The Cheese Cave: Secluded in Northern Michigan

This could be described as one super-huge mouse hole…..not quite, but it does have something to do with cheese.

It’s a cave where cheese is aged, burrowed into the hillside in Leelanau County, north of Traverse City and south of Suttons Bay on M-22.

The cave is used exclusively for cheese…no wine, no bomb shelter, no storage unit….just cheese.

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But this ain’t just for any cheese, no sir-ee. It’s for an Alpine cheese called Raclette that’s usually used as a melt over foods like pasta, potatoes, sandwiches, and various vegetables. And it’s not just some hole in the ground for cheese aging – it’s part of the Leelanau Cheese Company that’s been making tasty treats since 1995: cheese spreads, fruit preserves, gift boxes, crackers, pickles, dried cherries, honey…..okay, I’m hungry now.

I like cheese with eggs, spaghetti, sandwiches, goulash, on crackers, with green onions, in salads, stuffed in mushroom caps…if there’s any food that is not sweet, chances are I’ve eaten it with some form of cheese (I don't know why I found it necessary to mention all that...probably because now I want to munch on some cheese).

FAST FACTS:
The cheese must be stored at 55 degrees.
Made from scratch: milk to curds, pressed into wheels, then stored in the cave.
Cheese must be turned over every two days and washed.
Cheese is aged three to five months.

The creamery is open Monday thru Saturday from 10am-6pm, and if you wanna see how they make the cheese, you’re invited to stop in on any Tuesday to watch.

Perfect roadtrip stop! The legal address is: 3324 SW Bay Shore Drive, Suttons Bay. Now take a look at the photo gallery below!

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