Los Osos, California on Central Coast

Los Osos is often associated with Baywood Park s in the "valley of the bears" for which it was originally named. The Central Coast location just south of Morro Bay offers stunning, serene views of two state parks where you can hike, ride bikes, camp and enjoy one beautiful drives in a semi-rural atmosphere. Montana de Oro State Park to the south and Morro Bay State Park to the north both provide recreational activities throughout the year.

Beautiful Baywood Park's fate could have been drastically different if things had taken another turn. Surveyed in 1889 to become part of a coastal rail line the plans never materialized, and now, visitors relish this paradise of incredible beauty. In terms of practical matters, Baywood Park combined with the community of Los Osos for necessities such as government regulations and operations, utilities and infrastructure.

Nature surrounds you in this San Luis Obispo County community with its parks and outdoor recreation such as kayaking, fishing, boating, hiking, and bird watching at Morro Bay Bird Sanctuary. Be sure when you visit not to miss the stunning Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve with dune-covered centuries-old coastal live oaks. Twisted oaks provide an eerie scene in beds of sand.

Baywood Park has a view of the bay, as its name indicates. There are several bed & breakfast style hotels and the seaside Sea Pines Golf Resort which offers a unique program of stabling horses for beach horseback, or a golf program that allows you to play one of six great golf courses.

Among the things to see when you visit is Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. It includes a natural pond system, a 24-acre preserve in the Baywood Park back bay, once known as The Townsite of Sunshine Beach. In the winter months (Oct. - March) you'll often see clusters of Monarch butterflies.

Sweet Springs is popular for its trails through Monterey cypress and eucalyptus trees. Leading to two freshwater ponds and surrounding a salt marsh, the preserve trail access is available on the north side of Ramona Ave. between Broderson and 4th St.

A friendly chamber of commerce offers information about visits and stays in the area (lobpchamber.com)

Things to do include Farmers Markets, summer concerts and a fabulous Oktoberfest celebration.

Morro Bay Bird Sanctuary. The famous Nine Sisters Peaks of the Santa Lucia Mountain range are a short drive away. The wider region is populated with State Parks and other natural wonders, from San Simeon in the North to the Oceano Dunes in the South.

Bears once inhabited this part of California, hence its name: La Canada de Los Osos (the valley of the bears). Now known as Los Osos/Baywood Park, it has a long and colorful history, which was first recorded by Don Gaspar de Portola y de Rovira who formed a sacred land expedition to New California in 1769 that extended from San Blas, Mexico, up to San Diego and on to San Francisco Bay.

A friendly and helpful chamber of commerce


2011 Oktoberfest
33rd Annual
Los Osos/Baywood Park 2nd Street Faire
Sunday, October 30, 2011
9am – 5pm
Rain or Shine
lobpchamber.com/


DISCOVER LOS OSOS - THE CENTRAL COAST'S BEST KEPT SECRET!

THERE'S MORE! Around Los Osos
Once inhabited by California Grizzly Bears and Chumash Indians, Los Osos / Baywood Park has become quite the community where nature still prevails. From the moment you enter the "Valley of the Bears" you enter a truly enchanted part of California's Central Coast.
BAYWOOD PARK
The village atmosphere of downtown Baywood Park encourages one to stroll down 2nd and 3rd Streets. The small shops are framed by abundant grass, trees, and flowers. The variety of businesses serving the community include art galleries, antiques, food & spirits, restaurants, specialty shops, and two waterfront inns.

The Baywood Park Pier is located at the intersection of 2nd Street and El Morro Ave. overlooking the shores of the lagoon-like estuary. It is a pleasant, quiet place where you can enjoy a view of the estuary and its bird life, a scene that changes dramatically with the tides.

FARMERS' MARKET
This outdoor market, offering local, in-season farm fresh produce and locally grown flowers is held in Baywood Park, on Santa Maria Avenue between 2nd & 3rd Streets.

Farmers' Market is open year-round every Monday -- 2:00 - 5:00 pm.

AUDUBON OVERLOOK
Hundreds of species of birds live or over-winter in the Morro Bay Estuary area. This overlook is an especially good place to see ducks, egrets, pelicans, and wading birds at low tide. Located on Santa Lucia, at the north end of 4th Street; open from dawn to dusk.

ELFIN FOREST
Take time for a walk through the Elfin Forest Natural Area, and you will believe in the magic of elves. The Elfin Forest is located just off South Bay Boulevard north of Santa Ysabel. The boardwalk is wheelchair accessible and starts at the north end of 16th Street. S.W.A.P. hosts monthly nature walks through the property. LEARN MORE!

