The front lawn of St. Michaels' Two Swan Inn offers one of the finest harbor views on the East Coast. Guests spend entire vacations perched in fan chairs, ogling a panoply of yachtdom cruising by on the Miles River, literally at arm's distance. But, after the obvious enticements wear thin, St. Michaels is a great place to leave.

Getting out of town reveals the less varnished Chesapeake, rich in history, natural spectacle and singular experiences. Using St. Michaels as a hub for exploring the Eastern Shore puts you just down the road from an abundance of singular destinations.

Begin by traveling south to Royal Oak and its collection of eclectic shops selling everything from distressed furniture to suits of armor. After browsing, follow the signs to Bellevue and the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. Oxford, one of the most popular Eastern Shore daytrips, combines a classic ferry ride with an historic Tidewater port and quaint antiques and craft shops.

Leave your car on the Bellevue side and board as a foot passenger on the country's oldest, privately owned, free-running ferry. Crossing the Tred Avon River as a pedestrian on the ferry is the preferred entrance to Oxford. The harbor-full of sailboats and period architecture make the approach to Oxford a defining image of the Eastern Shore. One of the oldest Maryland towns, Oxford began in the 1660s. Before Baltimore, Washington or Richmond were of any consequence, Oxford was a major seaport, serving the surrounding tobacco plantations.

The town's fortunes fell after the Revolutionary War. The splendid homes along Morris Street display the later wealth from the menhaden that fed Oxford's fisheries, canneries, boatyards and railroad in the 1880s. Vestiges of the last boom, venerable skipjacks and flighty log canoes, still race on the Tred Avon.

Oxford is a walker's town. It offers a warren of quiet streets to wander, each lined with well-kept homes, some dating back to the town's Colonial past. Going on foot accommodates the town's scale and enables visitors to notice the wealth of rich detail. Oxford has few shops and amenities, but a walk along the Strand, a riverfront promenade, presents the full catalog of Chesapeake building styles and architectural adventures.

Just up from the ferry landing, the Robert Morris Inn serves benchmark crab cakes: big, plump, backfin jobs, perfectly baked and served in an ambience rooted in the 18th century.

Back on the Bellevue side, the eponymously named Bellevue Store can shock shoppers jaded by production-line antiques, carved crab napkin rings and T-shirt emporiums. Instead, it provides a constantly changing melange of quality craft items, Eastern Shore photography, fine papers and whimsical, eccentric gifts. Even without the ferry ride, Bellevue is worth visiting.

Going south

Another journey away from St. Michaels offers a quantum change from the harbor's cozy confines. Travel south to the Chesapeake's exposed sweep at Blackwalnut Point, on Tilghman Island's southern end. Along the way, detour back to the era of the Bayline steamers by visiting Claiborne. Its old ferry pier, renovated and maintained by Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, shelters a quiet basin, perfect for launching a boat, fishing the shallows or watching a family of ospreys teach their young to fly. The town has changed little since the ferry days. Standing on the pier, one's imagination easily hears the spectral whistles of ghost liners approaching the slip.

From Claiborne, continue south across Knapp Narrows and through Tilghman. Beyond Fairbank, just before the road ends, the open Chesapeake sweeps into view. Distance gives perspective; the Bay's 15-mile "fetch" stretches clear to the Calvert Cliffs, rising above the Earth's curve on the distant Western Shore. This is the Big Bay.

Southwest, out in the mouth of the Choptank River, a tilted lighthouse stands as the final marker for Sharps Island, once a large island with numerous farms of several hundred acres each. The island lasted well into this century; now it is just a shoal at the edge of the central Bay.

The same erosion that eliminated Sharps Island also attacks Blackwalnut's shoreline, forcing a retreat of more than 2,000 feet in the last 100 years. In the 1960s, Maryland hydrographers documented losses of more than 20 feet in a single weekend storm. Heavy stone riprap and bulkheading, the most recent attempts to counter the erosive energy, defend against the Bay's wind-driven surf.

