Kleines Lautertal, Protected natural area in Blaustein and Blaubeuren, Germany.

Kleines Lautertal is a protected natural area spanning between the towns of Blaustein and Blaubeuren, featuring steep rocky slopes, natural forests, and diverse grasslands. The reserve sits between 512 and 647 meters in elevation and forms an important part of this region's landscape.

The area received initial protection as a forest conservation area in 1974, then was formally designated as a nature reserve by the Tübingen Regional Council in 1995. This official status marked a turning point for safeguarding this landscape.

The valley shapes the natural character of the Swabian Jura with its juniper heaths, dry grasslands, and native forest communities. These habitats form part of the landscape that visitors encounter while walking through the area.

The reserve covers about 280 hectares across the Gemarkungen Bermaringen, Herrlingen and Wippingen (Blaustein) and Asch (Blaubeuren), between 512 and 647 m above sea level. The open valley floor with the meandering Kleine Lauter is kept as a resting place for migratory birds, so visitors should stay on paths there. The adjoining Blaustein landscape protection area to the west was set up in 1990 as a recreation area close to Ulm.

The reserve's juniper heaths and dry grasslands are the product of centuries of grazing; the protected area also preserves coppice-with-standards woodland and hutewald remnants where this land-use history can still be read. The valley floor is kept open as a resting place for migratory birds, and spruce plantations are to be converted back to near-natural woodland.