Running Fence, Environmental art installation in Sonoma and Marin Counties, California.

Running Fence was a 24.5-mile (39.4 km) veiled fence of heavy woven white nylon fabric, 18 feet (5.5 m) high, made of 2,050 panels hung from steel cables by 350,000 hooks. The cables were supported by 2,050 steel poles braced with guy wires and 14,000 earth anchors, without concrete. It ran from near U.S. Highway 101 across 14 roads and 59 ranches to the Pacific Ocean south of Bodega Bay.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude conceived the project in 1972 as Curtains for West Berlin, then relocated it to Sonoma and Marin Counties. Realisation took 42 months, 18 public hearings, three court sessions and a 450-page Environmental Impact Report. The fence was completed on 10 September 1976 and removed 14 days later.

The work lay entirely on private land and could be viewed from public roads, reigniting discussion about art in rural areas. Visitors at the time drove along intersection points with highways and country roads to see the fabric run over hills and valleys.

The installation no longer exists on site, but archival material and photographs show the route and appearance of the fabric. Interested visitors can trace the former route through the area and imagine how the work once crossed the landscape.

The project financed itself entirely through the sale of preparatory drawings and studies by the artists, without external sponsors. After removal, fabric scraps and poles became sought-after souvenirs that are still kept in private collections today.