Mt Pilatus Tree Tent Camping

Every summer needs a camping trip, where kids roam free, exploring without an agenda and no one cares how late you stay up or how dirty you get. Outdoor living has such a different rhythm, awaking curiosity and creativity in a way you just don’t get back home with rules and bedtime routines.

When I came across these tree tents, I was super excited to try them. Sleeping in the trees seemed like an ideal place to dream of wild adventures and fairy tales, even if we were still close to civilization. Our kids loved these “hammock” tents, bouncing in the air as they rolled out their sleeping bags and tested their flashlights. This tree tent experience at Pilatus is part of a package deal that includes exclusive use of the ropes course that evening and dinner and breakfast at the adjacent restaurant, making it easy to enjoy the benefits of outdoor living without all the usual manual labor. It was a special treat to close out the summer holidays and something we won’t soon forget. All the details below.

Note: This post was sponsored by OMO, keeping us clean after all our messy adventures this summer.

Package Deal

This tree tent experience is located in Central Switzerland, just below below Mt. Pilatus. We reserved our tree tent two months ahead of time, lucky to get a weekend spot, which were already almost all booked out. The Pilatus Tree Tent experience includes one overnight in the tree tents, exclusive use of the ropes course for 3 hours that evening, and buffet dinner and breakfast at the adjacent restaurant. We waited anxiously, crossing our fingers for good weather.

Hauling our gear up the mountain

I was a little nervous about getting our gear up the mountain, so we packed very light, not needing our full arsenal of camping gear. We each had a backpack with a change of clothes, toiletries, water bottle, flashlight and various “necessary” items like a Rubik’s cube. We had one big duffel bag with our sleeping bags, mats and camping pillows. We parked right next to the cable car station and had no trouble getting our gear on the cable car. But I was glad we packed light and really, we didn’t need much. No one bothered to change their clothes and at least one of us didn’t brush their teeth, I won’t say who. Oh, summer and your suspended rules. More about what to bring below.

A beautiful ride up two cable cars from the valley to Fräkmüntegg at 1410m. The cable car drops you right at the ropes course where we met with all the campers for orientation. It started raining when we got there, so we hurried to put on all our rain gear and wondered if we would still be able to climb. The staff said we could do the ropes course in the morning instead but everyone opted to start in the rain. Thankfully the ropes course stays open in light rain, still safe just a little more slippery and muddy than normal. Of course, for my boys, the dirtier, the better.

Settling into the tents

After a quick briefing in the rain, we walked through the rope course to the tent forest. We saw people on the ropes course above us, making us a bit anxious to get unpacked and start climbing.

Then we saw the tents and forgot all about the ropes course for a moment. The boys ran around looking at all the tents, trying to pick the one highest off the ground.

The boys were so excited to climb inside! The tents are bouncy and I had to give my boys a little lecture on proper tent use. I don’t think they heard a word I said.

I tried to keep the dirt outside, but kids don’t care a bit about that and they both climbed in before taking off their shoes. Fortunately it was easy to sweep out through the hole in the floor of the tent. As with most tents, shoes can be tricky. The staff said most people just knock their shoes together to get most of the mud off, then stick them in the corner of the tent so they stay out of the elements. That’s what I did with mine. My youngest put his under the tent, but they were a little wet from dew the next morning. You can also tie the laces together and hang them under the tent, but who has time for that?

Each tree tent can fit up to 3 people, one on each side of the triangle. We were two adults and two children. They gave us two tents and suggested we have the adults in one tent and the children in the other so the weight was balanced. We slept with our feet pointed together and our packs at our feet.

If you had an adult and child in a tent, it would lean to one side, which might be uncomfortable. That’s something to consider if you are with small children that don’t want to sleep without their parents.

There’s a hole in the middle of the tent, which serves as another entrance and ventilation. This was especially convenient when it was raining. Also convenient for silliness until you fall out on your head.

My boys loved these tents and it is definitely a memory they will keep for a long time. Of course, the tents are a bit of a novelty and are not as comfortable as a huge tent where you can stand up and can fit air beds. But I found them much more comfortable than sleeping in a small tent on the lumpy ground. I really liked being off the ground, especially when it rained during the night. None of the moisture seeped in through the edges of the tent. We tended to slide a bit toward the middle of the tent, but it didn’t bother us too much.

