Hilmar Cheese Company Visitor Center

Visitor Center is a welcome respite while driving on Hwy 99. Very nice place to stop to have Peet’s Coffee, Rainbow ice cream, cheese taste testing, virtual factory tour, nice staff, excellent cheese cake which is not sweet, wonderful jams and preserves, nice patio and waterfalls! Lots of things to buy. Helpful staff. Go!

Excellent healthy sandwiches! Amazing cheese and they always have samples available. The sharp cheddar and pepper jack are so good! Beautiful grounds and the cheese making process is interesting. A must stop-​by location.

Great service, excellent food! Ordered a sandwich, the Farmers Club, was so big and they definitely didn’t skimp on the ingredients. Bought a cheesecake on a friend’s recommendation and omgoodness
!!!

We came here for lunch yesterday right at noon, and the place was packed, including with a tour bus of nice seniors! But, we still got our order placed in about 3 minutes and our sandwiches and sides came out in 10 minutes. Really great service for such a busy spot. And the food was superb! It is always fun to come here and taste the cheeses and shop, but if you do, be sure to have lunch. And the San Francisco ice cream is the bomb! Thank you!

Went in to hilmar cheese the other day to reserve my best friends anniversary party in September. They were very helpful all the way through which was the 2^nd star, until i received an email stating the day i had reserved was being taken by someone else who putting more money down. I feel like that was classless of them to take our spot since we didn’t have time to talk to them. Basically given us the ultimatum to pay more or lose are spot. Ridiculous! I would never consider them again for a big event.

This place is OK. Not many tastings offered and I think the ones I had were mislabeled. They didn’t promote tastings at the counter at all. The whole store front was kind of … cheesy lol. Didn’t get a chance to go upstairs but wish I did. Place had a touristy feel. Yea, it was OK.

Stopped in today for lunch. I had the half sandwich with soup. The chicken tortilla soup has never seen the inside of a can. It was full of fresh chopped vegetables. Delicious!

Not knowing what to expect, I ventured in today Hilmar cheese factory visitor center. The waterfall out front and the small park and the lovely pathways were and indicator of even better things to come. Upon entering the visitor center there seem to be knick-​knacks goodies gifts and all manner of things to purchase, there big windows with equipment behind them and lights in TVs showing a portion of the processing of cheese. I thought maybe the tour had been shortened somewhat or changed from what I remember of years past. To the left was a Peet’s Coffee station and lots of cheese and oh my classy sandwich shop and deli. Beautiful salads oh my gosh this place is heaven. We looked at the big windows with all the equipment behind them in a few minutes a guide came and said who’s ready for the next tour? Well we dropped in the line and move with the group as we went upstairs and started the tour of the Hilmar cheese factory. Nice guys who really understand sustainability and work hard to make everything recycle and be made into something. They’re proud of it and they show it. The tour guide was very responsive with children and made the tour wonderful for the parents who were there with their children. In the first room we made some ice cream, and you got to be part of that. It’s too much fun. Then she walked us around the rest of the factory and all the cheese being made, and the cheese being aged, and more details about animals cheese cream and other parts of the process. Informative fun all you can eat samples, a great deli, good coffee, beautiful grounds, clean restrooms, people who are happy, who could ask for anything more.

Food tastes great, place is nice & inviting inside but service at the deli is slow, even when it’s not busy. I ordered a hot sandwich and soup, waited around and noticed the sandwich on the counter cooling down while one girl went and attended the register and another went back to work on another order, instead of just pouring my soup and serving me the sandwich while it was hot. By the time they decided to finish putting my order together the sandwich was lukewarm… Not a big deal but annoying. Funny thing is while I write this review a family that ordered togo decided to eat here, while going though the bag of what they ordered they noticed the soup they ordered was missing. Wow, with 4 people working behind the counter and 5 people eating here they can’t even get things together.

If you’re travelling up/​down 99 between Modesto and Merced there’s one place you have to stop — Hilmar Cheese Company. It’s a few miles off the highway, and there aren’t any highway signs pointing you in the right direction but with some help from Unilocal or Google you’ll easily find it.
Stepping out of your car you may notice the awful stench of cow manure, which is normal in this neck of the woods, but step inside Hilmar’s Visitor Center for the perfect break from driving. Need a pick me up? They have Peet’s Coffee. Hungry? In addition to cheese samples (the Vintage Sharp Cheddar is especially good), Hilmar has its own café selling soups, sandwiches, and salads at fair prices — lunch was ~ $ 22 for two adults and a child. The sandwiches on pretzel bread are quite good and the cheese and potato soup is outstanding (naturally). If you want to take home a souvenir they have lots of Hilmar cheese and logo paraphernalia (hats, shirts, cheese slicers, etc.) for sale, as well as non-​Hilmar meats, cheeses, and jams. There are also seasonal goods like Christmas decorations.
Hilmar offers more than just shopping, however, as the ground floor offers static displays and Moo-​vies showing the cheese making process. Head upstairs and you can look down on a working part of the factory and check out a slew of interactive displays about dairy farming and cheese-​making, which is fun for both kids and adults.

Agree with most of the Unilocal comments here. This place is located in the middle of nowhere in the middle of nowhere. You have plan to go here or you’ll never know this place existed.
It’s a visiting center so don’t expect a tour of how cheese are made. They have a brief video showing you the process, but you can’t actually walk around the factory.
They have many cheese to choose from and a few samples to try. There is also a Peet’s coffee inside and deli to make sandwiches.
Definitely a place worth visiting if you are around the area and willing to make a 15 minute drive off the 99 freeway.

