Wisconsin Cheese Country
Green County in southern Wisconsin, settled by Swiss cheesemakers, where the last American Limburger plant still runs.
Saved in this browser only - no account, nothing sent anywhere. See your map
Swiss immigrants settled Green County from the 1840s and brought alpine cheesemaking with them, and the county became the centre of American Swiss and Limburger production - New Glarus still calls itself Little Switzerland and keeps the architecture and the festivals. Wisconsin is the only state that requires a licence to make cheese commercially, with a master cheesemaker programme modelled on European practice. The Chalet Cheese Cooperative near Monroe is the last plant in the United States still making Limburger, a washed-rind cheese with a smell that has kept it a minority interest. The Historic Cheesemaking Center in Monroe explains the trade, and several plants run viewing windows.
What you actually see
- The last American Limburger plant - Chalet Cheese near Monroe.
- Swiss settlement from the 1840s - New Glarus keeps the architecture.
- A state cheesemaker licensing system - unique in the country.
- Viewing windows at working plants - and a cheesemaking museum.
When to go
May to October. A full day.
Honest expectations
Working plants have limited or no public access and early hours. Limburger is genuinely pungent and not to most tastes. Distances between towns need a car. Winter reduces most of it.
Nearby
New Glarus is north; Madison is beyond.
What to pack for Wisconsin Cheese Country
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