Price & Package Details

The tree tent package is available June through September. It costs CHF 135 per adult and CHF 95 per child. This includes one night in the tree tents, exclusive use of the ropes course from 17:00 to 20:00 (open only for tree campers, not the public), dinner and breakfast. You cannot book just the tents without the other elements.

This is an expensive experience, but if you priced all the elements separately, it is not overpriced. This is definitely a treat, a unique outing for some special memories.

What to bring

You need to bring sleeping bags, sleeping mats, and warm clothing (fleece and rain jacket) since it can be cold at night in the mountains even on a hot summer day. I also recommend bringing flashlights, water bottles and perhaps pillows (I was very happy to have mine). I brought pajamas and a change of clothes, but it’s not really necessary if you want to pack light. There’s no electricity at the tents, so bring a portable charger if you want your electronics charged in the morning. We also brought a couple card games to play after dinner, which I’d definitely recommend when traveling with kids.

We each brought a backpack with our clothes. We also brought one big duffel bag with the sleeping bags and mats. The tents are very close to to the cable car station so it wasn’t far to carry the stuff down to the tents.

At the ropes course, there are outdoor shelves where you can store backpacks or other gear, but no indoor area to store your stuff in case of weather. We just put our backpacks inside the tent to keep them dry. They also have lockers with a key where you can store valuables (no deposit).

Ropes Course

The package includes exclusive use of the rope course between 17:00 and 20:00, just for tree tent guests, not open to the public. This meant no lines and a little camaraderie between the guests. I loved that there was a special activity attached to sleeping in the tree tents, otherwise my kids might have got a little too creative with the tents.

The ropes course has parcours at a variety of difficulty levels, starting at age 8 and 120 cm. They also have a mini course for children aged 4 to 8, which includes an “always on” safety harness.

The course is mostly in the forest but also has beautiful views of the Pilatus peaks above and lakes below. See my complete review of the Pilatus Ropes Course.

We worked hard on that course and were a bit sweaty, dusty and tired by the end of our three hours. But also happy as clams and ready to eat and settle into our tree tents.

Food

Your package includes dinner and breakfast at the adjacent restaurant, which has a nice cozy feel. Dinner is usually an outdoor grill, but we were there during a country-wide fire ban. So dinner was grilled in the kitchen and served inside buffet-style. It included a salad bar, grilled sausages, meat & veggie kebabs, baked potatoes and dessert puddings. Drinks at dinner are purchased separately.

Breakfast was a simple continental style, with croissants, bread, deli meats, cheese, and cold cereal. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and juice were included.

In nice weather you can sit on the patio, but we had thick fog until late morning.

Facilities

Campers have use of the WC under the restaurant, which remains open and lit all through the night. You can brush your teeth and freshen up there, but there is no shower. Remember to have a flashlight handy if you need to visit the WC during the night. There are no lights on the path leading to the restaurant.

What if it rains?

In extreme weather, the tree tent experience may be cancelled and they will work with you to reschedule. But with light rain, you can still use the ropes course and the tents. We started the ropes course in the rain, which thankfully stopped after about 20 mins. It also rained heavy during the night and we stayed very dry in the tents. But make sure all your gear can fit inside the tent since there are no completely sheltered areas to store gear.

Since it was raining when we got there, the staff offered that we do the ropes course in the morning instead of the evening, if we wanted to wait for better weather. We all chose to start in the rain. Some of the guests did the ropes course again the next morning, I assume paying extra for this second go.

How to get there

This tree tent experience is located in Central Switzerland, just below below Mt. Pilatus.

Get yourself to the Pilatus-Bahnen in Kriens, then take the cable cars to Frakmüntegg at 1410m, where you’ll find the ropes course and the forest with the tree tents.

By car: Drive to Schlossweg 1, 6010 Kriens following signs to the Pilatus-Bahnen. There are two metered parking lots right next to the cable car station, CHF 5 for 24 hours. Since you will be arriving in the afternoon when people are leaving, there should be spots available. If you have trouble finding a spot, there is overflow parking a short walk from the station.

By public transport: Take a train to Luzern, then a Bus 1 (Direction Obernau, Dorf) to Kriens, Busschliefe, then Bus 15 to Kriens, Pilatus-Bahnen (runs about once an hour). The bus drops off directly at the cable car station.