Sports & Outdoor Activities
Fairfax is an outdoor activity town. Gaining recognition as the birth place of mountain biking, residents have been hiking, biking and horseback riding the myriad trails of the Mount Tamalpais watershed and the many nearby Open Space Preserves for decades.
Five Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) reservoirs lie in the folds of Mt. Tam above Fairfax. Starting in town, you can walk, bike or horseback ride from Deer Park to the peak of Mt. Tam at 2572 feet elevation. Other outdoor activities include golf, tennis, swimming, fishing and bocce.
Member or Private Facilities
Swimming & Tennis
Cañon Swim & Tennis Club
The Cañon Swim & Tennis Club is located in a hidden valley just one mile west of downtown Fairfax. The pool and tennis courts are surrounded by permanent open space hills where wildflowers bloom in the spring and deer and wild turkeys roam all year. Cañon Swim & Tennis Club has a pro shop, swim and tennis lessons, junior tennis programs, swim and tennis camps for kids, and a relaxed atmosphere, but most importantly, great people who enjoy and appreciate our wonderful area.
Horseback Riding & Equestrian Training
Marin Stables on Wood Lane and Baywood Equestrian Center on Baywood Canyon Road
provide many types of opportunities and experiences for horse lovers. Marin Stables offer horse boarding, access to Open Space and MMWD trails, as well as Educational & Therapeutic Equestrian Programs for adults and children. Baywood focuses on lessons and training, and also provides boarding.
Golf
The Meadow Club
Designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie, the Meadow Club was built on the slopes of Mt. Tam above Fairfax in 1927. A private membership club, it provides spectacular vistas to its golfers. The greens abut MMWD land and trails, and is reached from Bolinas Road.
Campgrounds
Camp Tamarancho
The Marin Council of the Boy Scouts of America operates Camp Tamarancho in the hills above Fairfax, adjacent to one of the Open Space Preserves. Used as a camping area for the Scouts and available to other groups as well on a reservation basis, Camp Tamarancho also issues annual or single day permits for visitors to use its mountain biking trails.
Public Facilities
Mountain Biking and Cycling
Fairfax is widely credited as the birthplace of mountain biking. With a Museum of Mountain Biking in the works, and the “Repack Mosaic Bench” on Bolinas Road, the town celebrates its 40 plus years as the incubator of this popular sport.
Bike Rentals
Bring your own bike or rent from:
Sunshine Bicycles on Center Blvd
Fairfax Cyclery on Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Tennis & Bocce
Peri Park Adjacent
There are tennis courts and a bocce court adjacent to Peri Park on Park Road. These are available for public use. Bocce, derived from an ancient Roman game and played in many Mediterranean countries under different names, was brought to Fairfax by Italian immigrant settlers in the early 20th century.
Picnics & BBQ’s
Peri Park, Deer Park, MMWD Sky Oaks
Have a picnic or hold a BBQ with friends or family at any of several locations in and around Fairfax. In Peri Park enjoy some shade under the redwoods while cooking up something tasty. Or check out Deer Park with the same idea in mind.
A little higher up Mt. Tam you can picnic by one of the MMWD reservoirs accessed through Sky Oaks Watershed Headquarters off Bolinas Road heading west out of town.
Baseball Little League
Contratti Park Baseball Field
The West Marin Little League holds its season kickoff with a parade down Fairfax’s Broadway culminating in celebrations at Contratti Park Baseball Field. When not hosting Little League games, the fields are available for the public to use. A little batting practice anyone?
Golf
San Geronimo Golf Course
A few miles out of town off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in West Marin, the San Geronimo Golf Course is a shining example of what a public golf facility should be. Voted Best of Marin and Best of the North Bay, the course provides a beautiful backdrop for the challenging holes, and its restaurant serves organic and sustainably harvested foods.
Walking & Hiking
Fairfax has many interesting neighborhoods. Some are in the flatlands, others climb into the hills. There are over a hundred pedestrian walks and trails scattered across the environs. Some are obvious, some are overgrown. Many trails in the hills are multi-use for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. But others are reserved only for walkers, some for walkers and horseback riders.
Wildlife Observation
Fairfax and its nearby environment abound in wildlife. Whether you head out to the Open Space Preserves or the MMWD lands on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais, you will be rewarded with sightings aplenty. There are at least 53 species of birds tracked by the MMWD naturalists. Out in plain sight are deer, squirrels, wild turkeys, hawks and vultures. Harder to spot because they inhabit the more remote areas are bobcats, foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, raccoons and snakes. Near bodies of water and wet areas you can find newts, frogs, lizards, trout, turtles, cormorants, ducks, herons, egrets, bald eagles and even the occasional seagull.
Fishing
Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD)
All seven lakes operated by MMWD are open for fishing year-round. Bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish can be caught in all of the lakes except Lagunitas. State fishing licenses are required for all fishing on these watershed lands. Lake Lagunitas is managed under a special program for trout and has different fishing regulations from the rest of the reservoirs. Lagunitas Creek between Alpine and Kent Lake is open for fishing from the last Saturday in April through November 15. All other streams on MMWD lands are closed to all fishing all year.