Tours Open!
Centrally located 2 hours to Yosemite, 2 hours to San Francisco and 90 minutes to Sacramento
Summer Ice Cream Making Activity & Tour Open to Public!
June-August | Monday- Friday | 11am | $3 per participant |
Centrally located 2 hours to Yosemite, 2 hours to San Francisco and 90 minutes to Sacramento
June-August | Monday- Friday | 11am | $3 per participant |
Free
Learn at your own pace how cheese is made and explore interactive, hands-on exhibits about cows, dairies and cheesemaking. Watch Daisy’s MOOvie, ask any staff member to start the show. See employees package the “big cheese” – 640-pound crates of cheese. All tours fully accessible.
Group Sizes:
2 or more
Free Self-guided Visitor Center Tours:
Open Monday-Friday 7am-6pm.
Free Guided Visitor Center Tours
Currently closed on Saturdays.
Saturdays at 10am & 11am
Free Guided Visitor Center Tours Year-round:
If you have a group of 10+ please fill out the tour request form and book your guided tour.
Closed major holidays
Weekends:
Currently closed.
Location
9001 North Lander Ave. Hilmar, CA 95324
$3.00/person
Please book your summer ice cream making tour here!
Spring break – Monday through Friday, call to confirm dates
Come create (and eat) your own ice cream. Take the tour followed by the ice cream activity. Join the fun as you “shake, rattle and roll” to create your own homemade individual ice cream. Fun for all ages, especially those “young at heart.”
Groups of 10 paid participants or more may also schedule a special tour and ice cream time. Fun family reunion activity!
Group Sizes:
2 or more, reserve online for 10+
"School Holidays" Schedule:
Spring break – Monday through Friday, call to confirm dates
Summer- June 1 - August 31
Everyday
10:50 am – Sign up at the Espresso counter or book in advance https://www.hilmarcheese.com/booktours/.
11:00 am – Tour starts
Closed major holidays
Location
9001 North Lander Ave. Hilmar, CA 95324
Stop For The Restrooms - Savor The Cheese!
The best stop along Highway 99 from San Francisco to Yosemite. Free cheese tasting , front door drop-off/pick up with ample bus and group parking and motor coach operator and tour director thank you gifts. A great comfort stop with a Café, Peet’s Coffee & Espresso Bar and an ice cream counter. Drop-by buses are welcome. Call ahead and we’ll set out extra samples. Your guests will love complimentary fresh cheese curds called “squeakers.”
For groups planning a tour, lunch and shopping time, allow about 1.5 hours or so.
Tour Group Meals by Hilmar Cheese Company Catering
Culinary Agri-tourism! Learn how cheese is made then enjoy a catered meal featuring our homemade Cheese Chowder Soup and famous Cream Cheese Brownie or Cheese Pie (better than any cheesecake!). We offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, charcuterie boxes and a dessert sampler. Motor coach operator and tour director meals are complimentary with a catered meal for 30 paid guests or more. Pricing is inclusive of tax. If you don’t see what you would like, let us customize a meal for you. See the 2022 tour group menu to the right.
Behind The Scenes Motorcoach Tour
Only available to our motorcoach guests by reservation. Please call 209.656.1196. Our tour guide boards your coach to take a 15-minute drive through the world’s largest cheese and whey manufacturing facility. Only available if you come aboard a bus.
Holiday Gift Basket Making
Guests are provided a beautiful gift basket to shop and purchase items of their choice to fill the basket . Our expert staff assists each with the art of creating a gorgeous gift. Price includes basket, sizzle, cellophane wrap and ribbon. Items to fill basket not included. Call for price, advanced reservation required.
Group Sizes:
Any Motorcoach/Minibus Group
Monday-Friday:
7 am to 6 pm
Saturday & Sunday:
Closed
Location
9001 North Lander Ave. Hilmar, CA 95324
Free Public and Private School Tours
Start booking for the 2022-2023 school year!
Join us for the most fun and educational field trip in the Central Valley! Free for all public schools, private schools and home schools associated with a school district. Organized and led by trained tour guides, safe and fully accessible. All students receive free cheese samples, a hairnet, Daisy’s Dairy “ABCs” and a souvenir pencil. Learn about dairy with this Fact Sheet.
Pre-K to Adult Free Educational Tour, 30-45 minutes
Students see the Cheese Theatre show and watch employees package “the Big Cheese,” 640-pound crates of cheese. Interactive exhibits use multiple senses, activities and skills to learn about the technology on today’s dairy farms, how farmers care for cows, careers in agriculture, recycling and the health benefits of dairy.
K to 8th Tour and FREE Ice Cream Making Activity, 80 minutes
Educational tour plus actual hands-on ice cream making. Each student makes his/her own ice cream during a lesson that integrates science, math and reading while developing listening and direction following skills. A food safety theme is emphasized. Each student will enjoy his/her own personally created ice cream sample.
4th Grade to Adult Tour And FREE Cheesemaking Experience, 80 minutes
Educational tour plus actual hands-on cheesemaking. Student teams follow the scientific method to make cheese; measuring volume, weight, time and temperature. The lesson integrates reading, writing, critical thinking, teamwork and decision making to achieve results. Food safety is emphasized along with nutrition concepts.
Scout Tours Earn a Patch $4 per scout 45-60 minutes
Tours available after school by reservation. Choose between the tour and ice cream activity for all ages or tour and cheesemaking activity for scouts 9 years or older.
Group Sizes:
10-180
Monday - Friday:
9:30 am
11:00 am
12:30 pm
Afternoon available upon request
Former Educational Worksheet Links
Location
9001 North Lander Ave., Hilmar, CA 95324
Too far away to visit? Take our virtual tour: