Augustów #5 Kanał Augustowski & Wigry Orient Gravel

Every journey needs a place to slow down. Augustów is precisely such a place.

This is where we end the Orient Gravel season. Not because it “happened,” but because it’s a good place to close the road.

The route leads through a landscape that knows the rhythm of water. The gravel roads run along the Augustów Canal—leading through successive locks and bridges. Next, we’re accompanied by the Czarna Hańcza River—a river known for its kayaking trail, seen here from a different perspective, from the saddle of a bicycle.

Most of the route immerses us in the Augustów Forest—the largest continuous forest complex in Poland. This forest can be quiet even when you’re going fast. And it reminds us that wilderness doesn’t always have to be spectacular. Sometimes it simply is.

One of the highlights of this stage is circling Lake Wigry. The fairytale roads and paths of Wigry National Park lead through an almost contemplative landscape. It’s a completely different rhythm than the one we started the season with.

The longest distance extends even further—into the buffer zone of Biebrza National Park. There, space opens up again, and the road makes room for thoughts.

The start and finish line are in Studzieniczna, at the Swoboda PTTK Water Station, on Lake Studzieniczne. It can get crowded during the season, but for this one weekend, the place will be just for us. Forest, water, a gentle slope to the lake. Good food. Space to sit down and finally stop looking at the clock.

Studzieniczna has its own history. A sanctuary, a wooden church, a chapel on a causeway, the well that started it all. It’s a place that doesn’t impose itself with its symbolism—but if you want, it allows you to stop. John Paul II was here in 1999. We’ll be here after the season, with other stories on our feet.

There are three distances: 70 km, 120 km, and 200 km. And one place where we reward the best competitors of the season.

But Augustów isn’t just about awards. It’s about stopping along the way, looking back, and thinking:

That was a good season.

And if Orient Gravel is a journey,

then Augustów is its peaceful port.

In Augustów, Orient Gravel meets the Borderlands Marathons – shorter-distance MTB races for children, teenagers, and adults.