Planning to beat the heat with a sweet treat? We like the way you think.
The perfect summer day spent soaking up the sun or catching some hangtime on the waves at Delaware beaches can never be complete without ice cream.
And in case you need more of a reason to indulge in the sweet and frosty, July is National Ice Cream Month!
Whether it’s a sundae to cap off your Sunday or the cherry on top of a day brimming with summer fun, Delaware is home to many ice cream shops ready to cool you down with something tasty.
Check out these ice cream spots around the state offering loads of dessert cones to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Hopkins Farm Creamery, Lewes
Hopkins Farm Creamery in Lewes is a longstanding Delaware operation serving up loads of sweet treats.
They scoop up various summer flavors, including recent additions of mango, blueberry cheesecake, Delaware fruit (peaches and blueberries) and peach cobbler. Blue raspberry Italian ice is newly on the menu, too.
The Backyard Brownie Sundae is their newest menu item and features brownies from The Backyard in Milton, ice cream of your choice, whipped cream, caramel drizzle and a cherry on top.
Take your ice cream to go or sit in the shop’s new pavilion and visit with the farm’s cows!
18186 Dairy Farm Road, Lewes, (302) 645-7163;www.hopkinsfarmcreamery.com/
Tre Sorelle Dolce, Wyoming
Tre Sorelle Dolce, a Wyoming ice cream shop, specializes in hand-dipped ice cream and Italian ice.
The menu is loaded with Hershey’s ice cream flavors, sundaes, soda floats and thick, old-fashioned, hand-spun milkshakes, and you can make your frozen treat even better by opting for a homemade waffle cone.
If that’s not enough, stop by around brunch and try their waffles and ice cream.
And don’t think the fun stops at frozen treats.
The shop has live music and food trucks on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 4 to 9 p.m., and an upcoming Dog Daze of Summer festival and adoption event on July 29. Check out their 18-hole mini-golf course, too.
27 S. Railroad Ave., Wyoming, (302) 363-1909; tresorelledolcedelaware.com
UDairy Creamery, Newark
Cooling off with ice cream during the dog days of summer is always a fun — and tasty — activity, and UDairy Creamery makes this a no-brainer choice for folks in the Newark area.
UDairy is the University of Delaware’s student-run ice cream shop and has dozens of unique seasonal and staple flavors made from milk produced by cows on the university’s dairy farm.
Flavors like peach green tea, mint n’ cookies and UdeLeche are available, and customers can choose from waffle cones, cups or ice cream flights with four scoops of your favorite four flavors.
The flagship location on South College Avenue, next to the Fred Rust Ice Arena, features a few picnics table if you want to sit back and relax, or you can go on a stroll through the nearby botanic gardens.
If you’re sad about not being able to make it to the shop, don’t worry. UDairy’s Moo Mobile is a full-sized ice cream truck serving 20 flavors of ice cream. It travels to local events like the Delaware State Fair and community festivals.
Flagship location: 535 S. College Ave., Newark, (302) 831-2501. Main Street location: 83 E. Main St., Newark,(302) 831-6804.
Salty Paws Doggy Ice Cream Bar & Bakery, Rehoboth Beach
We can’t talk about ice cream without mentioning a spot for all the Delaware pooches. Salty Paws is the hangout spot for all the beach pups needing a dose of ice cream along with their humans.
Flavors like peanut butter, vanilla, pumpkin and maple bacon are available, and can be topped with dog treats like chicken and sweet potato.
While your pup is pigging out, enjoy the furry friends trotting around the shop waiting to devour their scoops, too.
43 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, (484) 667-7122; www.saltypawsicecream.com/
Would you eat these fair foods?:We ate donut burgers, fried tacos and gator at the Delaware State Fair. We have thoughts
The Blue Scoop, Selbyville
Located next to Harris Teeter at Bayside Marketplace, the Blue Scoop is an ice cream shop that opened in 2010 and is inspired by Delaware beaches: Blue sky, Blue Hens, blue crabs and blue surf …
The Blue Scoop sources its ice cream from Woodside Farm Creamery and Hopkins Farm Creamery and features tasty flavors like Bayside Sandy Tracks (vanilla with peanut butter cups and brownie pieces), Cappuccino Crunch, Black Forest, Scoopberry Shortcake (sweet cream ice cream with blueberries and shortbread cookies), and more.
