Driving Tours
Just an hour south of San Francisco, take Highway 280 to the stunning coastline along Highway One. Take a left onto Pescadero Creek Road and drive 3 miles. You can’t miss the goats in the field to your left at Harley Farms. Wander the farm on your own, playing with the goats (through the fence), seeing the cheesemaking and the lovely gardens. There is a delightful shop with all their cheeses, famous for their flower-studded decorations, along with other unique handcrafted items. Plan ahead for a guided tour. If it’s a Saturday, drive an hour south to Royal Oaks to visit Garden Variety Cheese, a small sheep dairy. Farm tours can be booked online ahead of time. And if you miss one of those, they have a small farmstand where you can pick up their cheeses (Saturdays only). Finally, Schoch Family Farmstead, an organic cow dairy located in Salinas, where you can get the only Monterey Jack still being made in Monterey County. Schoch has a variety of dairy products, all so delicious, and available at their newly opened on-farm shop.
Starting in the wine region of Paso Robles, head down a rural road to Black Market Cheese, where the tiny farm of sheep and goats makes other worldly cheeses, including cheese bonbons. There you can arrange a tasting, a farm tour, purchase cheese at their shop or even stay overnight in their on-farm lodging. From there, stopping in San Luis Obispo, pick up cheese at the university dairy drive-through - Cal Poly University Creamery - cheese made by students with milk from the college-educated bovines 😂. At the San Luis Obispo Public Market, you can get one of the many award-winning cheeses or cheesy menu items at the Central Coast Creamery shop which also features their own cheeses as well as those from next generation cheesemaker Shooting Star Creamery. If you still have energy and are willing to head to the coast, arrange a farm tour at Stepladder Creamery in Cambria, a couple of miles off of coastal Highway 1. This hidden gem of a ranch has goats, avocados and cheremoyas, as well as a farm stay. Remember, you don’t have to do these all at once. And you can start at any location.
If you happen to be stopping at Mercey Hot Springs in the center of California (something we’d all like to do, right?) and are looking for a cheese adventure, stop by Claravale Farm, home of cows and goats and milk in glass bottles and small batches of cheese. They’re open Mon-Sat, 10-6. Then, head north and through the Great Valley Grasslands State Park into farm country to stop at the remote Peluso Cheese, home of the much sought after Teleme cheese, a rice-coated cheese perfect for polenta. The cheese, made on site, is available for sale in the front office refrigerator. Make sure to call ahead to guarantee they’re open.
Starting in the center of California, two hours straight east from San Francisco, at the top of the Central Valley farming region, visit Stuyt Dairy Farmstead Cheese, where you can pick up a variety of Gouda, fresh cheeses and any new cheeses made by the family, who originally made their way here from The Netherlands. While there, peek into the tiny small-batch creamery. Another Dutch family, the Bulks, have their creamery, Oakdale Cheese & Specialties, just a few minutes away. They make Gouda of all varieties as well as a mean toasted Gouda grilled cheese sandwich. Picnic there and hang out with their animals in the outdoor petting zoo. From there, begin your trip south to Modesto, to another farmstead operation: Fiscalini Cheese Company. Cows surround their creamery, where they make their award-winning Bandage Wrapped Cheddar. Purchase cheese in their tiny office/shop. Then just a half hour south, for a completely different experience. Hilmar Cheese Company, the largest creamery in the world, making over two million pounds of cheese a day, was started by a group of dairy farmers. Videos show you the cheesemaking process, and there are all sorts of educational "toys" in their upstairs exhibit and even a restaurant. You can see cheesemakers filling curd into 200 lb. blocks. It’s not to be missed. As always, you don’t have to do it all. Pick and choose and then go back another time to discover what you missed the first time around.
Starting in the town of Clovis, book online for a Saturday visit to Rocky Oaks Goat Creamery, where you can visit with the goats, get a cheese tasting and purchase cheese. Occasionally, they even have a goat yoga class (ooh!). From there, it’s a short hop to Raw Farm, a raw cow dairy. Again, make sure to check their website before heading out to find tour information and shop hours. And finally, head another half an hour south to Vintage Cheese, a mini-Knotts Berry Farm with antiques and junktiques, animals and a shop full of goodies, picnic tables. If you’re there at the right time, you can watch cheesemaking through the window.
If you’re looking for a one-stop cheesemaker located in a mini-mall, this is it. Queso Salazar, located in an innocuous tiny roll-up warehouse in Brentwood, hides a family creamery making Queso Oaxaca and Queso Fresco. There’s no guarantee they’re there…but what a find. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll catch them braiding their cheese. You can purchase cheese while there. Probably best to bring cash.
If you’re traveling waaay north in California, near Mt. Shasta, stop by the 50-acre community Copeland Family Farms in Grenada that has members milking cows, growing vegetables and raising chickens, beef and eggs. The farm hosts cheesemaking classes the last Saturday of the month. You can also visit the farm, view the milking parlor and purchase cheese. Call ahead before you stop by to find out what’s possible.
Between the town of Sacramento and Redding and just over the railroad tracks is a surprise of a creamery, Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, which features an abundance of organic and specialized cheeses and butters. Stop by to pick up all that they can offer, which is lot! Open Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00.
