Mała Panew: the Amazon of the Opole region

Mała Panew – the Amazon of the Opole region

The Mała Panew is the most popular kayaking river of the Opole region and one of the best-loved in southern Poland. For its wild, meandering character it has earned the nickname of the "Amazon of the Opole region". Over its 132 km course it forms more than a hundred bends, reveals sandy bars and oxbows, and flows through forest almost the whole way. Despite its wild look it is an exceptionally gentle river: the current is calm and the water shallow, on average less than half a metre.

All this makes the Mała Panew one of the friendliest rivers in the country for families with children and beginners. It has no shortage of rentals and landings, and the trail is easily split into short, day-long stretches. The only things to watch out for are fallen trees in the wild upper reaches and portages at the few weirs.

Where the Mała Panew rises and where it flows

The Mała Panew rises near Koziegłowy in Silesia and flows west, towards the Oder valley. On the way it passes Kalety, Krupski Młyn, Zawadzkie, Kolonowskie, Krasiejów and Ozimek, and finally joins the Oder north of Opole. The whole river is 132 km long, and its basin covers over 2,100 km². Its most important tributaries are the Lublinica, the Stoła and the Ligancja.

For paddlers the most interesting part is the middle reach - from Krupski Młyn to Ozimek. That is about 50 km of wild, forested river, usually covered in two or three days, though you can just as well pick a single, one-day stretch. Below Ozimek the river runs on for another dozen or so kilometres - passing the weir in Jedlice - before it spreads out into Lake Turawa.

A wild river of meanders

The Mała Panew's greatest asset is its wildness. The river has not been regulated along most of its length, so it winds freely through the forest, forming more than a hundred meanders, sandy beaches and islets. In places the channel branches around fallen trees, and the water carries fine, pale sand - hence the associations with a tropical, wild river.

That wildness has natural value too. Kingfishers nest along the Mała Panew, and sand martins settle in the sandy banks; the water is home to trout, chub and pike. The river's forested valley, far from big towns, gives a sense of seclusion rare on such an easy trail.

Krasiejów and the dinosaurs – JuraPark

The best-known attraction on the Mała Panew is Krasiejów. This is where one of Europe's most important palaeontological sites was discovered - the remains of reptiles and amphibians from about 230 million years ago. The most famous find is Silesaurus opolensis, the "Silesian lizard from Opole", regarded as one of the ancestors of the dinosaurs.

In a former clay-pit, JuraPark Krasiejów opened in 2010 - a park with life-size dinosaur models and a palaeontological pavilion over the excavation site. For many families paddling the Mała Panew it is a natural stop along the way.

The suspension bridge in Ozimek – the oldest in continental Europe

The river's second great landmark is the iron chain suspension bridge in Ozimek. It was opened on 12 September 1827 and is the oldest iron suspension bridge on the European continent. It was designed by Karl Schottelius and built by the local Malapane ironworks.

The engineering of the Ozimek bridge became a model for later suspension bridges around the world - in the late 19th century it was studied by the Swiss engineer Othmar Ammann, later the creator of the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In 2017 the Ozimek bridge was added to the list of Historic Monuments.

Lake Turawa

The popular kayak trail ends in Ozimek, just before Lake Turawa - a large artificial reservoir created on the Mała Panew in 1933-1938. The reservoir was meant to protect Opole from floods and to feed navigation on the Oder, and today it is one of the most popular bathing spots in the region.

Below the lake the Mała Panew runs on for another dozen or so kilometres, to join the Oder near Opole. That final stretch, though, is paddled far less often.

Stretches of the Mała Panew trip: from Krupski Młyn to Ozimek

The Mała Panew is best paddled in stretches. The upper stretch, from Krupski Młyn to Zawadzkie, is the wildest: it runs through dense forest, full of meanders and fallen trees, and needs a little more skill. The middle one, from Zawadzkie to Kolonowskie, is reckoned the loveliest - forested all the way, calm and easy, as if made for a single day. The lower one, from Kolonowskie to Ozimek, runs past Krasiejów and ends by the historic bridge; along the way you have to carry the kayak round a few sills and go around the grounds of the ironworks. You can see all the stretches on the map below - in "Take it easy" mode, with facilities and water levels along the way. And if you'd rather plan the trip your own way, you can draw your own route in "Your own way" mode.

See the trail on the interactive map Click to load the map with the route drawn in

Obstacles and portages on the Mała Panew

The Mała Panew is an easy river, but it has a few difficulties worth knowing about in advance. The most common are fallen trees and toppled branches, especially on the wild Krupski Młyn-Zawadzkie stretch, where in places you have to carry the kayak around a blockage. There are also several sills, weirs and traces of former mills on the river, where the kayak has to be carried, and in Ozimek the trip goes overland around the grounds of the ironworks.

Much depends on the water level: in summer, at low water, the shallower stretches sometimes have to be dragged. The season runs from spring to early autumn - before you set off it is worth checking the current water level at the gauges. The Nysa Kłodzka, lying further south, has a completely different, mountain character.