About Salt Spring Island Cheese
Salt Spring Island Cheese is a family-owned goat cheese maker on Reynolds Road. Founder David Wood spent six years of trial and error before selling the first cheese in 1996, and the business still makes everything from 100% goat milk. The best-known cheeses are the chèvres, sold in flavors such as basil, lemon, pepper, truffle, tapenade, and smoked salmon with capers, along with St Jo and spicy feta and a surface-ripened cheese called Juliette.
What sets a visit apart is that you can watch the work: the production building has viewing windows, so you can see cheese being made from the farm grounds. The farm shop offers samples of every cheese and stocks other island foods such as chutneys, jams, crackers and smoked salmon. The shop is open seven days a week, 10am to 5pm from the March time change to the November time change and 10am to 4pm in winter, closing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January and February.
The café is seasonal and closes for the winter. When it is open, it serves simple food, pizzas and salads, gelato made with the same goat milk used for the cheese, and a goat cheese cake that the farm calls its pride and joy. You can eat in the courtyard or the garden next to it.
Sacred Mountain Lavender near Fulford Harbour is roughly a 10- to 15-minute drive away, so a summer island day can take in cheese tasting and lavender beds in one loop.
What to do
- Watch cheese being made through the production-room windows
- Sample every cheese in the farm shop before you buy
- Try flavored chèvre such as truffle, lemon or smoked salmon and capers
- In café season, have goat milk gelato or goat cheese cake in the courtyard
- Stock up on island chutneys, jams and crackers for a picnic
Season, hours and prices
- Season
- Farm shop open year-round (10–5 in summer, 10–4 in winter); café open in the warmer months and closed for winter
- Hours
- Farm shop daily 10am–5pm from the March to the November time change, 10am–4pm in winter; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January and February (as listed October 2026)
Tips for your visit
- The café closes for the winter, so come in summer if you want gelato or cheese cake.
- Shop hours drop to 10am–4pm after the November time change.
- Bring a cooler bag if you are buying cheese to take home on the ferry.
Pair it with a lavender farm
Sacred Mountain Lavender · about 15 minutes away
Sacred Mountain Lavender near Fulford Harbour is about 10–15 minutes away by car, an easy second stop on a summer island day.
Getting there
Questions
Can you watch the cheese being made?
Yes. The production building has viewing windows so visitors can see cheesemaking in progress.
Is the café open all year?
No. The café closes for winter and reopens in the warmer months; the farm shop stays open.
What milk is the cheese made from?
All of it is made from 100% goat milk.
🗺️ Part of the guide Things to Do Near the Lavender Farms of the Lower Mainland & Southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Checked in October 2026 against the business’s own website. Hours and seasons change, so check with them before you go. How we check listings · Is this your business? Claim it free
