A Hudson Valley Almanac day-trip guide
Twenty-nine creameries, cheesemakers, and working dairies across twelve counties — from award-winning farmstead cheese made only from a farm's own herd to tiny pasture-based goat dairies and family farms still bottling their own milk. The Hudson Valley's dairy history runs deep, and a new generation of makers is turning it into some of the best cheese in the country.
McGrath Cheese Company in Hudson is a nationally recognized small-batch cheesemaker working with milk from small local dairies, with two Good Food Awards among a dozen-plus national honors. Just up Route 9, Hudson Valley Creamery has made fresh goat cheese for more than 35 years. Churchtown Dairy is a 250-acre biodynamic farm outside Hudson making state award-winning cheeses alongside raw milk, beef, and pork, with a farm store and creamery on site, and Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent runs its own dairy herd as part of a 900-acre Biodynamic farm going since 1972. Round out the county with Ronnybrook Farm Dairy in Ancramdale, Maple Hill Creamery (certified organic), and A. Ooms & Sons Dairy Farm in Valatie, a multi-generation dairy with farm tours.
Four Fat Fowl in Stephentown is a cult-favorite creamery founded in 2013 by three siblings, making its cheeses from the Jersey milk of Dutch Hollow Farm in Schodack Landing. Berle Farm in Hoosick Falls has farmed organically since 1989, with a 15-cow dairy surrounded by orchards and gardens. Across the county line, Argyle Cheese Farmer began in 2007 on a family farm dating to 1860 and now runs a retail store at its Hudson Falls facility, and Battenkill Valley Creamery in Salem bottles its own milk on a fifth-generation farm — winner of Cornell's award for the highest-quality milk in New York State. Swartz Dairy and Produce in Castleton-on-Hudson rounds it out with five generations of dairy, strawberries, and pumpkins.
Around Cooperstown, the cheese is often raw-milk and farmstead. Cooperstown Cheese Company in Milford ages raw-milk cheeses from its own grass-fed herd. In Richfield Springs, Mountain View Dairy is an Amish-run, certified organic, 100% grass-fed dairy of about 15 cows, and Byler Farm makes raw-milk cheeses and cheese curds from its own herd. Painted Goat Farm in Garrattsville is a solar-powered goat dairy making cheeses, yogurt, and goat cheese truffles. Farther south, Harpersfield Cheese in Delaware County ages its wheels in an underground space where temperature and humidity take care of themselves.
Chaseholm Farm Creamery in Pine Plains is one of only a few farmstead operations in New York making cow's-milk cheese exclusively from its own herd, on a 350-acre certified organic farm. Dirty Girl Farm in Millerton is a tiny pasture-based goat dairy making fresh cheese, yogurt, and bottled goat milk. In Orange County, 5 Spoke Creamery in Goshen hand-makes cheese from the raw milk of grass-fed cows, and Bellvale Farms Creamery atop Mount Peter in Warwick — a dairy since 1819 — churns 50-plus flavors of ice cream from its own herd's cream, with a view of the Catskills to go with it. Acorn Hill Farm in Kerhonkson is a woman-owned micro-creamery making goat cheese, goat milk fudge, and yogurt.
Many of these are working farms first, so farm stores keep limited or seasonal hours — check each listing before you drive. Several sell mostly through farmers' markets and specialty shops, which is often the easiest way to taste a lot of cheese in one stop. New York allows raw milk sales only directly from licensed farms, so if raw milk is what you're after, buy it at the farm itself. And bring a cooler: cheese, butter, and yogurt travel better on ice.
Explore more of the region's theme guides on Explore by Theme, or pair a creamery stop with Farm Stands, Orchards & Pick-Your-Own.
Grass in the spring, milk in the pail, a wheel aging in the cellar — the long, slow craft of the dairy farm.