24 Favorite Virginia Ice Cream Parlors

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 dozens of 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 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

klines dairy bar

Dippers Homemade Ice Cream makes new ice cream daily at their shop, using fresh cream and only the highest quality ingredients. Their ice cream menu rotates but always has 18 unique flavors that draw lines at this Ridgeway ice cream shop. At Dippers, even the sauces are homemade, and you can top your cone, cup, or sundae with hot fudge, strawberry, peanut butter, and other fantastic sauces. After enjoying your frozen treat, you can lounge on the patio or even play a round of corn hole with friends.

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.

doumar’s cones & barbecue

Carl’s Frozen Custard is a Fredericksburg mainstay, serving fresh, made-today custard for more than 50 years.

carl’s frozen custard, photo credit: Bill Crabtree, Jr.

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!

One of of the 10 Best Ice Cream Shops in the U.S., TripAdvisor

Island Creamery

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?

Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe in Lexington has been a landmark for over 30 years! Enjoy award winning homemade ice cream in hand-rolled waffle cones, milk shakes, sundaes, banana splits, cakes, pies, and specialty candies.

sweet things ice cream shoppe

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, and shakes.

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.

Charm School Social Club in Richmond offers homemade ice cream in a fun, school themed ice cream shop. They even offer vegan frozen treats. 

charm school

Additional shops and parlors receiving nods from the locals for their chilly treats:

Bev’s Ice cream shop. photo credit: Hannah Armstrong

• Bev’s Homemade Ice Cream, Richmond
• Pop’s Ice Cream and Soda Bar, Roanoke
• Chitterchats, Reedville
• Cookies & Cream, Haymarket
• Dairy Godmother, Alexandria
• Flotzie’s Soft Serve, Luray
• Gelati Celesti, Richmond
• Homestead Creamery, Wirtz
• Mister Whippy, Chincoteague
• Stevie’s Ice Cream, Kilmarnock
• Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe, Lexington
• Brown Dog Ice Cream, Cape Charles

Don’t see your favorite ice cream shop on this list? Chime in by commenting below!