Oakdale Cheese & Specialties

Oakdale Cheese & Specialties is a family-run, working dairy farm and cheese shop in Oakdale, about a 30-minute drive from Modesto, specializing in handcrafted Gouda made in the Dutch tradition. Visitors can watch cheesemaking through viewing windows (production happens Monday and Tuesday mornings), sample and buy award-winning cheeses — including cumin and aged Gouda that have won U.S. and American Cheese Society competitions — and feed goats, sheep, alpacas, and koi in an on-site mini-zoo and garden.

The farm store also serves grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and other light meals, and offers picnic tables under shady willow trees, making it a popular half-day outing rather than a quick stop.

Its working-farm format, with self-guided tours available any time and guided group tours by reservation, makes it a distinctive day-trip destination that combines food tourism with a family-friendly petting-zoo experience, unlike the more urban attractions found in Modesto itself.