The armored roadway also benefits anglers and serves as protection and a viewing site for the wetlands near the point's southernmost tip. Migrating butterflies rest here on their annual journeys.

The rising late afternoon wind clears the haze but slams choppy waves into the massively built bulkheads, sending spray over at shoulder height. The sunset also drenches the point, in harlot red and scarlet orange, smearing down low across the sharply etched horizon. Return to St. Michaels with enough daylight to eat exquisite soft shell crabs in Louise and Douglas Taylor's garden at the Buttermilk Cafe.

Riding the ferry

When the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel sped up the pace for formerly isolated Lower Eastern Shore towns, a pair of small cable ferries plying the Wicomico River southwest of Salisbury kept in step with their community.

The Whitehaven, southernmost of the two, could be the most congenial ferry in the central Atlantic. Operating continuously since 1690, it carries travelers over one of the area's prettiest crossings. On the south bank, open marshes line the shore, giving refuge to water birds, muskrats and other wetlands dwellers. On the north bank, the town of Whitehaven, once a deep-water port and shipbuilding center, presents a classic Chesapeake facade. Nearly a dozen well-kept or renovated buildings face the river along the bulkheaded waterfront. Originally built during the 19th-century menhaden boom years, the waterfront displays a tidy, renewed and "in progress" air, despite an old fishing boat rotting majestically at the town's west end.

The ferry transiting the Wicomico appears sparse, simply a flat deck with room for two cars in single file. The diesel engine compartment and operator's shed, pinned to a side rail, give some relief to the craft's flat profile. A cable laid along the river's bed guides the ferry and holds it against the current's sideways push. The Whitehaven primarily serves commuters: people living Wicomico County and working in Somerset.

The Upper Ferry, a dozen miles upriver, lies closer to urbanized Salisbury and carries more traffic. Similar to the Whitehaven in size and operation, it serves expanding residential developments the north, feeding commuters to jobs centered around Princess Anne County. Complete a hat trick by returning to St. Michaels via Oxford and the ferry to Bellevue.

Wye Island

Another adventure north from St. Michaels leads to the Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area on a tributary of Eastern Bay. Wye Island presents another Chesapeake wild land. The management area stitches together the island's Colonial era farmsteads under Maryland State Parks' management. Near the southern end of the Carmichael road, the Ferry Point Trail begins at a small parking lot. The trail once led to a hand-drawn ferry across the Wye River, less than a mile away. Actually traversing Drum Point, the path still is known as the Ferry Point Trail.

Ancient Osage orange trees line both sides of the aged pathway. Twisted branches spread over the lane and bend back to the ground under their own weight. Fragrant green, softball-sized "oranges" tumble underfoot. These trees once lined fields throughout this part of America; their prolific, thorny branches formed natural fences. But as land use changed, Osage oranges fell out of favor. The double row of mature trees leading to Drum Point is a living relic linking today's visitors to more than 15 generations of past Wye Islanders.

Wye Island's fields and forests currently offer two other foot trails: the School House Trail, leading past the old, one-room school that served the island's children; and the Holly Tree Trail around a 275-year-old holly. Open every day from sunrise to sunset, Wye Island offers few amenities but enormous opportunities for anglers, birders, hikers, hunters and other outdoors people.

St. Michaels' local attractions and variety of accommodations make it one of Maryland's signature destinations. But it's the town's location deep in the Colonial Chesapeake that makes it a prime base for exploring Maryland's Eastern Shore. These three adventures within a day's drive prove St. Michaels can be as exciting to leave as it is to visit.

WHEN YOU GO ...

Getting There: St. Michaels is located in Talbot County, 11 miles east of Easton on Maryland Route 33, approximately a 90-minute drive from Baltimore. Cross the Bay Bridge and bear right at the 50/301 split. Follow Route 50 east toward Easton. Bear right on the Easton Bypass Route 322. Turn right at the fourth traffic light onto Route 33, the St. Michaels Road.

