diff --git a/ciwatch.conf.sample b/ciwatch.conf.sample
index 5b94e88..2d4493c 100644
--- a/ciwatch.conf.sample
+++ b/ciwatch.conf.sample
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ gerrit_port = 29418
 debug = True
 data_dir = /var/data
 
+[Log]
+log_dir = /var/log/ciwatch
+
 [database]
 connection = sqlite:///:memory
 
diff --git a/ciwatch/config.py b/ciwatch/config.py
index 4cf838e..65aabbe 100644
--- a/ciwatch/config.py
+++ b/ciwatch/config.py
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ class Config(object):
 
     def __init__(self):
         self.cfg = self.get_config()
+        if not self.cfg.Log.log_dir:
+            self.cfg.Log.log_dir = '/var/log/ciwatch'
         if self.cfg.Data.data_dir:
             self.DATA_DIR = self.cfg.Data.data_dir
         else:
diff --git a/ciwatch/log.py b/ciwatch/log.py
index 419c6b7..37958be 100644
--- a/ciwatch/log.py
+++ b/ciwatch/log.py
@@ -38,4 +38,4 @@ def setup_logger(name):
     return logger
 
 
-logger = setup_logger(config.DATA_DIR + '/ciwatch.log')
+logger = setup_logger(config.cfg.Log.log_dir + '/ciwatch.log')