Taking a road trip this summer? If you find yourself in the neighborhood of any of these cheesy destinations, be sure to stop by.
Hilmar Cheese Co. Factory Visitor Center
Hilmar, CA
9001 N. Lander Ave. - off of Hwy 165
Learn all about cheese making through the various exhibits at the world’s largest single-site cheese and whey products manufacturing facility. Lots of free samples, plus a gourmet gift shop, deli and cheese counter.
http://www.hilmarcheese.com/Visitor_Center/
Photo Source: Hilmar Cheese Company
Bravo Farms Cheese Factory
Traver, CA
36005 Hwy 99
Watch cheese being made, sample the cheese and enjoy other fine snacks – and don’t miss the seven-story tree house and garden full of art pieces and barnyard animals.
http://www.bravofarms.com/traver/
Photo Source: Bravo Farms
Dairy Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms
Fair Oaks, IN
856 N. 600 E.
Thirty thousand cows across nearly 30 square miles? Sounds like an adventure to us! Learn about dairy’s environmental stewardship and modern technology from animatronic creatures in the Adventure Center. See 72 cows milked on a carousel in the Milking Parlor. Sit in the Birthing Barn amphitheater to watch through glass walls as a new calf is born! You can see all that and much more at Fair Oaks Farms.
https://fofarms.com/adventures/dairy-adventure
Photo Source: Fair Oaks Farms
History of Cheesemaking Mural
Millersburg, OH
At Heini's Cheese Chalet – 6005 CR 77
Heini's Cheese Chalet offers a 60-foot-long mural illustrating the epic history of cheese, hand-painted by local artist Tom Miller. You’ll also find a 100-foot-long viewing corridor where you can watch Amish men make the cheese for real.
http://www.heinis.com/
Photo Source: Heini’s
Young’s Jersey Dairy
Yellow Springs, OH
6880 Springfield-Xenia Rd – off of US Hwy 68
A bona fide amusement park featuring mini-golf, batting cages, a corn maze – and a working dairy farm. They sell their own ice cream and cheeseburgers, rumored to be the best in southern Ohio.
http://youngsdairy.com/
Photo Source: Young’s Jersey Dairy
Tillamook Cheese Factory
Tillamook, OR
4175 US Hwy. 101 N – Tillamook Cheese Visitors Center
Plenty of fun photo-ops and a self-guided tour where you can peek in on cheese making through observation windows. There are free samples and a chance to grab a cheeseburger and to-die-for ice cream at the end.
http://www.tillamook.com/cheese-factory/index.html
Photo Source: Tillamook
The Turkey Hill Experience
Columbia, PA
301 Linden St. – off of Hwy 441
Once an abandoned silk mill, now an interactive ice cream experience! Walk through a larger-than-life interpretation of the entire ice cream–making process, from a giant tub of ice cream to a simulated deep freeze. You can even milk one of the robotic cows.
http://www.turkeyhillexperience.com/
Photo Source: Turkey Hill Experience
Mayfield Dairy Farms Plant
Athens, TN
4 Mayfield Lane – I-75 exit 52
A huge brown cow welcomes you to this charming milk facility. Free, hour-long tours start every half-hour, guiding you through the entire milk-packaging process. Check out the dairy bar at the end, where you can buy just about any flavor of ice cream.
http://www.mayfielddairy.com/
Photo Source: Joel Kramer
Cabot Cheese Factory Tour
Cabot, VT
2878 Main St. – at the Cabot Visitors Center off of Hwy 215
A $2 admission buys you a tour and dozens of varieties of cheese samples. You’ll watch through glass as workers make cheddar cheese, cream cheese and even sour cream.
http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/visit_us/visitor_center.php
Photo Source: Cabot
Mars Cheese Castle
Kenosha, WI
2800 120th Ave. – I-94 exit 340
Battlements and a drawbridge lure you inside this huge and quirky cheese world. Restaurant, bakery, wine tastings – and plenty of cheese. They also sell “cow pies” and udder mugs. Be sure you get a picture with the giant cheese-eating mouse sculpture!
http://www.marscheese.com/
Photo Source: Mars Cheese Castle
Ella’s Animatronic Deli
Madison, WI
2902 E. Washington Ave. – off of US 151
The craziest-ever Ice Cream Parlor & Kosher Deli. Outside, a merry-go-round. Inside, wild and wacky animatronics and dioramas are crammed into every nook and cranny: superheroes, The Beatles, dancing frogs. Also, some of the most amazing sundaes you’ll ever encounter.
http://www.ellasdeli.com/
Photo Source: Ella’s Deli and Ice Cream Parlor
Source: RoadsideAmerica.com
