Little Falls Cheese Festival

Why Little Falls

From 1864 to 1870 Little Falls was the largest cheese market in the world, a canal town surrounded by hills of dairy farms. Volunteers started the festival in 2015 to honor that history and support local herds, and it has grown into New York's biggest gathering of cheesemakers. Cheesemongers come up from New York City for it.

What's On

Around 65 vendors line five blocks of Main Street, all from New York State, and close to half of them make cheese. You taste and buy as you go. In 2026 there were three cheese classes at the Rock City Center: New York Cheese: The Basics at 10:30am, Look at Those Rinds! at 1pm and Let's Talk Cheddar at 3pm. Bands played all day at half a dozen spots along Main Street, with bluegrass among the acts.

Parking and Getting There

Main Street closes for five blocks, so driving downtown is not an option. Follow the signs to the free lots, including 25 Industrial Park Drive (Mohawk Healthcare) and the West Lot on Burwell Street, and ride the free shuttle buses, which run continuously. Accessible buses run from both lots, and the East lot is easier for visitors with disabilities. Don't park in the Price Chopper or Kinney Drugs lots; they are for customers only.

Little Falls sits on the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal, about 20 miles east of Utica. The Central New York Cheese Trail stops in Herkimer and around Utica are close by.