Szumy Trail (Szlak Szumów)

The blue-marked Szlak Szumów ("Trail of the Rapids") is the loop most often recommended in the Susiec area. Over roughly 16 km it takes in almost everything central Roztocze is known for: a waterfall on the Jeleń, fir-lined ravines, an early medieval hillfort on Kościółek hill, the spot where Józef Piłsudski crossed the border between the partitions, and the cascades of the Tanew in the Nad Tanwią nature reserve. It starts and ends at Susiec railway station.

The route at a glance

The trail is about 16 km long (some descriptions say 17 km) and can be walked in either direction. For less experienced walkers, the municipality recommends heading west, which lets you shorten the loop to about 12 km without missing the highlights. It runs mostly through the forests of the Puszcza Solska, on narrow paths along rivers and wooden boardwalks across marshy valleys. From the station you first walk through Susiec along ulica Tomaszowska; after the school the trail turns south into the forest and the Jeleń valley.

What you will see along the way

• The Jeleń waterfall – about half an hour from the start. The step is about 1.5 m high and is a protected natural monument. Further on, the trail passes beaver lodges and several smaller steps.
• The ravine in the Nad Tanwią reserve – a steep descent over tree roots and a footbridge among ferns, marsh plants and tall firs.
• The ruins of a dam from 1939, built by Polish scouts (ZHP).
• Kościółek hill (also called Zamczysko) – a steep hill where the Tanew and Jeleń meet, surrounded by marshes and reached by a wooden boardwalk. Traces of settlement go back to the 8th–9th century, and the hillfort rampart dates from the 12th–13th century. In the early 17th century a Uniate (Greek Catholic) church with a Basilian monastery stood here; it became a Roman Catholic church in 1748 and was dismantled in 1796. A cross and a memorial on the summit commemorate insurgents of the 1863 January Uprising and wartime partisans who hid here.
• The "Źródełko Miłości" ("Spring of Love") in the Tanew valley.
• Rebizanty and the Tanew cascades – on a bend of the river, about 400 m long, there are 24 rock steps. In 1901 Józef Piłsudski crossed the Russian–Austrian border here; a stone with a plaque and an obelisk to Jan Miklaszewski, who organised the crossing, recall the event.

The legend of Kościółek

Legend has it that the hill was crowned by the castle of the knight Gołdap, said to be impregnable. While the knight was away, Tatars took the fortress by trickery, and his daughter Tanewa died there. The river Tanew is said to be named after her.

Tripto tips

Allow 4–5 hours of walking for the full loop, plus breaks; heading west, you reach the Rebizanty cascades after about 2 hours. You can get to Susiec by train: since 2024, regional trains have run all year between Zamość and Bełżec (four pairs a day), with connections to Lublin and Warsaw. By car you can also start from the forest car park by the bridge in Huta Szumy, next to the Nad Tanwią reserve. Take water and food – the trail runs mostly through forest. The area around the beaver lodges can be wet, but an upper path bypasses it, and the descent into the ravine is steep. The municipality has also organised winter hikes along the trail. Around the turn of April and May Susiec hosts the Bieg nad Tanwią run with the Jarmark Susiecki fair, and on the third Sunday of July the Cross-Border Festival of Songs about Roztocze – a good reason to stay in the village a little longer after your hike.