In den Rödern bei Babenhausen, Protected area in Babenhausen, Germany

In den Rödern bei Babenhausen is a nature reserve in the southeastern part of the town in southern Hesse, covering roughly 86 hectares (212 acres) of open sandy ground with scattered pines. The dunes and grass fields extend over flat to gently rolling terrain with very low nutrient levels in the soil.

The Babenhausen barracks were built in 1900–1901, and the sandy ground south of them was acquired as a drill ground and used by the artillery regiment from 1901. From 1919 to 1936 it served as sheep pasture, then military use resumed in 1936, including a riding and driving school and, from 1934, parts of the site as the Babenhausen airfield. After 1945 it briefly held a tent camp of up to 30,000 former German soldiers; the US Army took over in 1951 and withdrew in 2007.

The name "In den Rödern" refers to the site's historical field designation, and the area lies southeast of Babenhausen in the Lower Main Plain, not the Odenwald. Visitors today see a sand steppe kept open by Przewalski horses, with silver grass, heather and broom between the dunes. The former military ground is now a Natura 2000 site where open sandy surfaces are maintained for specialized plants and insects.

Information panels along the paths explain the rare plants and animal species that occur in the sandy habitat. The site is freely accessible and lies roughly 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the center of Babenhausen.

Przewalski horses have grazed most of the site year-round since 2014, replacing the sheep used temporarily after the tanks left. Their grazing keeps the open sand from scrubbing over with bushes, which the armoured vehicles had done for decades. The animals are a Central Asian wild horse breed; the site is one of the few German places where they manage a former training ground.