Named after the Mission San Rafael Archangel, built by Spanish missionaries in 1817, San Rafael is located 18 miles north of San Francisco, halfway between the City and the Sonoma wine country. The area enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate year round.

Marin's oldest city offers a wide assortment of housing from Peacock Gap Golf and Country Club's contemporary homes and condominiums overlooking the Bay, to spacious traditional homes in the prestigious Dominican area. San Rafael has 14 parks, yacht clubs, outstanding docking and launching facilities, tennis-swim clubs and bicycle trails. The Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, attractively harmonizes with the rolling hills north of town. Here you will find ranch style and Eichler homes, which are quite prevalent in the Terra Linda and Marinwood areas.

Marin's premier city San Rafael is the oldest and largest city in the County and it is also the seat of County Government. Marin's second most popular tourist spot (after Muir Woods), the Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center, was the last major structure and the only government building designed by the world famous architect. It is now a national historic landmark.

Among the many cultural and recreational facilities found here, is the 20-acre Marin County Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Center is home to Marin County's government offices, the main county library and the Marin Center for the Performing Arts. Nearby China Camp State Park opens a window to the time Chinese shrimp fishermen set forth to try their luck upon San Pablo Bay. Beautiful Mount Tamalpais dominates the landscape to the south and west, providing protection from the ocean breezes and coastal fog.

Other notable places to visit are McNear's Beach Park, which rims a picture perfect shoreline and is wonderfully secluded, yet only minutes from town; the lovely Dominican College campus, founded in 1888; and the Falkirk Cultural Center, a handsomely preserved, 17-room Victorian mansion that is set on 11 acres of formal grounds just a block from downtown.

San Rafael, it is truly a community where families can enjoy an active lifestyle and partake of a rich historical and cultural heritage.

Mill Valley Travelodge gives you an opportunity to visit the best places around san Francisco while giving you the comfort of a perfect San Francisco hotel room