Incredible ice cream made right here in Pennsylvania

Ice cream lovers in Pennsylvania benefit from a wide variety of creameries and farms that make homemade ice cream.

Did you know that Pennsylvania produces the second-most ice cream of any state in the country? We’re only behind California—the fourth-largest economy in the world—so that’s hardly a fair fight. From nationally distributed ice cream brands to smaller city scoop shops and rural creameries, the commonwealth churns out some truly delectable ice cream. Visit PA, the state tourism website, even launched an Ice Cream Trail to promote Pennsylvania’s many ice cream makers.

We’ve got the scoop on some of our favorites, though please know this list isn’t exhaustive! With so many creameries across Pennsylvania, there may be a hidden gem near you just waiting to become the highlight of your summer.

1. Penn State Berkey Creamery – University Park

Pennsylvania State University has its own creamery, Penn State Berkey Creamery, which scoops its own homemade ice cream. It was first established in 1865, meaning the creamery was founded the same year the Civil War ended—that’s a long history of ice cream.

Because of the university and creamery’s knowledge about dairy production, its Ice Cream Short Course has drawn industry professionals from big names in ice cream (Ben and Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs) looking to learn about what it takes to manufacture incredible ice cream. The creamery itself scoops around 20 different flavors, from classics like Cookies-n-Cream to more inventive, local flavors like Grilled Stickies. It also ships coolers of its ice cream across the continental United States.

These ice cream cones from Penn State Berkey Creamery are packed with scoops of unique local flavors: “Mint Nittany” and “Peach Paterno.” (Jimmy Emerson, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

2. Bassetts Ice Cream – Philadelphia 

Bassetts Ice Cream is not just the oldest ice cream company in Pennsylvania, but the oldest ice cream company in the country! Founded in 1861, the year the Civil War began, Bassetts uses milk from Pennsylvania cows to craft Philadelphia-style ice cream. What is Philadelphia-style ice cream, you ask? It’s ice cream made with just sugar and cream—no egg yolks like many ice creams that use custard bases. (Fun fact: Famed chef James Beard once described Philadelphia as “the ice cream capital of the country, maybe of the world.”)

Anyway, Bassetts Ice Cream is an American classic, and you can get more than 40 flavors of the fifth-generation ice cream brand at Reading Terminal Market. The simple, flavor-forward ice cream has been sold at the market since it opened in 1892.

Bassetts Ice Cream, which has a stand in Reading Terminal Market, is the oldest ice cream company in the country. (Vivian D Nguyen/CC BY-SA 2.0)

3. Millie’s Homemade – Pittsburgh

Millie’s Homemade isn’t even a decade old, but it’s already made its mark on the Pittsburgh ice cream scene with its scratch-made ice cream concocted using real ingredients that are easy to pronounce. The ice cream brand has several scoop shops across the Greater Pittsburgh region and also sells its pints in local grocery stores—and even nationwide, as it ships its ice cream to every state! Flavors change frequently and often reflect fun themes, such as the current “theme park collection” with flavors like cotton candy and dairy-free candy apple. 

4. Turkey Hill Dairy – Conestoga

Turkey Hill Dairy is nearly 100 years old, as it was founded in Lancaster County in 1931. It produces both ice cream and iced tea, making Turkey Hill a giant among sweet treats. In fact, it’s one of the largest ice cream brands in the nation. You can learn more about Turkey Hill at its Turkey Hill Experience in Lancaster County’s Columbia, where you’ll discover how ice cream is made, learn about the history of the dairy business, and, of course, eat lots of ice cream.

The Turkey Hill Experience lets kids and adults go behind the scenes of ice cream making. (Discover Lancaster)

5. Hank’s Frozen Custard – Conneaut Lake

Crawford County’s Hank’s Frozen Custard, which first opened in 1952, is a special place serving up old-fashioned custard. How old-fashioned, you ask? The shop still uses the same 1940s-era machines with which it first started.

Now, custard is not quite ice cream, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that custard is just a creamier, thicker version of ice cream. The difference lies in egg yolks, a key ingredient in custard and what makes Hank’s old-fashioned treats so dense and rich. You can check Hank’s Facebook page to see each day’s featured flavors!

6. Fox Meadows Creamery – Ephrata

Fox Meadows Creamery in Ephrata is a farm-to-table creamery in Lancaster County, where ice cream is made on-site with milk from Fox Meadows’ dairy cows. On special days, you can even see the ice cream-making process for yourself via a behind-the-scenes “cow-to-cone” experience. Otherwise, you can choose from more than a dozen flavors to fill your ice cream cone or get crafted into a milkshake, float, or affogato.

The farm is also home to a lunch counter and country market. Plus, there’s a second Fox Meadows Creamery location, with all the same victuals, in nearby Leola.

Fox Meadows Creamery is a farm-to-table creamery that makes ice cream using milk from the farm’s own cows. (Discover Lancaster)

7. Urban Churn – Harrisburg

Urban Churn in Harrisburg is a small ice cream shop that churns its own premium ice cream—Urban Churn itself calls its treats “craft” ice cream—made with all-natural ingredients. The shop offers more than a dozen interesting and unique flavors of its craft ice cream, like fluffernutter (peanut butter and marshmallow) or blueberry cornbread. But flavors change throughout the summer, and many are inspired by desserts from around the world (e.g., peach melba and dragonfruit lemonade).

Though Urban Churn is based in Harrisburg, it also has scoop shops in Mechanicsburg and Carlisle.

8. Manning Farm Dairy – North Abington Township 

Manning Farm Dairy ice cream is a NEPA favorite, made fresh on a fourth-generation farm just 15 minutes north of Scranton. Each day, the farm delivers its milk and ice cream directly to its retail shops, ensuring freshness in every batch.

With locations in Scranton, Dunmore, Clarks Summit, and North Abington Township, you have multiple ways to try Manning Farm ice cream flavors, both classic and creative, all starting with a simple base of fresh milk, cream, and sugar. You can also pick up other ice cream treats like ice cream cakes and even ice cream pies, perfect for your next celebration, or simply your next craving.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Related: We Asked, You Answered: The 13 Best Bakeries in Pennsylvania