Fairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States.

Fairfax is located 3.25 miles (5.2 km) west-northwest of San Rafael,[7] at an elevation of 115 feet (35 m).

[6] The Coast Miwok Native Americans occupied stretches along local creeks, spring and seep areas; moreover, prehistoric habitations were usually chosen near permanent and seasonal drainages, typically along flat ridges and terraces.

Daniel Showalter and Charles W. Piercy, both former assemblymen in the state legislature,[8] decided to settle a political dispute at the home of Lord Fairfax, a mutual friend.

Although Fairfax provided lunch to both men and tried to talk them out of it, they eventually headed to an open field nearby and dueled, with Showalter killing Piercy.

[7] On May 16, 1946, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, crashed on White's Hill just west of Fairfax.

Fairfax is in eastern Marin County, bordered to the east by San Anselmo and to the north by unincorporated Sleepy Hollow.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2), all of it recorded as land.

These soils are typically formed from sandstone and shale and often occur on slopes ranging above 15 percent.

[20][21][22] Irving Berlin used to serenade from a treetop piano at Pastori's Hotel, formerly Bird's Nest Glen, the home of Lord Charles Snowden Fairfax, and later known as the Marin Town & Country Club.

[23] The popularity of outdoor hot tubs soared after Al Garvey designed his own redwood hot tub in July 1966, installed outside Al and Barbara Garvey's home on Scenic Road on the hillside leading up to Fairfax Manor.

The Garvey hot tub was used by hundreds of people in the first few months, including jazz musician John Handy, eccentric architect Roger Somers and sex worker/feminist Margo St.

[24][25] Barbara Garvey said, "We decided to make the hot tub a social enterprise and started throwing parties.

The social fashion of hot-tubbing with friends became connected with Marin County culture and style.

[25] Fairfax is a popular destination for mountain bikers and road cyclists due to its proximity to Mount Tamalpais.

In 2015, Joe Breeze and other members of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame founded the Marin Museum of Bicycling in downtown Fairfax.