Tillamook Cheese Factory and Creamery
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Ah, so you’ve come to experience the fabulous Tillamook Cheese Factory, eh? Well, let me start off by saying, great idea.
Or, if you’ve somehow gotten here by mistake, let me make a proper introduction. Hi, I’m Kay! Today, we’re going to talk about why Tillamook is the greatest dairy in the United States – AND where you can go to sample it! However, to be fair, I haven’t tried Wisconsin cheese. BUT IN EITHER CASE, you’re going to have a great time!
So Tillamook is a dairy company, and you can go for a factory tour on the Oregon coast in the town of Tillamook. It is about a 90 minute drive from Portland, Oregon. The coast is usually pretty dreary, so an indoor cheese factory tour is perfect if the weather is crap outside.
Welcome to the Creamery! If you’ve previously visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory before 2018, then you have to go back! They recently renovated the entire campus, including the parking! And best of all, the entry to the factory is FREE. So like, why WOULDN’T you go??
This is pictured on a random weekday around noon. It wasn’t SUPER busy, but I doubt it is every “empty.” I’m guessing weekends would be PACKED. But, what can ya do? People love cheese.
The Tillamook Cheese Factory and Creamery is open every day, year round, with the exception of closing on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. During the summer and early fall, it is open 8am-8pm. Weekdays during the Winter and Spring, it closes a few hours early at 6pm.
The tour of Tillamook Cheese Factory is actually self-guided! So you don’t have to worry about showing up at a specific time or anything! Just head right upstairs! And, there is an elevator to keep things accessible as well!
The Who What When Where Why How of Tillamook
“We own it and don’t have shareholders. We’re not trying to please someone that wants to make a quick buck today and run. Because that’s not us.”
Doug Barker – Barker’s Dairy
If you want to know more about the Tillamook brand, thankfully, they lay it all out on the table for you. Farm – to -table.
Okay, that was a bad joke, sorry.
Anyways, Tillamook County Creamery Association is a farmer-owned dairy co-op since 1909. That was even before Oregon repealed its clause prohibiting blacks from being in the state, owning property, and making contracts. Finally repealed in 1927, but I digress. Back to dairy. Tillamook Creamery has been around for a whileee. There are about 90 farming families contributing to the co-op, and the profits go directly back to the farms, their community, and the company they lead.
The Tour – Mommy, where does milk come from??
So the tour starts off at the beginning of the dairy process. The milk. And thus – the cows! This was, admittedly, the favorite part of the entire tour for kids…as well as myself. I LOVE COWS MAN.
Fun fact: Most of the farmers supplying milk for Tillamook work with Holstein and Jersey cows. Holsteins produce the most milk quantity wise, and Jerseys produce milk high in butterfat and protein. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds delicious.
In case you’re curious, dairy cows eat about 100 pounds of feed EVERY SINGLE DAY. Tillamook farmers hire animal nutritionists to create the perfect blend of feed ingredients so that their cows stay healthy and maintain a balanced diet.
Ignore my weird face below, but something I thought was cool was that the Tillamook farmers use “smart collars,” which track a cow’s activity and eating levels. That way, farmers can be alerted when a particular cow needs attention.
There is also a fake cow that you can practice milking! It even marks your time for you! HOWEVER, after waiting patiently for my turn, some little girl just ran up in the middle of my milking and started grabbing the milking device from me. And her parents just watched. So I guess that made it rightfully hers. Maybe next time though.
The Tour – okay, but how they turn milk to cheese??
This part of the tour is the nitty gritty. And, if you’ve visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory before the 2018 renovation, this part will be the most familiar to you.
The Creamery receives milk literally 24/7. About 1.6 million pounds of high-quality milk a DAY. And EVERY SINGLE truckload is tested by an operator to make sure it meets Tillamook standards – including the absence of antibiotics.
To top it all off, every drop of milk that enters the Creamery is made into cheese or ice cream within 24 ours. That’s….a lot of dairy y’all. But how do they do it? Well, this is where the FACTORY part of the tour comes in.
I won’t go into detail about this part, mostly because I forgot. But basically you get a window tour of the factory and manufacturing process. There are little signs that explain each step, going from the milk delivery alllll the way to packaging. And yup, those are actual workers doing all the steps. I personally would be weirded out to have hundreds of people watch me work every day, but they seem used to it haha. A few of them will even wave back if they see you.
The Tour – But when can we eat the cheesE??
After staring at the cheese process all day, your mouth will probably be watering. Fret not, there are cheese samples waiting for you at the end.
They have samples of all of their most popular flavors. And don’t feel shy about grabbing multiple, no one is judging you here. Go ‘head girl, fill up on that cheese.
Tillamook Cheese Factory Gift Shop
To conclude the tour, you land at the gift shop. And boy, it is glorious.
All the cheeses that you sampled, along with a lot others, can be bought here! As well as all of their other dairy products. If you haven’t tried Tillamook yogurt, you aren’t living life to the fullest.
Along with their amazing dairy, there are tons of other local Oregon products. From snacks, to wine, to meats…basically anything and everything needed to create the perfect picnic basket. PLUS, I’m not usually one to buy souvenir apparel, but the shirts, hats, and doggie bandannas here ARE SO CUTE. They really outdid themselves here.
Dining – Can we eat too???
If you aren’t too full of cheese samples, you’re in luck. The Tillamook Cheese Factory and Creamery is home to some of the best lunch cafes in town! Just…be prepared for a line.
In my opinion, you GOTTA try the burger. It’s absolutely delicious. The cheese flight is fun too!
For dessert, naturally, there’s ice cream! This one also has a line, but moves a lot faster for than the food.
And that’s all there is to it folks! I hope you enjoyed my walk-through of the Tillamook Cheese Factory and Creamery! I probably talked about the cows a bit too much, but that’s life. You can find out more about the company and the facility on their website! Plus, you can learn about fun events and even Tillamook products!
Some other parting tips, if you get cold easily, you might want to take a light jacket or cardigan. It isn’t freezing or anything, but I was glad I wore long sleeves.
It’s a great day trip from Portland, and if you still have time before you head out, here’s my list of other fun things to do in Tillamook, Oregon! Have you ever had Tillamook cheese, ice cream, or yogurt before?
