. Pitch your tent outside of Austria’s meticulously fenced campsites and you’ll pay a hefty fine (read about the situation in Switzerland and Germany at the bottom of the text).

As I can’t travel to Sweden every time I feel like camping, I’m looking for legal alternatives to wild camping in Austria. During my research, I come across «Schau aufs Land» – a site about camping on organic farms. If you book through the app, you’re free to stay for 24 hours on private pitches provided by farms. There are already around 500 partnering farms and 1,000 natural pitches to choose from in Austria and Slovenia. I like the sound of this. I set off to try out what’s on offer with tent in hand and many questions on my mind. Can this project hold a candle to a camping trip in Scandinavia? And what I’m dying to know: is there a catch?

«Schau aufs Land» – the concept behind the page

«Schau aufs Land» founder Leonard Röser is an enthusiastic camper, just like me. But instead of complaining about the lack of possibilities in his home country, he channelled his passion a few years ago to come up with some real alternatives. «The demand for idyllic, quiet and natural campsites has risen sharply in recent years,» he tells us in an interview via Zoom.

This potential didn’t remain untapped for long. Leonard, an environmental scientist, attended a start-up workshop in Graz in 2019. At this point, there’s already the idea of creating a wild camping platform for Austria slumbering in him. He hopes to further develop it during the creative exchange at the workshop. One of the people on his team at the time is Karin Gruber-Steffner. The graphic designer takes part to listen and learn more about start-ups. Instead, she’s so impressed by Leonard’s idea that she spontaneously decides to make it happen with him. Back home, Karin tells her husband and multimedia designer Christian about it, who joins the core team. The three of them found the platform «Schau aufs Land» that same year. The app goes live in 2020.

Their timing couldn’t have been better: «Covid has massively boosted the idea of travelling in your home country. This gave us a lot public attention,» Leonard explains. 10,000 app downloads have been registered so far, as at summer 2022. And 2021 to 2022 saw 60 per cent of memberships being renewed.

This sounds good to me, so I download the app. At first glance, everything seems very solid, but also somewhat complicated. To become a member, I’m asked to pay an annual fee of 39 euros before reading through a code of conduct. In it, it says that I’m not allowed to arrive unannounced, that I must abide by the rules of the farm and that I must treat nature and the property of the farm respectfully. The code is the reason for the membership system, says the founder. «The members are part of a construct with rules. Anyone who fails to follow them may lose their membership if need be.»

Shopping at the farm shop is a common way to say thank you for a pitch.

The concept only works if there’s mutual appreciation, Leonard explains. That’s why the most important point in the code of conduct is to show your gratitude to the hosts for the free pitch. How you do this is entirely up to you. Visiting the farm shop or donating feed are two popular options. «We’re all about giving back.»

In fact, the founding team is about much more than legal wild camping. Their idea is intended to promote sustainable travel close to home and, at the same time, reduce the alienation of people from agriculture. «We want to reconnect people with farmers, promote interaction and create awareness of the value of sustainable agriculture.»

From theory to practice: off I go with my tent

In theory, the project has me convinced. However, I’m worried that the social conventions and rules of conduct will overcomplicate my stay and interfere with my idea of what wild camping is. Be that as it may, I sign up and try it out.

In the mobile app, I now have access to the interactive map and choose my pitch for the night. 500 tiny tractor icons light up, showing me all the available partner farms. I tap on an icon and read up on the farm I’ve picked. The organic farm with vineyards, fields and orchards is located north of Vienna and offers pitches for tents, trailers or motorhomes. The photos look nice, so I contact the hostess.

My initial concern about the set of social conventions destroying any spontaneity turns out to be unfounded. To prevent people from booking their spot months in advance, you can only contact the farm two days before your planned arrival anyway. «Schau aufs Land» is aimed at people who want to be spontaneous on their trips. Long-term planning isn’t my style, so I’m not bothered by the fact that the app only allows short-term bookings.

A quiet afternoon by myself on the hills above Vienna.

My hostess is very flexible. A quick call before I arrive is all she needs. The farm is located in the wine region north of Vienna. The roads are narrow and wind around the lovely hilly landscape. Vast fields are only briefly interrupted by small villages. Parts of Wienerwald, the forest surrounding Vienna, creep seamlessly into the city boundaries. Bend by bend, I drive up to Manhartsbrunn. The hostess is already waiting for me in front of her farm shop.

The property, where I’m lucky enough to stay for the night, is located on a hill a few minutes from the farm shop. Frau Stich rides ahead on her bike, I follow her slowly with my car. We arrive at our destination, which is next to a small wine cellar with only a small roof protruding above the ground. I’m able to park my car and pitch my tent on the grass next to the cellar. I cast my eye a little further, Vienna spread out before me like a pop-up map. Not only do I have a view of the entire city, but also into the Burgenland beyond. It’s unbelievably beautiful.

