Will Drive for Dairy: 5 of the Best American Cheese Trails

In Will Travel for Cheese we profiled Cheese Journeys, a company that specializes in organizing deep dives into iconic fromage destinations such as Northern Italy, the Alpine regions of France and Switzerland, and Great Britain, among others. But if an epic cheese trip is not in your budget, or you’re looking for a simpler weekend cheese getaway in the U.S., good news! Local cheese trails and cheese maps are on the rise — has there ever been a more worthy excuse for a road trip than the phrase, “cheese map?” — as states and regions try to capitalize on an increasing interest in food, and particularly dairy, tourism.

Cheese is made in every state, and several have such concentrated pockets of exemplary cheesemaking or retail activity as to have given rise to cheese trails, or cheese maps, curated by parties such as local or state dairy associations, travel boards, or cheesemaker collectives. Nearly half of American states have some kind of cheese-themed road trip, with several having hyper state-specific cheese guides such as the Arkansas Cheese Dip Trail, Kentucky Beer Cheese Trail, and New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail. For artisan cheese, we’ve rounded up some of the country’s best cheese maps and trails, with 5 U.S. states where you can hit the (yellow brick) road for cheese and let your curd nerd flag fly.

California

The California Cheese Trail includes 77 creameries up and down the state, with 9 suggested loops that range in scope from 7 to 125 miles. The 33-mile Marin County loop offers the most impact for your distance, with stops at 4 trailblazing California creameries: Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Nicasio Valley Cheese, Tomales Farmstead Creamery, and Marin French Cheese, the longest continually operating cheese company in the United States. Other loops include Sonoma, (for a possible wine/cheese hybrid road trip,) Central Coast, Central Valley, North Coast, Southern California, and N. Sacramento/Sierra. The map even has a tool where you can build your own itinerary based on what creameries you most want to visit. See our stories about the washed rind cheeses from Marin French Cheese and Nicasio Valley Cheese, and a profile of Tomales Farmstead Creamery.

Wisconsin

You know that a state full of citizens who proudly wear cheese-shaped headwear to major sporting events has something to prove where cheese is concerned. While California and Vermont arguably lead the artisanal cheese movement in terms of visibility in the U.S., Wisconsin produces the most cheese in the U.S., which is not limited to just block cheddars or squeaky cheese curds. The state boasts over 60 artisanal production facilities, with a strong showing from Swiss immigrants producing old world styles with new world attitude (and Midwestern friendliness.)

Travel Wisconsin has compiled 5 cheese itineraries grouped by geography and highlighting not only cheese shops and producers, but also markets, restaurants, and even inns where cheese lovers will delight in the cheesy hospitality. The multi-day Madison itinerary includes not-to-be-missed Fromagination, a Cheese Professor favorite.

It is worth mentioning that Wisconsin also is home to Grilled Cheese Academy, an association in support of the state’s cheeses. Unfortunately, it’s not a place one can actually visit, (more’s the pity,) and is more of a lifestyle than an actual educational institution, but if you needed one more reason to visit Wisconsin for cheese, here we are.

Vermont

The Vermont Cheese Trail includes 53 creameries, a staggering number considering that its landmass is about 15 percent of Wisconsin’s and roughly 5 percent of California’s. But never mind the impressive quantity, because Vermont also brings impressive quality.

Highlights include Jasper Hill Farm, (New York International Cheese Competition 2022 multi-award winner,) Consider Bardwell, Parish Hill Creamery, Spring Brook Farm, Vermont Creamery, Vermont Shepherd, and von Trapp Farmstead. (Yes, it is a relation. Those hills are alive. The family also makes beer, so there’s lots to sing about.)

The Vermont Cheese Trail map itself is a wealth of information, including icons to delineate cow, sheep, and goat farms, as well as whether creameries are regularly open to the public or by-appointment. (A note on the Vermont Cheese Trail’s website points out that it hasn’t yet been updated post-COVID, and encourages users to call ahead to the various creameries to avoid disappointment upon arrival.)

So long as you’re in Vermont, which — to put it mildly — is not a very big state, you can also combine it with New Hampshire’s Wine and Cheese Trails for another day or two of dairy-forward driving.

Massachusetts

The Berkshires is a rural, mountainous region located in western Massachusetts, with a bit of spillover into New York and Vermont. Topographically, it couldn’t be further from the coastal, urban metropolises of New York City and Boston. Culturally and gastronomically, it’s actually kind of close. Home to Tanglewood Music Center and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the region has become a draw for big city chefs looking for a life away from the bustle.

Among other things, this has created a hotbed of activity for artisanal food and beverage producers of all kinds, and Berkshire Farm and Table is an organization that promotes the Berkshire Cheese Trail, which includes 14 creameries and inns, as well as the Beer and Cider Trail and the Charcuterie Trail.

So definitely do all that when you’re in the area, because why wouldn’t you? As for cheese, a few stars of note are Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, a pioneer of sheep’s milk cheese in the U.S., and Cricket Creek Farm. (Try the formidable, taleggio-inspired Tobasi.)

Oregon

If you are a disciple of Portlandia and believe that the spirit of the 1890s is indeed alive there, then it will be no surprise that Oregon has been in the artisanal food game for as long as any place in the United States. The Oregon Cheese Guild provides an excellent guide for the Oregon Cheese and Food Trail, where nearly every possible style of cheese is represented in the state’s 21 featured creameries, as well as other handmade goods such as beer, chocolate, charcuterie, honey, bread, and preserves. (All of which, to state the obvious, are excellent companions for cheese.)

In addition to the creameries, the trail highlights farmer’s markets, food destinations, and food retailers of note. Ochoa’s Queseria is a surprisingly northern stop for fresh, Mexican-style cheeses, and if the words “Rogue River Blue” cause you to swoon like they do me, you won’t want to miss a visit to Rogue Creamery. Read about Rogue Creamery’s Flora Nelle Blue.

So long as you’re making a drive of the Pacific Northwest, check out the Washington Cheese Map for potential visits to those creameries as well.