Cowgirl Creamery - California's Redwood Coast: Paradise Untamed

Cowgirl Creamery

Photo © Steve Quirt

In 1997, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith opened Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes Station, a picturesque postage-stamp-of-a-town on the coast about an hour north of San Francisco. They started with an old barn, made it beautiful, put in a small plant for making hand-crafted cheese, bought organic milk from the neighbor, Straus Family Creamery... and before long the world found them!

From the beginning, they wanted to make delicious, artisan cheese, to be environmentally responsible, and they also wanted to support their cheesemaking friends in being sustainable land stewards. Today, Cowgirl Creamery continues to make just a small collection of cheese -- four, soft aged and three fresh, totaling about 3,000 pounds per week. However, their circle of cheesemaking friends has grown like wildfire and they now distribute extraordinary artisan cheeses from over 200 of America's and Europe's most prized producers.

Activities at this Site

Tour one of their Creameries! A guided tour, cheesemaking demonstration and tasting. Petaluma: You'll get to take home a sampler bag of Cowgirl Creamery cheeses. $30 per person. Point Reyes: $5 per person and you can purchase cheese onsite.

The Petaluma tour is recommended for adults. They suggest that children under 12 be taken to their Pt Reyes tour.

Reservations must be made online or by calling 866.433.7834 (M-F 8am to 4pm) or email Vivien at vivien@cowgirlcreamery.com. The maximum group is 20 so spaces fill up fast.

Seasons Open: Year round.

Eco-Friendly Notes
Farmstead cheese from small-scale producers always has a story, quite unlike commodity cheeses, and can be compared to making fine wine.Their cheeses are made from organic milk sourced from local herds in Marin and Sonoma counties.

It is possible to name the cheesemaker, identify the pasture where the animals grazed, and to name the breed of cow, sheep or goat whose milk was used. Artisan cheese comes with a sense of place, ecological values, and a unique relationship between the artisan and the raw materials.

You can support the fine art of farmstead cheesemaking, enjoy a wide range of distinctive cheeses that are full of nuance and flavor, help to ensure jobs in rural areas, and contribute to protecting farmlands from development.

Locally or Family Owned Business