By Sam Watson , July 28th, 2022

With summer temps peaking in Wisconsin in July, it’s only fitting that this month is National Ice Cream Month. And there’s no better place to celebrate the cold and creamy treat than Door County. 

Located in the heart of the downtown area, Door County Candy has been serving scoops of ice cream and other sweet treats for more than 25 years. Open year-round, the old-timey ice cream parlor serves up a fun, vintage vibe with its cones (including chocolate-dipped waffle cones), malts, milkshakes, floats and sundaes starring Cedar Crest ice cream. 

Grumpy’s Ice Cream and Popcorn

Don’t let the name fool you – you’ll leave Grumpy’s with a smile on your face. The seasonal, family-owned business serves ice cream floats, scoops and sundaes, along with house-made treats such as popcorn and fudge. Enjoy them all while admiring the vintage décor inside the shop or the front-yard flower garden outside. 

The revamped Chocolate Chicken may have a new look, but the longtime staple is still serving up sweet treats to the masses nearly four decades after it first opened across the street.

JACKSONPORT Pelican Cove Tiki Bar & Ice Cream 6301 Hwy 57 Beat the heat while at the beach by slipping across the street to Pelican Cove Tiki Bar & Ice Cream, located behind Island Fever Rum Bar & Grill. Pelican Cove’s extensive menu offers an assortment of cool and refreshing treats, from soft serve and hard-scoop cones to sundaes and floats – and even frozen drinks and ice cream cocktails for the grownups.

New on the scene, The Candy Bar is filling the void left by the closure of the Yum Yum Tree, offering cones in the new Lakeshore Adventures building.

FISH CREEK Dippy’s Ice Cream Shop

Founder’s Square, Main St.

Step up to the walk-up window and into the past at Dippy’s Ice Cream Shop, a spot that’s been serving Wisconsin-made Chocolate Shoppe–brand ice cream and other frozen treats for 20-plus years. In addition to all the classic flavors you’d expect to find in an ice cream case, Dippy’s also offers some inventive special varieties such as Exhausted Parent (Bourbon-spiked espresso ice cream with bittersweet chocolate chunks) that change every day, or specialty treats such as sundaes and shakes. If you’re a connoisseur of other varieties of creamy, frozen desserts, Fish Creek has you covered with stops for frozen custard at Not Licked Yet Frozen Custard, 4054 Main St., as well as gelato at Sara’s Artisan Gelato, 4192 Main St. and soft-serve at Nicolet Beach Concessions in Peninsula State Park.

EPHRAIM Wilson’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor

Enjoy a house-brewed root beer float or a classic ice cream sundae while listening to oldies drifting out of the jukeboxes. Or, if you’re looking for a challenge, see how much ice cream you can devour during the shop’s annual ice cream eating contest. This classic Ephraim landmark is a blast from the past, serving ice cream since 1906 – a history that’s been recorded in The Scoop, which is available for purchase in the parlor’s shop.

Analog Ice Cream and Coffee

Along with serving standard pints and cones, Analog Ice Cream and Coffee offers a treat with a grown-up twist. No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn features your choice of ice cream with an espresso shot poured over the top, similar to an Italian affogato. The throwback-themed shop also features specialty tea and coffee drinks, breakfast items, baked goods and merchandise such as T-shirts and hats for diehard Analog fans.

For another unusual cool treat, check out the goat-milk gelato at Door County Creamery, 10653 N. Bay Shore Dr.

Door County Ice Cream Factory & Sandwich Shoppe

If you want plenty of variety, travel a little farther north to Door County Ice Cream Factory, where you can choose from 30 flavors of house-made ice cream, including limited-edition flavors such as ambrosia, black licorice and sticky bun, as well as Bordeaux cherry, cherry chip and cherry cheesecake (it’s Door County, after all). Enjoy a generous scoop or two in a dish, or indulge in one of the house-made waffle cones. 

Curt and Amy Bawden met each other over soft-serve ice cream, and today they share the love by co-owning The Vault, a bank-turned-gourmet-treat-shop. In addition to dishing up soft serve, The Vault offers Italian gelato and a root beer float bar where guests can help themselves to root beer tapped right from the keg. Four-legged family members can join the fun, too, by enjoying the shop’s grassy outdoor area, set up with chairs and lawn games. 

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