A protected streamside landscape in the Eifel region, conserving alder-lined brooks and wet meadows.
Simmeler Bach
Simmeler Bach is a nature reserve (Naturschutzgebiet) in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the municipality of Dahlem within the Kreis Euskirchen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. It centers on the Simmel, a small left-bank tributary of the Kyll river, and protects a mosaic of near-natural stream course, floodplain, wet grasslands, and old-growth brookside woodland.
The reserve sits between the Dahlem village core and the Neuhaus area of neighbouring Hellenthal, framed by the L 110 road to the north and the B 51 federal road to the east. It is part of a locally dense network of nature reserves along the Kyll and its tributaries, abutting the Rotbach, Baasemer Heide, and Wolfweid protected areas.
Designated in 2001, Simmeler Bach is valued for its combination of watercourse, riparian woodland, and species-rich grassland. Protection aims emphasize safeguarding the natural character of the stream, restoring altered sections, and maintaining a mosaic of habitats that support threatened plant and animal species.