About five miles inland from Fenwick Island, the Blue Scoop offers ice scream sampler packs, dog treats, baked goods and take-home pints and quarts, among other goodies.
If you stop by during ice cream happy hour on Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m., you can get discounts on kiddie cones and cups and milkshakes.
On Sunday July 30 from 5 to 9 p.m., the shop will host its third annual staff Banana Split Showdown. Blue Scoop members are divided into three teams to compete to see who can make the best banana split.
The split ordered the most that night wins, and proceeds from the competition will be donated to Donate Life Maryland to raise awareness about organ donation in honor of the owner’s husband who has been waiting for a kidney transplant since 2019.
Bayside Marketplace, 31225 Americana Pkwy Unit 4, Selbyville, (302) 436-1166;www.bluescoopde.com/.
Maureen’s Ice Cream and Desserts, Bethany Beach
This ice cream and coffee shop has been family-owned and operated since 2004.
Maureen’s offers 32 flavors of ice cream to choose from including several non-dairy options. They also offer desserts, including cake pops, vanilla cupcakes and cakes such as cannoli cake and a chocolate mousse cake.
Ice cream pies are new this year and customizable to satisfy whatever sweet spot you’re hankering to hit. You can choose two toppings and any of their 32 ice cream flavors.
Another new menu item is the loaded milkshake and flavors like Sir Twix a Lot, which features blended vanilla ice cream, caramel, fudge and Twix bars.
If that’s not sweet enough for you, check out their ice cream nachos, a scoop of your choice of ice cream with waffle cone pieces to scoop it up!
99 Garfield Pkwy #7703, Bethany Beach, (302) 539-5530;maureensicecream.com/
New icy treats at the beach:Looking for cold treats at Delaware beaches? Here are 3 new places to get them
Cup’r Cone, various locations
In its third year of business, Cup’r Cone is a food truck serving homemade, hand-dipped ice cream and other tasty treats at beaches, as well as events around the state.
The truck makes daily neighborhood stops for over 40 developments and hangs out in downtown Lewes on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m. The Lewes Food Lot at 203 E. Savannah Rd. features multiple food trucks daily and you can find Cup’r Cone among the foodie crowds.
Aside from ice cream cups and cones, you can enjoy sundaes, root beer floats, black ‘n white shakes and plenty more.
Their downtown Rehoboth shack location next to Crushers Crabs & Crushes is open daily and sells only ice cream cones or cups.
Keep up with the truck on their website or their social media accounts to stay updated on where and when it will be serving near you.
Or ask them to cater your private event!
Shack location: 251 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, (717) 683-7566;www.cuprcone.com/:
Mommom’s Ice Cream, Dover
Mommom’s Ice Cream in Dover carries 35 flavors of ice cream, with a dozen homemade flavors and 26 Hershey’s flavors. Vegan options are available, too!
Look forward to Christmas in July flavors. There also are new flavors inspired by local fruit picked fresh by the Mommom’s staff, including peach, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries. Blueberry lemon cookie is a new addition to the menu this month.
Fun flavors available at the shop include Pineapple Upside-down Cake, a mix of pineapple, maraschino cherries and poundcake chunks in vanilla ice cream; Coffee & Oreo, a mix of creamy coffee ice cream with Oreo pieces; and Pretzel Salad, a mix of cream cheese ice cream, homemade strawberry sauce and pretzels.
Milkshakes, ice cream floats, frozen lemonade, fruit smoothies and shaved ice are available, too.
900 E. Division St., Dover, (302) 734-1801;mommomsicecream.com/
Barnacles Ice Cream, Frederica
Barnacles Ice Cream is located at JP’s Wharf in Bowers Beach and serves ice cream from Bassetts Ice Cream in Philadelphia, the oldest ice cream company in the country.
You can find flavors like Coffee Fudge Truffle, Cherry Vanilla, Madagascar Vanilla, Birthday Cake, Toasted Coconut, S’mores, peach and more
Take your sweet treat to go, enjoy the outdoor seating with an even sweeter view the waterfront or head over the Boatyard next door to peruse food trucks, cocktails and fun.
201 Hubbard Ave. Frederica, (302) 335-4035; www.jpswharf.com/barnacles-ice-cream
Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys’tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.
New places to visit in Dover:From ice cream and burritos to vintage vinyl records: 3 new businesses in Dover
Complete our bucket list this summer:Do summer like a local with our Delaware Summer of 2023 Bucket List