It’s summertime and that means, well, quite a few things, but today it means ICE CREAM! We asked our Virginia travel and tourism partners to name their favorite ice cream parlor (for the benefit of our readers, of course), and nearly 40 recommendations rolled in. To get you started on your summer brain freeze tour, we’ve compiled a list of the parlors most frequently mentioned by locals in the know.
Kline’s Dairy Bar
Kline’s Dairy Bar rose to the top with local ice cream lovers, and it doesn’t hurt that this homegrown establishment dating to 1943 has several locations:
- South Main Street, Harrisonburg
- East Wolfe Street, Harrisonburg
- Greenville Avenue, Staunton
- West Main Street, Waynesboro
Doumar’s Cones & Barbecue is located in Norfolk, and is the home of the world’s first ice cream cone (1904). Those traveling through Coastal Virginia will want to make a bee-line to 1919 Monticello Avenue for homemade ice cream and cones.
Carl’s Frozen Custard
Carl’s Frozen Custard is a Fredericksburg mainstay, serving fresh, made-today custard for more than 50 years. Food Network has acknowledged that Carl’s has some of America’s Best Ice Cream.
Island Creamery on Chincoteague Island handcrafts their small batches of ice cream daily to ensure the best products possible. The staff has been creating fresh waffle cones, ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt and more since 1975. A true labor of summertime love!
Muller’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor is also located on Chincoteague Island and serves Bassett’s ice cream, America’s oldest ice cream. Their claim to fame, however, is the fresh, homemade Belgian waffles with ice cream, fruit and homemade whipped cream.
Moo Thru in Remington offers ice cream that really doesn’t get any more fresh or homemade. The milk comes from their own grass-fed Holsteins and the rest of the ingredients are sourced as close to home as possible.
The Split Banana in Staunton is known for its homemade, fresh-daily ice cream, sorbet and gelato. Split prides itself on all natural ingredients – fruit, milk, sugar and cream. Why complicate what isn’t complicated?
Short Lane Ice Cream Company in Gloucester is celebrating their tenth anniversary this summer! Celebrate with them by enjoying homemade ice cream, cookies, gelato, custard, coffees, sundaes, floats, shakes …
Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Company
Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream in Alexandria boasts 63 homemade flavors of ice cream. Located in Old Town, it’s the perfect destination for lovers of cobblestones and nostalgia.
Additional shops and parlors receiving nods from the locals for their chilly treats:
- Bev’s Homemade Ice Cream, Richmond
- Chitterchats, Reedville
- Dairy Godmother, Alexandria
- Ellis Soda Shoppe & Grill, Abingdon
- Flotzie’s Soft Serve, Luray
- Gelati Celesti, Richmond
- Homestead Creamery, Wirtz
- Lavender Fields Herb Farm, Glen Allen
- Mister Whippy, Chincoteague
- Nature Way Country Store, Pearisburg
- Not Just Mochas, Mineral
- Old Hampton Ice Cream Parlor, Hampton
- Stevie’s Ice Cream, Kilmarnock
- Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe, Lexington
Don’t see your favorite ice cream shop on this list? Chime in by commenting below!
© Casey for Virginia's Travel Blog, 2013