The Elfin Forest is a special small wilderness bordering the community of Los Osos that is an important buffer between residential development and the Morro Bay Estuary. This unique small wilderness at the edge of the bay, is a diverse and complex assemblage of natural plant communities including coastal brackish marsh, riparian woodland fringe, pygmy oak woodland, grassland, coastal dune scrub oak, manzanita, and home to many threatened or endangered species

It supports a documented 25 species of mammals, over 110 kinds of birds, and 11 species of reptiles and amphibians. Its name is derived from the stunted live oaks (Pygmy Oaks) growing on sand dunes with limited water and nutrients. Chumash middens occur throughout the property.
The Preserve Needs Your Care & Cooperation:

Please treat the Elfin Forest with respect as a fragile resource.
Please do not litter.
Please control cats and keep dogs on a leash.
Please stay on boardwalk or designated trails.



LOS OSOS OAKS STATE RESERVE
Watch for small signs, and a parking lot on the south side of Los Osos Valley Road, 1/2 mile east of South Bay Boulevard. An easy one-mile trail leads visitors under the low canopy of "Pygmy Oaks," dwarfed coast live oaks that are 600 to 800 years old. The leaf-covered trail winds among the trees' gnarled gray trunks, and the mushrooms, wild cucumbers, hollyleaf cherry, and other flora that exist in this shaded land where Chumash Indians once lived. Visitors should be wary of a prolific member of the reserve's plant community ­ poison oak. Avoid its shiny "leaves of three" lining the trail in many places.

MONTAŅA DE ORO STATE PARK
At the west side of the community, where Los Osos Valley Road turns into Pecho Valley Road, you'll enter the "gateway" to Montana de Oro State Park -- one of the most beautiful places you'll ever experience; miles of unpopulated rocky shores and sandy beaches and 7,828 acres of hills, and eucalyptus groves. 50 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails provide access to the park's back-country, wooded stream canyons, tide pools, and hidden coves and beaches. Trails following the edge of the coastal bluffs provide spectacular views of the tilted and twisted strata of the rocky shoreline and, in the distance, Morro Rock, and the Morro Bay sandspit. MORE

SCENIC 7-MILE DRIVE (to Montaņa de Oro)
Take a picnic lunch and start out for one of the most beautiful drives you'll ever experience! Drive through miles of unpopulated country side and open space, view sandy beaches, 7,828 acres of hills, and dense eucalyptus groves.
MORE! 7-Mile Drive - courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce.
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LOS OSOS COMMUNITY PARK
Located at Los Osos Valley Road and Palisades Avenue, west of the Los Osos commercial district. Complete with a 20,000 sq.ft. skate park, neatly manicured landscaping, tennis courts, a well-planned playground, and restrooms, this small, imaginatively designed park is a pleasant place for walking or picnicking, and is a good spot to let auto-bound children burn off excess energy. It is also the site of the Los Osos Valley School, constructed in 1872. The barn and barbecue area are available for rent, and are used for weddings, meetings, and various civic activities. For reservations call 781-5930 X4. Adjacent to the park is the Community Center and Library.

LOS OSOS SCHOOL 1872
The naming of California's only valley of the bears (La Caņada de Los Osos) took place about a mile from the original site of the one room, one teacher, Los Osos school (south side of Los Osos Valley Road at Turri Road). This was the fourth campsite of Captain Gaspar de Portola's 1769 sacred expedition through San Luis Obispo County.

January 8, 1972, marked the school's 100th birthday. At a final reunion in this very picturesque and historic atmosphere, former students and teachers recounted experiences of life in and around the one room school. In order to preserve the school, District Two Supervisor, Elston Kidwell obtained the building from San Luis Unified School District, September 1973. As it was being dismantled, to be moved to the Los Osos Community Park, slates, pointers, love notes, and pages from early readers were found in the walls.


Farmers' Market every Monday (Baywood Park)
Guided Tours of the Elfin Forest - Monthly
Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival - January
Lighthouse Bike Rally - September
Oktoberfest - October (Baywood Park)
Veteran's Day Celebration - 11/11 (November)
Arts & Crafts Show - December

Upcoming Los Osos Events & Activities (as well as events in the sister town of Baywood Park)

Los Osos and Baywood Park, California make a single community stretched out along the south end of the Morro Bay National Estuary and just north of Montana de Oro State Park. The village climbs up the steep hill on the south side toward the State Park, looking out over the Bay. Los Osos is the slowest growing town in the county, with only a 3% increase in dwelling units since 1990.

The town is a bit off the beaten track since it is not on either Highway 101 or the California Highway 1. You can take either Los Osos Valley Road about 10 miles from San Luis Obispo or use the South Bay Boulevard from Morro Bay, about 4 miles. Either way, the short ride is a treat in itself. Almost without fail you will see red tailed hawks, egrets, a variety of ducks, or deer. Like the rest of the county, the mountains are never out of view, and Los Osos - Baywood Park is shaped by its location between the hills and Bay; Los Osos is the gateway to Montana de Oro State Park, one of the jewels of California's extensive park system. Ranging from rugged sea coast on a peninsula surrounded by sea life to mountain hillsides, nature will reward the mountain biker or hiker. Visit the interpretive center to get the interesting details on the show going on around you.

