Last August we camped near Gstaad so we could visit Glacier 3000, which has been on our list for years. That area is too far from Zurich for a day trip, so we needed to stay overnight. The kids had been begging to sleep in a tent and we wanted to minimize our costs, so we settled on camping. Plus the kids are much happier when they can run around outside in the late summer evenings instead of being stuck in a hotel room.
We chose Camping du Berceau because it has a nice setting in nature, along a river with mountain views. The kids loved it because of the big pool with a water slide and diving boards. I liked that tents were on a big grassy field separate from the caravans, so we felt more in nature than in a mobile home neighborhood. It’s not fancy but we had everything we needed. Note that everyone speaks French there, not much German or English.
Since we were only staying one night, we didn’t take all our cooking gear, but ate at the campground restaurant, which was better than expected and made our stay much easier. We had such a nice time both at the campground and in Gstaad that we would definitely to go back.
| Region: | Western Switzerland |
| Address: | Route des Mosses 18, 1660 Château-d’Œx |
| Car: | 2hr30 mins from Zurich |
| Train: | not practical |
| Services: | Pitches for tents & caravans, pool, kiosk & restaurant |
| Open: | camping year round, pool open in summer |
| Cost (2018): | One night in tent for family of four about CHF 50 Pool day pass – Adult CHF 9, Child CHF 5 |
| More info: | www.piscine-camping-restaurant.ch |
Location
This camping is located in western Switzerland, about 1hr20 from Bern, 2 hrs from Geneva, 2hr45 from Zurich. This region is a bit far for a day trip, so that’s why its nice to stay overnight.
The campground is about a 20 minute drive from Gstaad and near many mountain resorts.
At the campground
Here is the big grassy area where tents can set up. We were allowed to drive our car out there to unload our stuff, but they asked us to park in the lot just outside the campground.
The campground is next to this river, covering up noise from the road or other campers (including us!).
The pool was the main attraction, with a water slide and diving boards. You have to pay a separate entrance fee; it’s not included with your camping fee. Adjacent to the pool, there is a kiosk selling snacks and a restaurant serving meals. We ate dinner there and pretty tasty, much better than I expected for a campground restaurant.
Activities near campground
In the same town as the campground, you’ll find the La Braye cable car. A 10 minute drive east takes you to the Rougement-La Videmanette cable car. Both have a variety of hiking options listed here.
The campground is in the Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut regional nature park, which has lots of outdoor activities. It’s also a 20 minute drive from Gstaad, where you’ll find several mountain resorts and lots of hiking. See also the Gstaad tourism website for an area map and list of hikes.
We stayed here so we could visit Glacier 3000, which has gorgeous panorama views, a suspension bridge, an alpine coaster, summer sledding, and an easy walk on the glacier itself.
Get details for Glacier 3000
Another time we took cable cars from Gstaad up to Wispile at 1911m and hiked to beautiful Lake Lauenen. It has some of the prettiest views we’ve seen in Switzerland.
