diff --git a/borg/archiver.py b/borg/archiver.py
index e5f1af91d..ff1463708 100644
--- a/borg/archiver.py
+++ b/borg/archiver.py
@@ -912,8 +912,8 @@ class Archiver:
                                    help='do not load/update the file metadata cache used to detect unchanged files')
         common_parser.add_argument('--umask', dest='umask', type=lambda s: int(s, 8), default=UMASK_DEFAULT, metavar='M',
                                    help='set umask to M (local and remote, default: %(default)04o)')
-        common_parser.add_argument('--remote-path', dest='remote_path', default='borg', metavar='PATH',
-                                   help='set remote path to executable (default: "%(default)s")')
+        common_parser.add_argument('--remote-path', dest='remote_path', metavar='PATH',
+                                   help='set remote path to executable (default: "borg")')
 
         parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog=prog, description='Borg - Deduplicated Backups')
         parser.add_argument('-V', '--version', action='version', version='%(prog)s ' + __version__,
diff --git a/borg/remote.py b/borg/remote.py
index 26dce53d4..a8e64c127 100644
--- a/borg/remote.py
+++ b/borg/remote.py
@@ -220,7 +220,8 @@ class RemoteRepository:
         if testing:
             return [sys.executable, '-m', 'borg.archiver', 'serve'] + opts + self.extra_test_args
         else:  # pragma: no cover
-            return [args.remote_path, 'serve'] + opts
+            remote_path = args.remote_path or os.environ.get('BORG_REMOTE_PATH', 'borg')
+            return [remote_path, 'serve'] + opts
 
     def ssh_cmd(self, location):
         """return a ssh command line that can be prefixed to a borg command line"""
diff --git a/docs/usage.rst b/docs/usage.rst
index ca8d536db..8b5dd50b3 100644
--- a/docs/usage.rst
+++ b/docs/usage.rst
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ General:
     BORG_RSH
         When set, use this command instead of ``ssh``. This can be used to specify ssh options, such as
         a custom identity file ``ssh -i /path/to/private/key``. See ``man ssh`` for other options.
+    BORG_REMOTE_PATH
+        When set, use the given path/filename as remote path (default is "borg").
+        Using ``--remote-path PATH`` commandline option overrides the environment variable.
     TMPDIR
         where temporary files are stored (might need a lot of temporary space for some operations)