From the distances we just gave you, you can tell that Los Osos really isn't secluded (lots of its residents work in San Luis Obispo), but it feels apart-some of its residents refer to it as the "California Central Coast Best Kept Secret." You know there aren't any bears in the valley anymore, but the way the drama of nature extends right into town helps you understand how there could have been. The Morro Bay National Estuary with its strong daily tides imprints a slow measure of time on everything.

This is a peaceful place. You can play golf by the Bay or take easy walks through the wonderful ecological niches that have been preserved for you. The only way to get to the Morro Bay sandspit without a boat is from the road to Montana de Oro. A walk along that beach on the ocean side of the spit, where sea birds of an amazing variety and number run in and out with the waves of the Pacific, is pure magic.

Indian Summer Concert Series at Sea Pines Golf Resort
July 2 – Oct 15, 2011
Recurring weekly on Saturday

Come on out and enjoy the **FREE** sounds of some great local artists & bands. There is a restaurant and bar at the resort with food & beverages available. All Ages Welcome - No outside Food or Beverages, please.

Times: 2 - 6 pm
Location: Sea Pines Golf Course Resort
Address: 1945 Solano St.
Event City: Los Osos
Phone: 805.528.5252 x426
Parking: Free on Site
Low Admission: Free

Montana de Oro State Park

This park features rugged cliffs, secluded sandy beaches, coastal plains, streams, canyons, and hills, including 1,347-foot Valencia Peak. Naturalists and backpackers enjoy the solitude and freedom found along the park's trails. There are also mountain biking and equestrian trails. The best-known beach is Spooner's Cove, across from the campground. The park's name, "Mountain of Gold," comes from the golden wildflowers that bloom in spring. Wildlife in the park includes black tailed deer and the black oystercatcher. The park includes primitive and equestrian campsites.

Location - Directions
The park is six miles southwest of Morro bay and seven miles south of Los Osos on Pecho Road.
Latitude/Longitude: 35.2639 / -120.8622

Los Osos Oaks SNR
State Natural Reserve

Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve features ancient sand dunes covered with centuries-old coast live oak trees. According to botanists, five major plant communities thrive within the reserve. They are coastal sage scrub, central coastal scrub, dune oak scrub, coast live oak forest, and riparian (streamside). The oak communities exist close to each other, but each has its own character. The oak scrub has dwarf oak trees growing on the ancient (relict) sand dune. Though they are coast live oak trees, they rarely grow more than six to eight feet tall. The larger coast live oaks are located where the soil is moister. These giants can grow to 25 feet in height. Their massive trunks and gnarled branches twist into all sorts of fantastic shapes

Location - Directions
The reserve is located on Los Osos Valley Road in the Los Osos Valley, just outside the town of Los Osos, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Latitude/Longitude: 35.3049 / -120.8610

Seasons - Climate - Recommended clothing
The weather can be changeable; layered clothing is recommended.

Facilities - Activities
Hiking
At the beginning of the reserve's trail, traffic noise from the busy road dominates. Penetrating deeper into the park, these sounds diminish, giving way to birds singing, water trickling in Los Osos Creek, and wind rustling through the oaks. Trails traverse through the variety of plant communities, and the trail is alternately in bright sunlight or dappled shade. A word of caution: one of the predominant undergrowth plants in the area is poison oak. A sign at the entrance helps visitors identify and stay away from this pesky plant. Staying on the trails helps to avoid contact.

One of the trails goes through remnants of an old Chumash Indian midden (trash dump) site. Fragments of clam and abalone shells the Chumash consumed long ago are found here. The nomadic Chumash had temporary encampments all over the Morro Bay watershed area, and this is just one reminder that many other people have come before us.

There is a variety of wildlife in the park. Visitors can spot a shy plain titmouse, or see a California valley quail rustling through the underbrush. Visitors may also see a brush rabbit darting across the trail, or encounter the home of a nocturnal dusky-footed wood rat.

The Reserve is also the home of several species of lichen that can be found nowhere else. Visitors should look for wisps of lichens and mosses dangling from oak branches throughout the reserve.

About the Park
In 1769, Gaspar de Portola's expedition passed through the Los Osos Valley. Father Crespi's diary notes that the expedition saw "troops of bears (osos)" in the valley, and, since then, it became known as the Los Osos Valley. When the new Monterey mission populace faced starvation, a hunting expedition was sent to the Los Osos Valley, killed many grizzlies, and packed the meat back to Monterey, saving the people there from disaster.

Los Osos Oaks was part of a Mexican land grant that was eventually divided into farm and ranchland. Incredibly, unlike the trees in the surrounding area which were cleared away to allow for agriculture, the magnificent oaks in the park are still growing.