I've heard people ask a lot of different questions about the ranches leaving Point Reyes, such as,…read more"Why are the ranchers leaving? What will happen to the buildings? What will happen to the cows? What will happen to the families who lived there?" My first question was, "How will this affect my birthday cheese?" Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese has been my favorite cheese for many years, ever since the first time I tried it, which was presumably at Gott's Roadside Deli around 2014. For a few years in a row, I drove all the way to Napa to have my "birthday burger" at Gott's. After that, I just started buying the cheese every year before my birthday, and calling it my "birthday cheese." Fast forward to 2026: all of the historic ranches moved out of the Point Reyes National Seashore, except for two. One of those two was Farmstead Cheese Co., which produces the aforementioned cheese. The farm is located just around the corner from Point Reyes Station, three miles up Highway 1 on Tomales Bay. The Marketplace and tasting room are located deep within the farm, at the end of a one-lane road, which is maybe about one-mile long. Like many of the other sketchy old farm roads in Point Reyes, you have to drive very slowly, and may need to back up if a big truck comes along. The road takes you through active farm work, past some very robust, healthy looking corralled cows, to a parking lot with enough room for a couple dozen cars. The Marketplace itself was only about one room, with two fridges full of cheese, a center table full of merchandise, and several more tables full of merchandise around the room. The inventory included jams, crackers, shirts, sweaters, cheeses (obviously), and various other gifts and picnic necessities. Aside from Bay Blue and Original Blue, I was excited to see a third flavor of blue cheese I'd not yet seen before: fennel blue. This turned out to be my favorite of all three, and I left with a small wedge of it, and a magnet. On my way in, I noticed a poster which I had seen in a history book full of national park posters in Golden Gate Park. While the artist in question (whose name I can't remember) never made a Point Reyes National Seashore poster, he made one for the Farmstead Cheese Co. I inquired if the posters were for sale, and found out that they normally are, but they are out of stock. When I said that I would come back to check for them in a few weeks, I was given a local's discount on my purchase. Sweet. In addition to the Marketplace, they also hold tasting events, which are listed on their website. Most of them are alcoholic events, which are of no interest to me, but I wish they would bring back cheese bingo before I leave for the summer. Would anyone come to a Cheese Bingo Unofficial Yelp Event?

We attended an incredible Yelp Event here last Fall and fell in love with the cheese, food,…read morescenery, and hospitality so wanted to return with a cheese-loving friend for a reserved cheese tasting. It was a $20 corkage fee for the table, which was waived when purchasing a $24 set of insulated tumblers, so it was easy to enjoy the prosecco and red wine we brought from home with our cheese boards & bring some souvenirs home. We also ordered mac and cheese, salad, and soup. One of the staff Sarah shared the history of the family owned Farmstead, as well as their current farming practices. We found it most interesting that they use Agricultural Methane energy, in which manure is pumped into tanks, bacteria breaks down the waste, and the captured methane is piped to a generator to produce the farm's electricity. They are also using solar power, so a very eco-friendly place! All the cheese & food was delicious and our friendly server (Sarah's daughter who was a delight) provided complimentary soft serve to end a perfect afternoon. We even had leftovers to take home! My friend was blissfully happy. Thank you, Point Reyes Farmstead team for a beautiful experience!

I stopped at this nice little cheese boutique on the way home from camping and boy was I surprised,…read moreit was actually award-winning cheeses and they had all types from soft spreadable to a nutty, woodsy Swiss! The woman running the store was lovely and she handed out a sample of this and that and the ambience was more like a cheese boutique. They had cold drinks, snacks, and a variety of award-winning cheeses. I highly recommend visiting here if you are in the neighborhood or if you're a cheese-A-Holic like I am and are making your rounds to cheese stores as a road trip point of interest.

Nicasio valley Cheese company store is a great place out in the middle of Nicasio Valley Road. The…read morecheeses are outstanding! When you enter, samples are offered, and the staff is friendly and informative. You can see the cheese making facilities. It's pretty unique to have this out where it is! Gotta love Marin County! We bought some cheese (of course!). I recommend you do, too!

