PSST ... WANT TO KNOW A CENTRAL COAST SECRET? GET OFF THE BEATEN PATH IN BAYWOOD PARK.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

BAYWOOD PARK - The early-morning jogger was chugging down the main drag of Baywood Park, but he wasn't running along the shoulder, or even the edge of the roadway. He was smack in the middle of the street, making his way along the yellow line - yet he was in little danger of being clipped by a passing vehicle.

That should tell you all you need to know about Baywood Park, a tiny waterfront community wedged between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. Its business district is precisely two blocks long and is set well back from the thoroughfares of Los Osos Valley Road and South Bay Boulevard. Busy U.S. 101 is about a 20-minute drive away.

You have to make an effort to find this place - which is why it provides such an attractive alternative to the roadhouse motels of San Luis Obispo and the blue-this, dolphin-that lodging options of Morro Bay's touristy Embarcadero. Here on a remote thumb of the bay estuary, you might wonder if you'll ever find a more serene location for sleeping.

In recent years, Baywood Park has experienced something of a renaissance, manifested in two spruced-up lodging properties, an outstanding fine-dining restaurant and a gourmet coffeehouse. There isn't much else here - which is entirely the point.

``There are no streetlights. It's real quiet and dark,'' said Ron Stewart, one of the chefs at the restaurant, Ristorante Mare Blu. ``It really is like an old small town.''

Baywood Park is overgrown with mature cypress trees. Its streets don't have curbs or sidewalks - and in some cases aren't even paved. The cypress needles crunch underfoot in a community that is ideally suited for leisurely strolls, particularly given the dearth of vehicle traffic.

Benches and a little pier at the edge of the bay create a popular place for conversation and contemplation. This extreme corner of the estuary is only a few feet deep at high tide and is left high and muddy at low tide - a prime time to observe the shore birds that wander the mud flats seeking food.

The Back Bay Inn stands at the water's edge, and all 13 of its rooms front the water. The property stands on the site of a former cinder-block motel that was ``a dump; it was awful,'' said Susan Jones, who works with a member of the inn's ownership group. ``There were dead cars all over the place, and people were renting week-to-week and month-to-month.''

After the ownership change, wranglings with the Coastal Commission caused the renovation effort to stretch over 10 years, and the inn finally opened three years ago.

The downstairs rooms have French doors that open onto a grassy area along the bay's edge, while the upstairs rooms (our choice) have windows that overlook it; two of the upstairs rooms also have balconies.

We found the rooms to be spacious and comfortably appointed (ours had a gas fireplace), but the best feature is the proximity to the bay - and nodding off to sleep to the sounds of waves lapping at the shore. Fog that is nearly ever-present along this stretch of the Central Coast only enhances the serenity.

Yet this still serves as a convenient base of operations for exploring the offerings of the Central Coast, from Montana de Oro State Park to the Paso Robles wine country.

Breakfast is included in the rate, but it was found to be a considerable disappointment. On the morning after San Luis Obispo's peerless Thursday night Farmers Market, our basket contained none of the fresh bounty we'd seen the night before but instead held crunchy melon chunks and dreadfully underripe strawberries.

For coffee, stop in at a little stand that sits in the Back Bay Inn's lap. Its name is a mystery, because the neon sign out front says Espresso Cafe while a menu flier inside identifies it as Coffee N Things. Whatever you call it, its patio tables are a pleasant place to pass the morning with a newspaper and a pastry.

Across Second Street (Baywood Park's main drag, such as it is) stands the Baywood Inn Bed and Breakfast, a property that isn't on the water's edge but nonetheless offers views of the back bay. It has 15 themed rooms (California Beach, Tex-Mex, Santa Fe, Granny's Attic, etc.) and two bay-front homes.

Any stay in this town should include dinner at Ristorante Mare Blu, which Stewart and Jeff Jackson opened 15 months ago. The cuisine is Mediterranean, with inventive pasta dishes and a wine list dominated by Central Coast selections. ``We use seasonal, local ingredients,'' said Stewart, ``and, whenever possible, organic and free-range (items). ... We change the menu all the time, so it keeps it interesting.''

The restaurant also serves breakfast (included with the rate at the Baywood Inn B&B).

For a daytime excursion, head to El Moro Elfin Forest Natural Area and its boardwalk. This one-mile leg-stretcher can be reached from numerous points at the north end of town, but a parking area is located at 16th Street, just off Santa Ysabel Avenue. The reserve presents a scenic overlook of the southeastern corner of the bay and informational signs about the plant and bird life found there.

BAYWOOD PARK

Where: Exit U.S. 101 at Los Osos Valley Road and head west to the town of Los Osos. Turn right at South Bay Boulevard, left at Santa Ysabel Avenue and left at Second Street to Baywood Park's two-block business district.

Back Bay Inn: Rooms from $109. Information: [phone]; www.backbayinn.com.

Baywood Inn Bed and Breakfast: Rooms from $110 in high season (from $90 after Sept. 22). Information: [phone]; www.baywoodinn.com.

Ristorante Mare Blu: Phone: [phone].

Information: The local Chamber of Commerce maintains a visitors center at 781 Palisades Ave., Los Osos. Visitor information is available at [phone]; www.losososbaywoodpark.org.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- 2) A small pier at the edge of Baywood Park provides a gathering spot for visitors and locals alike. The tiny Central Coast town sits on a remote thumb of the Morro Bay Estuary.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

Map:

Baywood Park