Gelpe-Saalbach, Protected nature reserve in Remscheid, Germany.

Gelpe-Saalbach is a protected nature reserve located in a forested valley with two rivers carving through ravines and wet areas. The terrain shifts between steep slopes covered in dense woodland and more open water sections where the flowing rivers are clearly visible.

Gelpe-Saalbach has been a protected nature reserve since 2001, when it was designated under the number RS-003 on Remscheid territory. The larger part of the protected area, 122 hectares, lies on Wuppertal ground and is registered there as W-015, the Fließgewässersystem Gelpe- und Saalbachtal reserve; 24.14 hectares belong to Remscheid, mainly on the left bank of the two streams. The southern end lies at Clemenshammer, where the Gelpe flows into the Morsbach.

The reserve takes its name from the Gelpe stream and its tributary the Saalbach, which rise southwest of Lichtscheid and Wuppertal-Ronsdorf and form the boundary with Remscheid in their lower course. Along the Gelpe lie former hammer ponds, now overgrown with floodplain woodland, and the Bodendenkmäler of the Steffenshammer, Schlieper Hammer, Rottsieper Hammer, Reinshagener Hammer, Westerhammer and Wolfertshammer recall the iron-working past of Clemenshammer. Near the Reinshagener Hammer stands a pollarded hornbeam (Schneitelhainbuche) recorded as a natural monument.

Trails and observation points are scattered throughout the terrain, though the hilly landscape requires sturdy footwear and careful footing. Visitors should stick to marked paths to protect the environment and stay safe.

The wooded area contains unusually high amounts of old and dead wood, attracting rare insects and fungi. This ecological feature of the Bergisches Land region is something most forest walks do not offer.