Good cheese I would recommend getting some of that cheese! and there is good service!read more

I realize I've been coming here since the late 60s with my family. Back then it was Rouge et Noir…read more We used to bring our Exchange students here and have a picnic, enjoying their brie cheese and French bread. Clearly some fond memories. After a hike today at Lake Lagunitas we stopped by for cheese. They are eager to allow you to try many of their cheeses. I ended up getting the Golden Gate, which was offering a special today- buy one get one free. Being it was Memorial weekend the picnic tables around the pond were full and it was fun watching the families and kids enjoying themselves

Visited to try their ice cream on the way back to San Francisco and really enjoyed how creamy and…read morelight their vanilla ice cream is! It reminds me of the ice cream you can get in Point Reyes Station, but lighter and with an even fuller whole milk flavor. Make sure you sample cheeses and buy charcuterie boards on the way out! This time, we ended up buying their kefir and some cheeses!

The cheese and soft serve ice cream here are absolutely delicious! The ice cream is especially…read morecreamy and flavorful, and it's definitely worth the visit. My only suggestion is regarding food handling. I noticed that employees hand the ice cream cone directly by touching the cone with their bare hands. Since customers eat that part of the cone, it would be much more hygienic if staff used a napkin or wore gloves when handling it. Overall, it's a wonderful place with excellent products, and I hope they consider this small improvement to make the customer experience even better.

The tour was worth every penny! Audrey was so passionate and clearly has the best interest of the…read moreanimals in mind with every decision made. We learned so much and got to brush and pet the sweet baby buffalo! The tasting was fresh and delicious and we made sure to buy some while we could :)

Disclaimer: I've never been on another cheese tour, so I can't make comparisons. However, this tour…read moreis special and is quite an experience. The tour is more expensive in comparison to other cheese tours that we've seen in Petaluma, $35 plus tax, but those cheese aren't made with water buffalo milk. With this tour, you get a super informative history/back story of the founders. It is quite the story and could be made into a Hallmark movie. Their story is really inspiring and you can see how passionate they are about their company, product, and water buffaloes. The owner, Audrey, has a hand in every part of the business, and does most of the work, with help from a handful of employees. Please schedule a tour here to support this small company that has ethical and sustainable business practices. I believe every dollar from the tour really helps with their bottom line and I think they really need it as the owner does most of the work herself to cut cost. The highlight of the tour, other than the cheese tasting was getting to pet and brush the water buffaloes until they'd fall over from euphoria.

My friend organized a private weekday tour and tasting here to celebrate my birthday. Our group of…read more7 had a fantastic time! it started with a presentation on the overview and history of this family farm, then a tour of the cheesemaking facilities and barn where the dairy and beef cows hang out. We met their farm dogs, took photos with the sweet cows, and saw the family working around the property. We then ended with a tasting of their products: cheese, curds, and kefir (all delicious!) Since it was a birthday party, my friend brought a picnic lunch which we enjoyed along with the cheese. We ended by choosing to buy a selection of the cheeses we liked, to take home and share. I was thrilled to find they sell at my local farmers market - I plan to buy more of the Herby Curds when I've run out of cheese next!

My husband and two kids did the farm tour this weekend. While it was very interesting to get such a…read moreclose up view of a family owned and run working dairy farm, I do not recommend this tour for families. While they sell discounted tickets for kids 5-12 and kids under 5 are free, we and all the other families there found the tour to be a real struggle for our little ones. We all felt a little misled about the experience based on the online description. It's a lot of standing very still (in rooms with equipment that shouldn't be contaminated by guests, or next to equipment that has cow poop on it), listening to the owner talk for long stretches. We expected more movement around the farm and time outdoors, instead of something closer to a lecture with a large group in tight spaces. It also ran over time (to 2 hours!) ending with a nice close up visit with the cows and some small cheese samples. We did really enjoy meeting the cows and learning the details of how cheese making works. It is a real labor of love. I think there's a lot of potential here; the Achadinha tour has all the ingredients for an awesome visit but could use some editing. This tour could easily be 30 minutes, an hour tops. We would've liked to stay and buy some cheese but by 1pm we were all starving and fled to find lunch elsewhere. Other parents shared they would've had a great time there on a date, but definitely wouldn't go with small kids again. I'll also flag that they require you to step through a decontamination footbath to go inside the facilities. There were a lot of miserable people in sandals who had to get their feet wet in the chemicals. Closed toed shoes that can get wet recommended for this tour.

