We loved the beautiful natural setting of this campground in southwest Switzerland, a nice contrast to other Euro camping we’ve done that’s more like a camper van parking lot.
The village La Fouly is at the end of a long valley, near the glaciers, so it feels remote, isolated and very quiet. There are tons of family-friendly activities here, both in La Fouly and the nearby villages.
The very affordable Pass Saint Bernard covers many activities including a ropes course on the campground property and the nearby chair lift with mountain scooter.
We were only there two nights and loved it. We hope to go back to try out more of what this area has to offer.
See other camping in Switzerland.
| Region: | Southwestern Switzerland |
| Address: | Chemin de Tsamodet 36, 1944 Orsières |
| Car: | 3hr30 mins from Zurich, 2hr from Bern or Geneva |
| Public transport: | bus stop La Fouly VS in village, short walk from campground |
| Services: | Pitches for tents & caravans, chalet rental, kiosk, restaurants in village |
| Activities: | Hiking, playgrounds, playground, ropes course, MTB, mountain scooters |
| Open: | mid May through end of October |
| Cost (2025): | One night in tent for family of four about CHF 42 |
| More info: | www.camping-glaciers.ch |
Location
Camping des Glaciers is located in southwest Switzerland, about 2hr from Bern or Geneva, about 3hr30 from Zürich.
Drive to the village of La Fouly and follow signs to the camping. You’ll drive over a bridge over the river and follow signs to reception to your left.
You can also access this area by public transportation. Take a train to Orsières, gare, then bus to La Fouly VS (about 16 mins). The bus runs about every 60-90 mins between the train station and La Fouly.
Price
Pitching a tent is relatively inexpensive here, CHF 16 for the pitch, CHF 8/adult, CHF 4/child. See current prices here. They have different kinds of pitch spots, ones for single tents and others for big groups. All are on grassy lawns, some by the river, some near the forest. It’s a very natural setting, not a parking lot feel that you get at some other campgrounds.
This pic from www.camping-glaciers.ch
I saw these maps of the campground posted at reception, but couldn’t find them on their website. This could help when reserving a pitch site. We stayed in pitch site 292 in the lower right corner.
Rentals
If you don’t have your own equipment, they rent tents, caravans and chalets. I saw that they also rent hanging tree tents, which are suspended off the ground. We did this at Pilatus and had a lot of fun. I assume you need to book any of these well in advance.
Rentals only include the tent or accommodations. They do not include sleeping bags, kitchen equipment or other camping supplies.
Facilities
Each section of the campground has a building with bathrooms, showers, laundry and dish washing sinks. I was happy to find the bathroom and showers modern and very clean. There was a fridge and freezer but limited space. They have a large “living room” helpful for rainy days, with TV, internet, tables for picnics and games, etc.
The village of La Fouly (shown below left) is a short walk from the campground. It has a small grocery store, a pizzeria, a couple hotels with restaurants, and the tourism office where you can get more info about the area. The nearby village Orsières has a few more stores and restaurants. The much larger Martigny has clothing and sports stores if you need camping supplies.
Hiking
There are several hikes starting right at the campground. There is one chair lift a short walk from the campground, accessing hikes at a higher elevation. See list of hikes in La Fouly area.
I did the Charlotte Marmot theme trail, which has some activities along the way and some educational info signs about the local flora. This is an easy 2.3 km valley walk and should take about 1hr30 to complete with kids. You can start the trail at the ropes course in the campground and it finishes in the village of La Fouly. The campground office has a map with activities for the kids to complete at each station.
Activities
We only camped here two nights and we had organized activities with our large group. So we didn’t have time to take advantage of all the fantastic activities in this area for families. We definitely want to come back. See a full list of the activities in this area here.
The region offers Pass Saint Bernard, a ridiculously affordable pass (CHF 9/day CHF 39/summer), which covers many of the activities in the region, not just La Fouly. It includes public transportation, chair lifts, ropes course, mountain scooter, pools, etc. You can buy the pass at the tourist offices. See all activities covered by the pass.
Playgrounds. There is a playground near the camping reception, including a bouncy pillow and bocce ball. There is another playground near the ropes course at the north end of the campground with more play structures.
Ropes course. There is a ropes course and climbing wall on the campground property. They have a variety of course difficulty, starting at age 4. It costs CHF 25/adult, CHF 15/child with a family discount of CHF 5/person or free with the Pass Saint Bernard. It’s open on weekends and Wed afternoons in May, June, Sept, and Oct. In July and August, it’s open every day. More details here.
Mountain scooter. You can ride mountain scooters down from the top of the La Fouly chairlift, about 3.3km. It costs CHF 15 or free with the Pass Saint Bernard.
See more camping in Switzerland.
