Camas Cheese Co.

Here's the origin story that I think about every time I walk through their door: Andy and Tiffany Regan opened Camas Cheese Co. in 2024 because cheese is literally how they fell in love. From the very beginning of their relationship, their thing was going to a cheese shop, picking out different varieties, finding the perfect accompaniments, and spending evenings together over good cheese and wine. They realized there was no place to do that anywhere in Camas, Vancouver, or the surrounding area. So they built one.

That is the most on-brand origin story I have ever heard for a shop I love. And it shows in every visit.

• 🧀
  The only dedicated specialty cheese shop in the Camas/Vancouver area — cut-to-order meats and cheeses from around the world with a strong Pacific Northwest highlight
• ✂️
  Every cheese cut fresh to your order — not pre-packaged, not guessed at. You tell them what you want and they cut it for you.
• 🎁
  "Cheese-periences" — custom curated cheese boards and trays for events, holiday gatherings, and celebrations. Up to 4+ cheeses, crackers, nuts, jams, olives, and more. Perfect for parties, client gifts, or an elevated date night at home.
• 🌿
  A genuine commitment to highlighting PNW producers alongside the best domestic and imported options from around the world
• 🤝
  Two real people behind the counter who want to help you find your next obsession — not a corporate employee reading a script

Chuck's Fresh Market

Chuck's is a Vancouver institution — and once you've shopped there, you become one of those people who can't stop telling other people about it. Family-owned, community-focused, and genuinely not your average grocery store, Chuck's is committed to fresh and natural local food at prices that don't make you wince. Their cheese department is a destination on its own.

• 🧀
  An extensive handpicked cheese selection — every cheese chosen with real intention, from Pacific Northwest producers to all the great international cheese-producing regions
• 🥛
  Raw milk cheeses, blues, fresh chèvre, classics like Parmigiano Reggiano and Manchego, family favorites from mild to bold, and everything in between
• 👨‍🍳
  Cheese professionals on staff — ask them what's good right now and actually listen to the answer. They know their stuff.
• 🍫
  Gourmet accompaniments: specialty salts, artisan crackers, unusual chocolates — everything you need for a board, all in one stop
• 💚
  Great prices compared to specialty retailers — one of the best values in Vancouver for quality cheese

Gastronome European Grocery & Deli

This is the one most Vancouverites don't know about — and once you do, you'll keep it in regular rotation. Gastronome is a European grocery and deli serving imported European sausages, cheeses, breads, pastries, chocolates, and more, with a full café and deli inside. It feels like a little adventure every time you walk through the door.

• 🧀
  Imported European cheeses you simply won't find at a standard grocery store — aged Gouda from the Netherlands, French brie and camembert, Eastern European specialty cheeses, and varieties that will stop you mid-aisle
• 🥩
  European sausages and charcuterie to round out your board — the pairing possibilities here are exceptional
• 🍞
  Fresh-baked European breads and pastries — the kind that make you forget you weren't planning to buy bread
• ☕
  A full café and deli inside — sit down, have a coffee and a bite, take your time browsing. This is a shop where you linger.
• 🌏
  Specialty imports including chocolates, teas, canned goods, and condiments from across Europe — the kind of selection that rewards exploration

Cultured Kindness — Vancouver Farmers Market

Founded in Portland in 2017 by Justin Miller, Cultured Kindness started as a home experiment — figuring out how to make genuinely good vegan cheese — and grew into an award-winning regional brand with a strong presence at the Vancouver Farmers Market. These are not the sad, rubbery vegan cheese substitutes of the past. These are small-batch, artisan products that people who eat dairy regularly can't believe aren't the real thing.

All ingredients are organic and fair-trade sourced. Every product is gluten-free and soy-free. Made with cashews, fermented and aged using the same traditional methods as dairy cheese — just without the dairy.

• 🏆
  Nutty Dragon — a sharp, aged wheel made with gluten-free dark ale and whole mustard seeds. Bold, complex, and completely soy-free. This is the showstopper. Put it on a board and watch people reach for it first.
• 🌫️
  Smokey Good-ah — their smoky Gouda-inspired wheel. Exactly what it sounds like, and exactly as good as you'd hope.
• 🌿
  Cashew Chèvre with Basil & Chive — soft, spreadable, and herby. Great on crackers, incredible on pizza, and — yes — excellent on cucumber slices.
• ⏳
  Aged Cheddar — aged 6 weeks, with notes of a genuine sharp cheddar. Made with organic cashews, chickpea miso, and annatto for color.
• 🧁
  Cream Cheese — smooth, versatile, and genuinely delicious. Bagels, boards, or straight off a cucumber. No judgment.

Skamokawa Farmstead Creamery

Co-owned by Vicki Allenback — a contractor of 30 years and a lifelong farmer — and cheesemaker Kyleen Austin, who brought over a decade of California goat cheesemaking experience to Wahkiakum County, Skamokawa Farmstead Creamery was built on the belief that happy goats make happy cheese. On a 47-acre property with three creeks running toward the Columbia River, surrounded by goats, horses, donkeys, alpacas, chickens, barn cats, and the occasional bald eagle overhead — they've made that philosophy into a reality you can taste.

Goat's milk is naturally lactose-free, easier to digest than cow's milk, and higher in calcium and Vitamin A. More reasons to love every bite.

• 🧀
  Chèvre — in multiple flavors: jalapeño, mixed berry, pistachio/rosemary/lime, garlic/dill, tomato/basil/garlic, and original. The pistachio/rosemary/lime is extraordinary.
• 🍄
  Brie, Gouda, Feta, Ricotta, Boucheron, Tomme — a full range from fresh to aged, including hard Italian-style farmers cheese
• 🔬
  An experimental goat-cow blend cheese — because Kyleen Austin hasn't reached her limit yet
• 🍮
  Goat milk cajeta — a thick, syrupy caramel sauce made from goat's milk. The apple bourbon flavor tastes like a caramel apple and is absolutely out of this world. Buy two jars. You'll want two jars.
• 🥚
  Also available: butter, eggs, and cheese curds. Prices from $2/oz to $15.

• 🌅
  Leave Vancouver around 9 AM. Take I-5 north to Kelso/Longview, then head west on SR-4 along the Columbia. The drive itself is beautiful — river on one side, forest on the other, almost no traffic.
• 🐐
  Arrive at Skamokawa Farmstead ~10:30–11 AM. Take the farm tour, meet the animals (hope for baby goats), watch the cheesemaking process, and do a full tasting. Budget 1–1.5 hours on the farm.
• 🧀
  Shop the creamery. Buy more than you think you need. The chèvre, the cajeta, whatever else catches your eye. Bring a cooler with ice packs and cash.
• 🏞️
  Head to Vista Park — a few miles down SR-4, free day-use picnic area on the Columbia River beach. Lay out a blanket, open the cheese, pull out the crackers. Watch for bald eagles. This is the moment the whole day was building toward.
• 🌇
  Drive home happy, full, and already planning the next visit. The golden-hour drive back along SR-4 is just as good as the morning one.