Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Ed Cohn and Karen Osborne stand in front of one of the units for guests at the Miracle Farm Bed and Breakfast.

LAUREL BRANCH -- With the road twisting like a snake through the mountains of Floyd County, the private gravel road called Ida Rose Lane is a side glance between trees and easy to miss.

But once the brakes are thrown, the car is put into reverse and the wheels are crunching over the dust and grit toward Miracle Farm, it's easy to understand the name of the 10-acre pocket waiting down the lane.

The farm is on the West Fork of the Little River and consists of a house, occupied by former Californians Karen Osborne and Ed Cohn, and four uniquely shaped cabins that make up the Miracle Farm Bed and Breakfast Spa and Resort.

Up the hill from the cabins is also a pilates studio with a massage table partially surrounded by a bamboo grove.

"When we were in California, it was our goal to have something like this, but real estate prices are astronomical on the West Coast," Cohn said.

Osborne was born in Hampton and the couple became intersted in the Floyd area after seeing it advertised in Communities magazine. They fell in love with it and decided to leave the San Francisco Bay area, where they were both working as teachers, Ed as a music teacher and Karen as a personal trainer.

The couple, who are in their early 50s, moved here in January and opened the bed and breakfast just before FloydFest this summer. They say it has already been successful.

Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the abundant trout streams stocked for fishing, to hike the trails across the property and to participate in campfire circles by the river on clear nights.

Cohn and Osborne have two organic gardens and grow and cook their own food for guests. They serve a vegetarian breakfast that will often include blackberry pancakes or scones, whole-grain products and vegan sausage.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Ed Cohn waters the garden located beside the main house; The West Fork of the Little River meanders through Miracle Farm.

"We anticipated each day's arrival of breakfast at 9 a.m. with pleasure," said Roger Stancil of Fayetteville, N.C. He and his wife and daughter recently stayed at Miracle Farm after discovering it on the Chateau Morrisette Web site.

"Our bed was extremely comfortable," he added. "The area was private with the ability to access more public tourist places like the Floyd General Store, the Friday Night Musicfest and the Harvest Moon store."

Betsy Monaghan of New Jersey and her husband, Sean, recently stayed at Miracle Farm.

"We hiked through the bamboo patch and along the stream and through the woods," she said. "We like to fish and we waded the river. I caught a couple small fish and Sean saw a couple larger ones."

Cabin price ranges for the weekend are $115 to $155 per night, and $95 ti $125 per night during the week.

Cohn and Osborne also are developing a nonprofit organization under the Miracle Farm name that will be a sustainable living center and animal sanctuary. Sustainable living refers to the way the owners plan to use their own land to meet their needs.

Cohn and Osborne use a compost heap to turn biodegradable foods into fertilizer, are developing their own water recycling system and plan to adopt abused and sick animals to come live on the farm. Cohn is especially interested in how "permaculture" creates a sustainable living environment.

"Permaculture refers to a landscaping design method that involves taking all physical and natural elements of an area and designing them to enhance each other," Cohn said. "It has to do with how you build your buildings, place the plants and where the animals are kept. The goal is to create a natural, sustaining environment."

On the Web: miraclefarmbnb.com