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

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 is open year-round every Monday — 2:00 - 5:00 pm.

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.

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.

From late October into March, monarch butterflies traditionally cluster here.

The 24-acre preserve is the home of several threatened or endangered species, and no plants or animals may be collected there. The reintroduction of native species is a continuing goal of the Morro Coast Audubon Society.

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.

MONTAÑA 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 Montaña 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 Cañada 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.

THERE'S MORE! Around Los Osos

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