Where to Pet Baby Goats and Eat Cheese in California

There’s nothing quite like waking up on a spring morning, pulling on your muckiest boots, and driving out to a farm. Especially when it’s time to meet the first babies of the year. Sitting on a bale of hay and holding a baby goat in your lap, winter worries tend to fade away with the twitch of a tail or nibble of a sleeve. “It’s like puppies or kittens,” says Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm. “The babies are always the cutest thing… Then by the time they’re a week old, they’re jumping in the air, like only goats can do.”

You can find artisanal goat cheese across the country, from Vermont to Wisconsin to Texas, but it still has a storied reputation in Northern California. Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol (since 1968), Laura Chenel of Laura Chenel in Sonoma (1979), and Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove in Arcata (1983) are considered the pioneers of goat cheese in America. They started selling to natural food stores and farm-to-table restaurants in the 70s and 80s, putting goat cheese on menus like Chez Panisse in Berkeley and The French Laundry in Napa.

Related: Our 23 Best Goat Cheese Recipes to Make Throughout the Year

Unlike cows who milk year round, there’s a certain seasonality to goat cheese. Goats give birth in the spring, producing rich milk for their newborns, and increasing volume for growing kids over the summer. Many cheesemakers savor that spring milk in fresh and soft-ripened cheeses, then use the summer milk for firm and aged cheeses, offering nuances throughout the year. “There’s a season for every cheese,” says Erika McKenzie-Chapter of Pennyroyal Farm in Boonville.

For the freshest chevre of the year, go straight to the source. A handful of farms and creameries do roll open their barn doors to welcome visitors in the spring. Here’s where you can pet a baby goat and eat cheese in California.

Redwood Hill Farm (Sebastopol)

You can meet one of the grannies of goat cheese in America, on one of her original farms not far from San Francisco. It’s an easy drive about 60 miles north, over the Golden Gate Bridge and into West Sonoma County. Bice grew up raising goats in 4-H, started selling raw goat milk in the 70s, and built her family dairy into a national brand. A Swiss company called Emmi acquired it in 2015, and merged it with another brand Meyenberg last year. Now in her seventies and “semi-retirement,” Bice still keeps a small herd, and she’s returning to her artisanal roots by supplying milk to a local cheesemaker called Mt. Eitan.

Drive up through foggy olive groves and flower fields. These 20 acres are home to about 60 milking mamas and 120 goats total, representing four different breeds — hardy Alpine, white Saanen, tiny-eared LaMancha, and floppy-eared Nubian. Many have been show winners and champions, and these kids fly in crates all over the country, much like purebred puppies. The farm offers tours by reservation, which include cuddling the babies, feeding the mamas, and trying your hand at milking. Then shop the farmstand for cheese, soap, olive oil, and flowers. You can unwrap a few Mt. Eitan cheeses on a picnic table — the Gefen wrapped in grape leaves, Ady lightly brined feta, and Raya mountain tomme.  

Related: 4 Common Mistakes People Make About Goat Cheese

Pennyroyal Farm (Boonville)

Keep winding further north up to Mendocino County, and Pennyroyal Farm is tucked between the vines of the Anderson Valley wine region. Cheesemaker Erika McKenzie-Chapter comes from a long line of dairy farmers, studied livestock at UC Davis, apprenticed at a creamery in France, and was the head cheesemaker at Redwood Hill. She teamed up with winemaker Sarah Cahn Bennett, the daughter of the family behind Navarro Vineyards, and together they built a wine and cheese destination, opening for tours and tastings in 2015.

Toward the front of 40 acres, the goats will greet you with a bleat, while a few sheep are busy weeding the vines. The goat herd runs about 95 milkers and 150 total, including several of the same breeds as Redwood Hill, although McKenzie-Chapter prefers to crossbreed. “I like the diversity,” she says. “Nubians have the really long ears, LaManchas have the very short ears, and they come in every color under the sun.” After meeting this motley crew, peer through the windows of the creamery, and enjoy a tasting of three wines and three cheeses. It could include the loosely packed fresh Laychee, nutty alpine Boont Corners, and soft-ripened Bollie’s Mollies. 

Stepladder Creamery (Cambria)

Roll down south to the Central Coast, past the elephant seals and Hearst Castle, to visit an avocado ranch where goats roam. Jack and Michelle Rudolph were a young couple working in tech and event planning, before taking over Jack’s family property, originally founded in 1870, and bought by his grandparents in the 1980s. This region is technically subtropical, so they’re able to grow citrus, passionfruit, and more. The Rudolphs added goats to the mix and launched Stepladder Creamery in 2015. What could be more quintessentially Californian than pairing avocado with goat cheese?

The property climbs across 750 hilly acres, although only 40 are farmable. The century-old red barn is now home to the creamery, supplied by 60 milkers and 180 total goats, all one weird and wonderful breed. Stepladder focuses on LaMancha, a mischievously smart goat with distinctive teeny ears. “Our climate is so mild, we’re spoiled … ” Michelle says. “They’re my little princesses.”  You can play with the babies in the pen, check out the cheesemaking in the barn, and try a tasting that might feature Big Sur soft-ripened with an ashy rind, Cabrillo in manchego style, and Rocky Butte goat gouda.

For more farms and creameries in California, try Toluma Farms in Marin County, Spenker Family Farm in Lodi, and Harley Farms in Pescadero. The Cheese Trail can also be a helpful resource, to explore the West Coast and see which spots offer experiences. Opening dates vary, so check websites and watch Instagram. “Definitely the best time to visit the farm is spring,” confirms Michelle. “There will be a bunch of bouncing babies.”

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