Where to Stay: The St. Michaels area offers numerous accommodations; most are expensive. The best bet is to pick one of the charming bed and breakfasts in town and pay the price. The following rates reflect the current season, and are the lowest mid-week rate to the highest weekend rate.

* Two Swan Inn: Foot of Carpenter Street; 410-745-2929; $115- $135 (two-night minimum weekend stay).

* The Inn at Perry Cabin: 308 Watkins; 800-722-2949; $195-$695 (no minimum stay).

* Best Western - St. Michaels Motor Inn: 1228 S. Talbot; 410-745-3333; $85-$102 (no minimum stay).

* The Oaks: Route 329, Royal Oak; 410-745-5053; $90-$225 (two-night minimum weekend stay).

* Five Gables Inn - A Small Spa Retreat: listed in the St. Michaels' brochure as "The Inn," 209 N. Talbot St.; 410-745-2799 or 410-745-2799; $150-$200 (two-night minimum weekend stay).

Where to Eat: Finding a place to eat around St. Michaels is rarely a problem. Restaurants range from down home to upscale.

* Poppi's: 207 N. Talbot (where the locals meet); breakfast, $1.95-$7.50, lunch, $3.75-$8.95, no dinner.

* Carpenter Street Saloon: Carpenter and Talbot (burgers and sandwiches); breakfast, $2.50-$5, lunch, $3.75-$6, dinner $8.95- $12.95.

* The Crab Claw: Navy Point (an Eastern Shore institution famous for steamed crabs); lunch and dinner only - one all-day menu, $4.95-$19.95.

* Michael Rork's Town Dock Restaurant: 125 Mulberry (offers excellent harbor views and fine dining); lunch, $6.95-$16.95, dinner, $14.95-$24.95, Sunday brunch, $14.95.

* 208 Talbot: 208 Talbot (as classy and upscale as it gets in St. Michaels); dinner only; $19.50-$27; Saturday fixed price five-course dinner, $48.

* The Buttermilk Cafe: 306 N. Talbot (an absolute gem); $l breakfast, $3, lunch, $4, dinner, $13.95-$20.

Don't Miss:

* The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Mill Street on Navy Point. Presenting the Chesapeake's maritime heritage, with vintage boats in the water and land, a lighthouse and numerous exhibits.

* A walking tour of St. Mary's Square to visit St. Michaels of the 19th century.

Tips: The daytrips mentioned lend themselves to picnicking. Pick up your supplies at the supermarkets on the Eastern Bypass or have a local restaurant prepare a box lunch.

What to Bring: Walking shoes, a windbreaker and a good pair of binoculars. In the summer, bring bug repellent.

Ferries: Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, Tred Avon River, 410-745-9023; Whitehaven Ferry, Whitehaven, 410-548-4873; Upper Ferry, near Allen, 410-548-4873.

Shopping: The Bellevue Store, Bellevue, 410-745-5282.

The great outdoors: Blackwalnut Point, south Tilghman Island, 410-820-1668; Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area, Wye Island south of Carmichael, 410-827-7577.

Information: Call 800-660-9471 for a brochure.

AN IDEAL DAY

Sunrise: By staying at the Two Swan Inn, you can awaken and watch the sunrise from the comfort of your bed. Breakfast is served on the lawn, and you can see the harbor crank up for the day's activities while lingering over a second cup of coffee.

9 a.m.: Stroll St. Michaels' back streets or St. Mary's Square on your way to Talbot Street. On Talbot Street, purchase supplies for a picnic lunch.

9:30 a.m.: Begin your choice of day trips.

Noon: Stop for lunch at a picnic spot or roadside area along the Eastern Shore back roads.

5 p.m.: Return to St. Michaels in time for cocktails at a harborside restaurant.

6 p.m.: Dine in the Buttermilk Cafe's butterfly garden.

9 p.m.: Take a quiet evening stroll along St. Michaels' waterfront.

Pub Date: 9/27/98