
Workers at the Old Country Cheese plant in Cashton, Wisc. (Library of Congress)
After reading about these 10 spots, you’ll want to add taking a tour of a cheese factory to your 2025 bucket list.
Just like travelers visit California to tour wineries or head to Kentucky to sip locally made bourbon, Wisconsin is a major spot for cheese-factory tours.
There’s a clear reason for this. Wisconsin wins more awards than any other state for its cheese and hosts two major cheese contests: the United States Championship Cheese Contest and the World Championship Cheese Contest. Also, that ages-old squabble about whether California’s or Wisconsin’s cheese is better really comes down to this: Wisconsin is where artisan cheeses are made. Many are not distributed outside of the state or even the county in which they are made. This is another reason why one should tour cheese factories in the Badger State: to discover cheeses you can’t easily find at home.
Because many of Wisconsin’s cheesemakers are between the third and sixth generation family members to make cheese and don’t operate corporate-owned companies, these tours are intimate experiences. In fact, you’ll most likely meet the cheesemaker!
Another fun fact: Most of these creameries didn’t pop up in the last decade. Nelson Cheese Factory, which is now unfortunately closed, made cheese in Nelson, halfway between La Crosse and the Twin Cities, for about a century. Today, you can visit the former factory, which is now an artisan cheese store selling Wisconsin-made cheeses.
Here are some of the best cheese factory tours and experiences in Wisconsin.
1. Door County Creamery, Sister Bay
Through a window in the back of the café in downtown Sister Bay, where the menu features everything from goat-cheese gelato to cheesy sandwiches, you can watch the production of Door County Creamery’s chèvre and aged cheeses. Owners Jesse and Rachael Johnson source the milk from a local goat ranch. The café also has a retail shop selling nearly every cheese they make. Note that the creamery is only open seasonally (May through fall), as are many Door County businesses.
2. Union Star Cheese Factory, Fremont
A half-hour west of Appleton lies this cheese factory that dates back to 1906 and looks more like a historic house than it does a factory. No-cost factory tours take place from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and include tastings of fresh cheese curds. In the shop, more than 40 varieties of cheese are sold, including brick, cheddar, muenster, and Colby.
3. Marieke Gouda, Thorp
During the summer months, you can take a guided tour of the farm’s milking parlor and cow barn at Marieke Gouda. However, self-guided tours of the cheese-making proces—as seen through viewing windows—are available during business hours year-round. The retail store and Café Dutchess are open daily. The cafe’s unique menu features Marieka Gouda’s cheeses, like a farmer’s skillet topped with gouda, mac and cheese made with gouda, or burgers with melted gouda on top. Owner and cheesemaker Marieke Penterman hails from the Netherlands, so her store carries food products from her home country in addition to the cheese she makes.
4. Emmi Roth, Monroe
Among Wisconsin’s largest-production creameries, Emmi Roth’s history is rooted in Switzerland. In fact, many Green County residents hail from Switzerland, including many of the cheesemakers.
In addition to being a factory that sells cheese made on-site, there’s also a retail store called Alp and Dell, selling its wide variety of cheeses and managed by a champion yodeler for even more Swiss-ness. You literally can’t miss the store: The chalet’s right out of Switzerland with its peaked wooden roof and white-lace curtains in the windows. From here, a short and free guided tour launches Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. Or, you can experience the viewing wall any time the store’s open (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
5. LaClare Creamery and Saxon Creamery, Malone
This creamery, near the Eastern shores of Lake Winnebago, offers enough experiences that you could spend half a day here. Naturally, they are all built around cheese, whether it’s grabbing lunch in the café (featuring dishes like steak and eggs with LaClare’s smoked cheddar and a Cubano sandwich with Saxon’s Big Ed’s gouda) or hanging out with the goats during goat yoga (hosted in late spring and through the summer). You can view baby goats through the viewing window year-round.
Fifteen different types of cheeses are made here and you can witness the process on a self-guided tour between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Both creameries’ cheeses are sold in the retail store.
6. Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, Theresa
Visiting this small, historic creamery is like stepping back in time, which is fitting, as Joe Widmer is the third-generation owner of Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, and his son (Joey) is also involved in the business. There’s lots of cheese for sale in the retail store (from brick to cheddar and colby), as well as a small viewing area of the cheese-making process.
7. Old Country Cheese, Cashton
Open between April 1 and Sept. 30, Old Country Cheese sources milk from 230 local Amish farms to make its cheese, which ranges from flavored cheddars (such as cheddar horseradish and cheddar garlic) to juusto baked cheese, a Finnish specialty. Cheese curds are also made at the factory and blocks of cheddar are aged up to eight years. These are all sold in the store.
8. Bass Lake Cheese Factory, Somerset
Dating back to 1918 is the family-owned Bass Lake Cheese Factory. Although the same family has not owned the factory the entire time, it’s had a solid history of being owned by dedicated cheesemakers, including current owner Scott Erickson (a Master Cheesemaker).
Because cheese isn’t made here every day, it’s best to call ahead of time to get the cheesemaking schedule so you can see it in process, although the store is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Their cheddar, Colby, curds, gouda, blue cheese, jack, and Swiss cheeses are sold in the store, and the cheddar’s aged up to 13 years.
9. Silver & Lewis Cheese Co-Op, Monticello
Snug in Green County since 1897—and under the same ownership since 2005—this cheese factory’s cheese portfolio is very diverse, including brick and muenster. A lot of its cheese is private-labeled, and the factory name is lesser-known, so popping by here might mean new cheese experiences for your palate. Visit their factory store to try these cheeses yourself. If you’re a fan of flavored cheeses, this factory offers some of the state’s best, from habanero to garden vegetables, plus smoked varieties that include smoked habanero.
10. Scray Cheese Factory & Shop, DePere
Through viewing windows, you can see cheese being made and packaged at Scray Cheese Factory & Shop, which was launched by Belgian immigrants in 1924 and is now on its fourth generation. Kayla Scray, whose great-grandfather was the founder, debuted the factory’s adjacent shop in 2009. While cheddar is an expected cheese product, some unique finds are edam, fontina, and gouda, all of which are available for purchase in the shop. We recommend trying the French Onion cheddar!
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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