A night above the rooftops of Vienna

Frau Stich tells me that her family has been with «Schau aufs Land» from the very beginning as a matter of principle. The two sons took over the family business some time ago. After heatwaves and summer droughts made farming increasingly difficult, the parents’ generation actually wanted to close down the business. «If it weren’t for our sons, we would’ve given up on farming a long time ago. It just wasn’t fun anymore», says Frau Stich.

Quiet countryside just a couple of kilometres away from the capital city of Vienna.

However, both sons are passionate about both their parents’ farm and the «Schau aufs Land» project. Through the platform, the farm has regular guests, especially in the summer months. This is financially advantageous for the farm: people spend 10 euros in the farm shop on average, and show appreciation for being given a place to sleep. This is an important benefit for partner farms using the platform, especially in areas with poor infrastructure. Incidentally, farms can sign up to the platform free of charge.

Biohof Stich mainly hosts people from Vienna, who come to enjoy beautiful evening views with a glass of wine, then leave the grounds before daybreak. On the other side of the spectrum, there’s a commuter from Burgenland who spends the night in his station wagon in the family’s field once a week.

I, too, am enchanted by the view. The soft hills, the fields of sunflowers and the city sprawling at my feet leaves me speechless for a moment. When dusk falls, washing the city with light, Vienna glows. I try to find my apartment among the toy-sized skyscrapers (unsuccessfully) and then retreat to my tent. In the morning, it’s already starting to get hot. So I get up early, pack up my tent and part ways with this special piece of land.

Before setting off, I pop into the farm shop to see Frau Stich. I buy zucchini, potatoes, juice, oils and a good wine and leave a total of 60 euros in the small cash register at the self-service counter, which I think is reasonable. It’s not just for the pitch and the wonderful experience, but it’s also an incentive to keep the farm going. I say goodbye to the family, get myself a second breakfast at the bakery next door and drive through the hazy morning back to the sweltering city.

With a selection like this, it’s certainly worth being generous with your wallet.

Social conventions and etiquette – can this still be considered wild camping?

My initial skepticism remained unfounded. «Schau aufs Land» may be an unusual style of wild camping, but you won’t get much closer to a Scandinavian-style trip here in Austria. Given that there are so many partner farms, every state offers countless opportunities to spend the night under the stars, virtually for nothing. Plus, the last-minute reservations keep enough spontaneity and sense of adventure alive for my taste. Meeting the people who run the farms is something anyone would enjoy. But I personally found it really wonderful to talk to them. I can’t wait to get to know even more people that I’d otherwise never meet, and visit places I’d otherwise never see.

Okay, Scandinavia is still the undisputed winner in the wild camping stakes. But the experience of «Schau aufs Land» was on another level for me. I’ll definitely do it again once my desire for adventure and the great outdoors rears its head again. I’m now able to give into these desires relatively close to my apartment in Vienna, all without a huge amount of planning or driving north. A piece of freedom, a stone’s throw away.

Switzerland

Wild camping isn’t prohibited here per se. According to the Swiss Civil Code, forests and meadows are accessible to everyone, even for a stay of one or two nights. There are, however, numerous restrictions, which vary from canton to canton. Certain protected areas such as national parks, federal hunting areas, wildlife refuges or nature reserves are excluded from the Swiss Everyman’s Right. However, a small group of people spending the night in the mountains above the treeline isn’t an issue. You can find information about the current rules in this Swiss Alpine Club pamphlet and on the camping and bivouacking info page.

Germany

In Germany, the regulations on wild camping also vary from state to state. Basically, the Federal Nature Conservation Act states that people have a right of access, which permits «entry to open countryside on roads and paths, as well as unused areas of land for the purpose of recreation». Camping doesn’t get a mention here, though. Nature reserves, national parks, protected areas, coastal areas and forests are strictly excluded from wild camping anyway. If you want to know the exact rules, you’ll have to take a close look at the forest and conservation laws in each state. You’ll find an overview in German here. And here’s another tip for you: so-called trekking sites throughout Germany offer an alternative to wild camping.

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Olivia Leimpeters-Leth

Autorin von customize mediahouse

oliver.fischer@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm a sucker for flowery turns of phrase and allegorical language. Clever metaphors are my Kryptonite – even if, sometimes, it's better to just get to the point. Everything I write is edited by my cat, which I reckon is more «pet humanisation» than metaphor. When I'm not at my desk, I enjoy going hiking, taking part in fireside jamming sessions, dragging my exhausted body out to do some sport and hitting the occasional party.

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Camping on a farm: is this considered wild camping?

«Schau aufs Land» – the concept behind the page

From theory to practice: off I go with my tent

A night above the rooftops of Vienna

Social conventions and etiquette – can this still be considered wild camping?

Switzerland

Germany

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Everything’s better these days! Seven reasons why family driving holidays are becoming more and more enjoyable

On the trail of the Elfstedentocht by water bike

We love to lüft: the very German and Swiss art of airing a room

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