9 Classic Ice Cream Stands In Pennsylvania That Still Do It Right
Summer in Pennsylvania means one thing to me: the sweet, nostalgic hunt for the perfect ice cream. For years, I’ve cruised along winding country roads and through charming small towns, searching for those timeless roadside stands that serve up more than just dessert, they serve up memories.
These family-owned gems, often passed down through generations, have perfected their craft with love, patience, and a refusal to cut corners.
In a fast-moving world, they remain deliciously unchanged. Each scoop tells a story of tradition, community, and summertime joy. Come along on a mouthwatering journey to the most cherished ice cream spots in the Keystone State.
1. Merrymead Farm: Lansdale
Cows graze just yards from where you’ll enjoy their farm-fresh ice cream at Merrymead. This fifth-generation dairy farm transforms morning milk into afternoon treats right before your eyes.
My kids always race to the barnyard first, then beg for double scoops of their signature Cow Tracks flavor. The black and white speckled ice cream perfectly mirrors the Holstein herd watching from nearby fields.
Family-owned since 1908, Merrymead doesn’t just serve ice cream: they provide a complete farm experience with seasonal festivals, a market filled with local goods, and the knowledge that your dessert traveled mere feet from cow to cone.
2. Owowcow Creamery: Ottsville
Flavor wizardry happens daily at Owowcow, where small-batch artisanal ice cream becomes an art form. Their I Hate Chocolate transformed me: a lifelong vanilla loyalist: into a cocoa convert with its rich intensity and clever name.
Sourcing from local farms creates seasonal offerings that change with Pennsylvania’s harvest calendar. The shop’s rustic-chic interior, with exposed beams and chalkboard menus, makes waiting in the inevitable line part of the charm.
Nothing beats sitting on their porch swing, savoring their Sweet Honey Cream while watching the Bucks County countryside. Each spoonful reminds you that patience: both in the churning and the waiting: yields extraordinary rewards.
3. Crystal Spring Farm: Schnecksville
Tucked among rolling hills, Crystal Spring Farm’s ice cream stand appears like a mirage on hot summer evenings. Fourth-generation farmers create creamy masterpieces in a converted milk house that still bears the original stone foundation.
Last August, I discovered their Maple Walnut – made with Pennsylvania maple syrup tapped from trees visible from the serving window. The generous portions come with friendly banter from servers who remember regular customers’ orders year after year.
Children delight in watching farm cats lounging near the picnic area while parents appreciate the affordable prices. This humble roadside stop embodies everything wonderful about Pennsylvania’s dairy heritage – unpretentious, generous, and authentically connected to the land.
4. The Meadows Original Frozen Custard: Duncansville
Frozen custard achieves its ultimate form at The Meadows, where the same machines from 1950 still whir and churn daily. The custard’s silky texture comes from extra egg yolks and a slower freezing process ,techniques the owners refuse to modernize or rush.
Standing in line here triggers powerful memories of my grandfather bringing me after little league games. Their vanilla custard twists with chocolate form perfect peaks that somehow resist melting even on July afternoons.
Locals plan their evenings around the weekly flavor calendar, with Monday’s Butter Pecan drawing devoted followers from three counties away. The retro neon sign, unchanged since opening day, glows like a beacon of sweet continuity in a world of constant change.
5. Leo’s Homemade Ice Cream: Carlisle
Stepping into Leo’s feels like entering a time capsule where 1950s soda fountain culture lives on. Black and white checkered floors support vintage swivel stools where I’ve spun my children just as my parents once spun me.
Their signature Teaberry flavor, that distinctive pink Pennsylvania treat, tastes exactly as it did when Leo himself first created it decades ago. The waffle cones emerge from antique irons, filling the shop with an aroma that draws crowds from blocks away.
College students from nearby Dickinson mix with multi-generational families, all united by Leo’s extraordinary butter fat content and generous sprinkle policy. The staff still uses hand-packed cardboard pints for take-home orders, no plastic containers will ever touch these premium scoops.
6. Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream: Multiple PA Locations
Handel’s walk-up windows create instant community wherever they appear. Though born in Ohio, Pennsylvania has embraced these stands as our own, with lines forming regardless of weather or season.
Graham Central Station, their cinnamon ice cream loaded with graham crackers and chocolate chunks, converted me from a lifelong vanilla enthusiast. The servers perform a ballet of efficiency, somehow remembering dozens of waiting orders while scooping with impressive speed.
My daughter’s soccer team celebrates wins and consoles losses here, with coaches treating players regardless of game outcome. Handel’s portions defy gravity, with two scoops teetering dangerously but deliciously on standard cones, making their reasonable prices even more remarkable.
7. Hall’s Ice Cream: Selinsgrove
Family recipes guarded for generations create the magic at Hall’s, where homemade waffle bowls cradle exceptional cream. Their strawberry ice cream features berries from fields visible through the shop’s back windows, a farm-to-cone experience that defines Pennsylvania summer.
The original wooden booths, worn smooth by decades of happy customers, invite lingering conversations. My grandfather first brought me here in 1985, and the black raspberry still tastes identical to that childhood memory.
Hall’s refuses to distribute beyond their single location, making each visit a pilgrimage rather than a convenience. Their seasonal sweet corn ice cream sounds bizarre until you taste it, then you understand why locals mark their calendars for its August-only appearance and why Hall’s remains a Pennsylvania treasure worth traveling for.
8. Kurly Kone: Saylorsburg
Roadtrippers discover Kurly Kone by accident but return by intention. This unassuming roadside stand with its hand-painted sign has perfected soft-serve swirls that defy the laws of ice cream physics, somehow maintaining their perfect peak shape long after serving.
Their black and white twist dipped in chocolate shell creates an audible crack with each bite. During my family’s annual Poconos trip, we plan our route specifically to include this landmark, where three generations of the same family have operated the window since 1968.
Beyond perfect cones, their homemade ice cream sandwiches use cookies baked each morning. The picnic tables under ancient oak trees have hosted countless family celebrations, first dates, and summer memories for locals and travelers alike.
9. Zimmerman’s Dairy: Lancaster
Amish buggies regularly park alongside cars at Zimmerman’s, where Pennsylvania Dutch heritage flavors every scoop. Their legendary graham cracker ice cream incorporates molasses and cinnamon from century-old Amish recipes.
The stark white building with its simple sign belies the complexity of flavors waiting inside. Last summer, I watched my city-dwelling nephew’s expression transform when tasting their fresh mint chocolate chip, made with mint harvested that morning from the garden visible through the shop’s windows.
Zimmerman’s serves ice cream in metal dishes with real spoons, no disposable containers here. The dairy’s commitment to tradition extends to their methods: cream separated each morning, flavors mixed by hand, and a steadfast refusal to add artificial ingredients despite modern pressures.