Looks like Cofields is closed. Came here needing cheese curds and saw this sign. I hope the owners…read moreare doing okay. What a loss for all cheese and food lovers.

Absolutely worst service ever. If you like being served by someone who needs anger management, and…read morespoke to impolitely, please come and visit this place. Really killed the mood for Valentine's Day. WOW. The vibe is chill and pet friendly outside. Pet friendly inside as well if they're not making cheese. Food and drinks are good but if you have other options you like, with better service, just don't come here. Or I think they have online ordering.

Nice specialty shop that carries local cheeses and foods. Love supporting the locals and the best…read moreway to be introduced to great food crafts! The whole Piezzi building was updated so it is more lovely and vibrant, and busier with patrons.

I just happened to see a post on Facebook about a warehouse sale for Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese…read moreCo. and marked it down in my calendar to attend. It was at their warehouse on Payran Street in Petaluma from 12:30pm to 6:00pm on 03/14/2025. I got there about 5:40pm and was surprised at the prices. I mean Toma that normally is $22/lb was $6/lb for precut wedges, and packages of Soppressata Salami for $3 instead of $8! You can't beat that with a stick!! Their cheese selection was large and very reasonably priced! The salami, well you could buy it by the package or the case with an additional 10% discount off the case. And the nice thing was they took credit & debit cards. Usually Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., is found in specialty places as well as the farmers market and this was their first warehouse sale event. The people working it told me with it being a cold, gloomy day that had a little drizzle, they didn't expect many people but apparently they had lines of people all day long! Hopefully, they will continue to do their warehouse sales as the prices are phenomenal, their cheese are excellent and it's always nice to buy and support local businesses!! My fingers are crossed that they'll announce some more warehouse sales!

We went on the cheese lover's tour, and it was amazing!…read more I thought it would be like wine tasting, trying a wide selection of cheeses, and it was so much more than that. We got to see an active dairy farm, saw the calves being fed, and saw where the cows get milked. We also went to see a goat farm and saw a baby goat being born right in front of us. Alex, the guide, was lovely and super accommodating. My husband had hurt his ankle just the night before and couldn't walk much, and she made last-minute arrangements for him to be taken around by a golf cart-like vehicle on the farms. Would 100% recommend!

Our family took the "Flavors of West Marin" tour with Alex and had a wonderful time. Alex is such…read morea warm and friendly person with a wealth of knowledge about the sustainable food industry and local business practices. Our tour began at Cowgirl Creamery where we had an excellent assortment of pastries from local bakeries and local cheeses. We learned quite a bit about different types of cheese and how they're made. We visited Hog Island Oyster company and enjoyed fresh and barbecued oysters while learning about how oysters reproduce and are harvested. We then stopped off at The Marshall Store for lunch. The food was outstanding and abundant and the scenery looking out on Tomales Bay was breathtaking. We then visited the Heidrun Meadery (another stop with a breathtaking view and setting) and learned about bee keeping and how meade is produced from honey. And we enjoyed sampling a nice variety of meade wines. Our last stop was Little Wing Farm where we learned about organic, sustainable farming and saw a nice variety of vegetables and beautiful flowers. One of the highlights was visiting the expansive quail pen, watching the quails freely roam around and seeing how they spray a dye on their eggs to help camouflage them. This tour was a treat for our eyes and stomaches and filled our heads with fascinating information. It was a day so well spent and truly memorable for our family.