Start right outside Novato at Marin French Cheese Company, the longest continually operating cheese company in the U.S., where you can picnic by the pond, shop in the retail store and taste award-winning Brie and Camembert cheeses as well as sister cheeses from Laura Chenel (goat cheese). Then travel west on the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road, make a quick detour onto Nicasio Valley Road to the quaint village of Nicasio. There you’ll find Nicasio Valley Cheese Company. The Lafranchi family produces fantastic farmstead Swiss-Italian style cheeses with milk from their own organic dairy just down the road. You can view the cheesemaking through the window – best times are during the week and in the mornings. On Fridays May-October, they'll also do a tour of their organic dairy along with a cheese tasting. Sign up on their website. Then, retrace your steps to the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road and head into the town of Point Reyes for a charming two-block historic town with shops, restaurants and the great Palace Market that carries all the local artisan cheeses. From there, drive 3 miles north to the entrance of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese. You can visit their farm, purchase cheese from their on-site market, or plan ahead for one of their cheese tasting events. While in the area, we encourage you to visit the Point Reyes National Seashore for some spectacular hikes. – Or, if you plan ahead, you can sign up for a family-friendly farm tour with goat, sheep and cheese at Toluma Farms in the town of Tomales. Tours take place the first Sunday of the month and you can sign up on their website.
If you’re headed to or from Reno, stop by Charley and MaryLisa’s small goat dairy, just half an hour from the town of Auburn and near Sutter’s Creek. They usually have goats by their entrance, who are happy to get attention. Or check their website for hours when you can get a farm tour, see their creamery and purchase cheese.
A trip up the coast of California brings spectacular ocean views and redwood groves, and also includes three cheesemakers. This might be a two-day excursion. 115 miles north of San Francisco, in the Alexander Valley, where there's wine aplenty, make your first cheese stop at Pennyroyal Farm, where you can take a farm tour (goats and sheep), see cheese aging, taste cheese and have some cheese with your wine, as the co-owner is also of Navarro Winery. If you're heading over to the coast, amble north. If you're there on a Sunday, Spring Hill Farmstead Goat in Bayside (near Eureka) has a small creamery with goats, which can be visited by appointment (Sundays only). Keep heading north, first allowing yourself to be distracted by the scenery, stopping often. A stop in the charming and historic town of Ferndale, where many small dairies dot the landscape, is not to be missed. Heading even further north, you'll end up in Crescent City (just south of the Oregon border). Once there, stop by the Rumiano cheese shop and creamery, makers of Dry Jack and organic cheese, to view the cheesemaking and pick up cheese.
Yes, there's cheese in the big city. The only creamery in town has a window, where, if you're lucky, you can see butter being hand-paddled and fresh cheese being made. Along with carrying cheese from Tomales Farmstead Creamery (same owners), you can pick up wood-fired bagels, sandwiches and fresh roasted coffee.
Plan a trip from Petaluma to the ocean. Starting in the town of Petaluma, stop by the Petaluma Creamery shop, located adjacent to their large creamery, where you can pick up cheese from Petaluma Creamery and Spring Hill Jersey farm. Then, if you plan ahead, you can take a five minute drive outside Petaluma (this must be scheduled through their website) to Achadinha Cheese, a family farm, to visit their goats, cows, see the creamery, taste and purchase cheese. Otherwise, from the Petaluma Creamery, drive out towards the coast, stopping by Valley Ford Cheese Company, in the tiny “town” of Valley Ford. See the cheese wheels through the window, pick up any one of their award-winning Swiss-Italian style cheese, stay for lunch or pick up picnic items and even try their own homemade soft serve ice cream. All products are made from son Jim’s nearby Jersey cow herd.
Start at The Barlow in Sebastopol, the outdoor, chic industrial shopping district, where you can find Wm. Cofield nestled just around the corner from the center road. British-Style cheddar and blue cheese await - order a cheese plate and sit outside. Then head out of town. Just five minutes away, make a left on Occidental Road to try the rustic-style cheeses of Bohemian Creamery, a goat farm and cheese shop. You may picnic there or take one of their creamery tours on Saturday and Sunday at 1pm (check their website for details and to sign up). Then continue on Occidental Road, make a right on Llano Road to find the Matos Cheese Factory, a small farm with a creamery on site. Sample St. George, a buttery semi-hard cheese made in the style of the Portuguese Azores.
Enjoy a trip to the charming vintage town of Sonoma. Right off the central Sonoma Square in a stonewalled building, is Vella Cheese, known for their hand-rolled dry Jack cheese. Ask for a free guided cheese tasting of all their cheeses. And if you plan ahead, take a fun cheesemaking class with Sheana and Ben at The Epicurean Connection, getting tastes of their cheese while you’re there.
Hidden in an industrial building in a forgettable area of Los Angeles, don't be afraid to knock on the door of Gioia where someone behind the desk will sell you smaller and bulk amounts of fresh mozzarella and burrata. They were the first to bring burrata to the United States. It's surprising no one knows about this place and there aren't lines around the block. Then head to Los Altos Foods to pick up Queso Fresco and other Mexican cheeses. And if you email ahead for an appointment, you can also stop by DiStefano. Yes, Lucy, there's cheese in Los Angeles! -- Oh, and if you are in San Diego, head to AleSmith, home of CheeseSmith cheese. Beer and cheese. What a combo!
For another one stop trip, and to see something way east of Los Angeles, head to Mojave Gold, located in Hinkley, in the Mojave Desert. This small-scale woman-owned, free-range artisan goat dairy and creamery makes hand-crafted cheeses, Cajeta and more. Go online to arrange a tour by appointment and to purchase cheese; you must schedule your visit in advance.