Great place to visit! Not only the store has great cheese, but they also have great sandwiches, ice cream, etc. The free samples help to choose the right cheese to take home, don’t forget to visit the exibits upstairs! This place makes the town of Hilmar proud!

First off let me explain that this is a visitor centre with exhibits and not a factory tour, because I was personally confused when I was deciding to visit here, I thought it was a factory tour, so just wanted to clarify that. With that said I think this place is worth visiting if your traveling on the CA-​99 North or happen to be in Merced visiting the old courthouse museum or the Castle air museum close by– but don’t come here if the sole purpose is visiting this centre. The reason I say that is because this place is literally an oasis in the middle of no where but it isn’t huge or anything enough to impress and again no factory tour.
It has a stunning dutch styled building for a visitors centre complete with a exhibit of how cheese and milk is produced, a gift store, a complete deli selling sandwiches and food and even a small café. Within its facility also lies a garden oasis with waterfall and grass land that was beautifully manicured. It really feels like an oasis. The only downside is, the actual exhibits is not very big nor is it an interactive walkthrough, like you know how a science centre or museum is, its just a large hall with pictures, and also there isn’t a walk though tour of the factory, so Im slightly disappointed there. But there is FREE sampling of a variety of cheese and the parking is also FREE here. and of course the exhibits is FREE.
The store offers a variety of good for purchase, they mainly of course sell cheese– from their own factory and surrounding producers, but they also sell fine wines, nuts, chocolate. Furthermore they also sell arts and craft, which is cool.
The exhibits themselves is very informative, but if your looking for action, this wont impress you, because there is no demonstration of how cheese is made, instead a laid out information on informative graphically designed board — its juts a large room with random exhibits. There is sample of what a cow eats, a miniature model of a cow farm, and finally also a model of a cow being milked by the machine. Finally there is a viewing area where you could have a peek into the cheese factory. I think overall they did do a good job on up keeping and making this place beautiful especially in the knowledge that its free too.
They also do offer ice cream making classes at noon, mainly for kids. Overall this place is a really nicely done visitors centre, but if your looking for demonstration, this is not the place for you. I did suggest that management include a tour of the factory, but according to them USDA and FDA doesn’t allow production line tours anymore. There is nothing they can do when its the law, but overall it was a very well done exhibit.

I really enjoy their caprese griller. I’ve had their other sandwich before and their ingredients are really fresh and the bread is always so yummy. I also enjoy their pasta salads, fruit salads, and then go over to the ice cream part of Peets and got an island smoothie. It was so yummy! I wasn’t even aware that they had smoothies there or that you could get a shake with their ice cream. I always thought that they just had hot drinks. We also came on a day where they were having a 50% off on select cheese. So we stocked up.
My daughter’s favorite part of Hilmar Cheese is the waterfall outside. She likes to throw coins and make wishes. So we always have to spend some time in there.
We will definitely will be back.

It is a good place to visit with your family and the kids .The food is good and you can taste different kind of cheese. Intresting to learn cheese making process

First stop on our trip to Yosemite. If you enjoy the central valley’s agricultural culture, and love cheese, you must check this out.
According to my wife, this is one of the tourist places along California’s Hwy 99. It’s a local cheese factory and it welcomes people. They have a cheese shop, Peets café, deli, and museum all in one. It shows their company history and a window into the actual factory.
You can appreciate their cool waterfall outside, which is good in that hot valley.
Pro’s– Buy lunch, learn about Hilmar Cheese, buy some cheese straight from the factory.
Con’s– In the middle of nowhere, must relay on GPS or smartphone maps to locate this place.

Apparently the largest cheese processing facility in the world. I believe it. The place is huge. Extensive outdoor landscaping, gift shop, café for visitors. Most education stations are geared toward young kids, but I still learned a lot. The view of the working factory on the 2^nd floor was cool. A few cheese samples were available.

Still as much fun as when I was a kid! Great finds and cool treats! The sandwiches at the deli when fantabulous!!! We enjoyed every bite! If we lived closer we would be here all the time! Yummmm

We stopped here after visiting the Bass Pro Shop in Manteca. In talking with a few friends a couple months back, they had mentioned that Hilmar Cheese Co had some good ice creams. We go there around 5 PM. They were still open. On that day, their freezer for ice creams was broke. However, they kept ice creams in the back. Their ice creams were okay. I think Hanford’s Superior Dairy still have better quality. The girls in the store were very friendly and helpful. They hand make their waffle cones fresh in front of you. Try one.
Outside, there is a mini park area with a waterfall area. You can enjoy your ice cream there if you don’t mind the farm style smell.

Love love love this place!
First off, the grounds are beautiful. Check out the waterfall! The visitor center is also very nice and the 2^nd floor almost alway has a special event going on of some sorts. They have a cute little info spot for kids to learn about how the cheese is made and the cows, etc. Also a little window on the 2^nd floor for you to look inside the factory.
Be sure to check out the gift shop and get some Hilmar cheese! They have a wonderful selection to choose from and a slice of heaven for all the cheese lovers out there. They have samples of their cheese and most of the time, they will have samples of other cheeses or snacks. Aside from the cheese, they have wines and gifts too. So definitely a good spot to pick up some eats for a picnic or party.
And then there’s the food. Oh boy! Try everything! You will be impressed. My favorites are the cheese chowder (of course, made with Hilmar cheese) and any of the sandwiches. The #7 is the Colin Kaepernick special, also very tasty on a pretzel bun.
To finish your meal, head to the island where they serve a full menu of Peet’s coffee or grab some San Francisco brand Double Rainbow ice cream.
You will definitely be rolling out of this place with a VERY happy tummy.