Cheese is one of the ultimate comfort foods. Luckily, there’s no lack of incredible farm-fresh cheese in Oregon, thanks to dairy-friendly weather and the experts who turn milk into cheese. You’ll find no less than a whopping 250 varieties of sheep, cow and goat cheeses made in Oregon, and you can seek them out all over the state on the Oregon Cheese Trail.
Looking to taste your way through many of the state’s cheeses all in one go? Sample to your heart’s content at two festivals: the award-winning Oregon Cheese Festival, held every April in Central Point near Medford; and the Oregon Cheese Guild’s annual The Wedge festival, taking place in Portland every September and uniting more than 75 local artisan cheese producers with specialty foods, beer, wine and cider.
Here are some of the top places to taste Oregon cheese.
Special Cheeses From Inventive Cheesemakers
One common thread among all Oregon cheesemakers: a spirit of innovation. You’ll see it in their sustainable farming practices and commitment to environmental stewardship, and taste it in their meticulous craft and inspired use of local ingredients.
In Southern Oregon, Rogue Creamery is renowned for its legendary Rogue River Blue, a limited-production cheese made each year beginning on the autumnal equinox, when milk is richer and higher in butterfat. Each wheel is wrapped in syrah leaves soaked in pear brandy, then aged. The result is a cheese celebrated far beyond Oregon: In 2019 it was named World Champion at the World Cheese Awards, the first cheese made in the United States to win this accolade. In 2026 Rogue River Blue took second place in its category at the World Championship Cheese Contest. Pick up a wedge at the creamery’s tasting room in Central Point’s Artisan Corridor, where you can also sample the full lineup of blue cheeses.
Nearby, the Rogue Valley Growers Market in Medford and Ashland (check seasonal hours)
offers another taste of Southern Oregon’s thriving cheese scene. Seek out The Salty Goat for limited-edition creations like blooming Brie-style tommes crowned with colorful pansies from Mama Bees Flower Farm. You’ll also find farmstead goat cheeses from Mama Terra Micro Creamery, another standout producer committed to small-batch craftsmanship and sustainable agriculture.
For Alpine cheeses with Swiss heritage west of Portland, seek out Helvetia Creamery cheeses, made by a sixth-generation farm’s Brown Swiss cows. They are sold at the nearby Schoch Dairy and Creamery storefront in Helvetia. For a coastal favorite, try award-winning Up in Smoke, a smoked soft cheese from Rivers Edge Chèvre — farmstead goat-cheese producers near Newport since 2005. You’ll find it alongside other delights at specialty grocers like New Seasons Market.
Enjoy These Cheese Experiences Around the State
For a deeper dive into the terroir of Oregon cheese, hit the road. In Salem Don Froylan Creamery turns out traditional Mexican cheeses including queso fresco, Oaxaca and cotija. Owner Francisco Ochoa named the 9,000-square-foot facility in honor of his father, who first began selling his cheese by going door to door. The family-run creamery earned top honors at the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest, where its hand-pulled Liliana’s string cheese took first place, and the queso cotija claimed second place in its category. You can watch Ochoa’s meticulous process of stretching string cheese by hand into long, delicate ribbons on weekdays at the creamery.
If cheddar is your love language, head to the Coast. Dairy farming has been part of Tillamook’s story since the 1800s, and the tradition lives on at the state-of-the-art Tillamook Creamery. See interactive exhibits about life on a dairy farm and watch cheese being made. Stop at the dining hall for a slice Detroit-style cheesy pizza or the gift shop to stock up on cheese. At the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest, Tillamook’s spicy colby jack cheese slices took home gold, while a hickory-smoked white cheddar and strawberry cream-cheese spread also garnered awards.
Near Tillamook in Cloverdale, Nestucca Bay Creamery crafts delightful cheeses with local place names like Tierra del Mar camembert and Ghost Forest feta; the shop also sells ready-made picnic items and milkshakes.
Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to taste the truffle-flecked cheddar from Face Rock Creamery, a repeat winner at the American Cheese Society. If not, make the pilgrimage to the South Coast town of Bandon, where you can watch the hands-on cheddar-making process before sampling cheese curds or the popular garlicky Vampire Slayer cheddar. Stay for a hearty lunch of cheese-stuffed paninis, available here or at the creamery’s retail shop in Coos Bay.
Cruise along the 35-mile Applegate Valley Wine Trail in Southern Oregon to CrushPad Creamery at Wooldridge Creek Winery in Grants Pass, the state’s first combined creamery and winery. Cheesemaker Aiyah Geier crafts small-batch cheeses designed to complement the estate wines. Enjoy a chef’s-plate sampler of cheeses while sitting on the patio overlooking flowers and vines.
Meet the Herd at These Farmsteads
If you want to trace your cheese all the way back to the cow, visit TMK Creamery in Canby, about 45 minutes from downtown Portland. This small family farm began over 30 years ago. Today Todd Koch and his brother tend a herd of 20 cows, while his sister runs the micro-creamery. “One of the highlights for visitors is meeting our cow-lebrities,” says Tessa Koch. “We call them that because they are the ultimate hero of the story.” After a tour featuring milking demonstrations and cheese tastings, refuel at the farm’s food truck with a grilled cheese sandwich. The on-site distillery turns leftover cheesemaking whey into Cowcohol, a vodka made from upcycled whey.
At Fraga Farmstead Creamery in Gales Creek, an evergreen oasis about 30 minutes west of Portland, the goats are part of the attraction. Hike grassy meadows with the resident herd, led by pack goat Hans, then settle in for a picnic by the pond. In winter the farm hosts hot cocoa with the kids in the barn. The farm is Animal Welfare Approved, meaning older goats stay on as pasture pets and happy grazers. At the farm stand, stock up on seasonal goat cheese, goat gelato and goat-milk soaps.
You’re never far from a farm in the Willamette Valley — including at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where students in the College of Agricultural Sciences run Beaver Classic creamery. Open to the public six days a week, the creamery sells a large selection of house-made Gouda, cheddar, provolone and Swiss, all made from the university’s dairy cows.
Northeast of Pendleton in Eastern Oregon is the idyllic city of Milton-Freewater, where you’ll find Umapine Creamery, in operation for over 40 years. Try the pepperoni Gouda, made on-site from milk produced by a small herd of Jersey cows. Just down the road, Walla Walla Cheese Company turns out zippy flavors like coffee cheddar and dill havarti, alongside grilled cheese sandwiches and soups at the farm shop. There you’ll also find horses, heifers, chickens, cats and an official greeter dog.
