The Warme Bode is a barrage-free river in the High Harz region. It forms north of Braunlage from the confluence of the Großer and Kleiner Bode.
The approximately five-kilometer-long Große Bode rises in the Bodebruch in the national park area east of Oderbrück, about one kilometer from the source of the Kalter Bode at an elevation of approximately 840 meters above sea level. The Kleine Bode, which rises at the foot of the Achtermannshöhe at an elevation of approximately 770 meters, is only about half as long.
About one kilometer below the Bärenbrücke (Bär Bridge), the waters of the Große Bode overcome the Oberer Bode Waterfall. Shortly thereafter, it joins the Kleine Bode to form the Warme Bode. A few hundred meters further downstream, the waters of the Warme Bode plunge down the Unterer Bode Waterfall.
After a short distance, the Warme Bode reaches Braunlage. There, its important tributary, the Ulrichswasser, flows in from the west. It then turns eastward, still within the city limits of Braunlage.
The Warme Bode now meanders through the river valley it created. Approximately two kilometers beyond Braunlage, the Bremke, which rises on the Wurmberg, flows into the Warme Bode, and after about another three kilometers, the Brunnenbach joins it.
The Warme Bode then flows north past Sorge and, after another two kilometers, through the town of Tanne. There, the river turns northeast and flows through its relatively expansive valley toward Königshütte. This wide and very picturesque river valley offers ample space for countless other sweeping meanders.
Beyond Tanne, the Allerbach flows into the Warme Bode, and just over a kilometer before Königshütte, the water-rich Spielbach joins it. In Königshütte, at the foot of the mountain with the ruins of the Königsburg castle, it joins the Kalte Bode, which flows from the north and is two degrees cooler, to form the Bode.
From the source area of the Große Bode in the Bodebruch to its confluence with the Kalte Bode, the water travels a distance of approximately 23 kilometers, climbing about 400 meters in altitude. In addition to the larger tributaries mentioned above, countless other small rivers and, in some cases, unnamed streams flow into the Warme Bode along this route.