Did you know that Ohio produces 5.4 billion pounds of milk each year?
That would explain why so many of its residents have an affinity for dairy, especially ice cream.
In fact, TourismOhio, overseen by Ohio’s Department of Development, created a state-wide ice cream trail catering to lovers of the sweet treat in 2018. At first, only 15 stores made the cut, but now dozens of options litter the map.
It is unclear what we did to please the ice cream gods, but more than a third of the trail's 54 shops are nearby.
Of the Buckeye State’s five regions, its northeast sector harbors the most ice cream shops on the map. The Beacon Journal thought it only right to put together an ice cream crawl of sorts to help you visit all 20 of them.
Wondering why your favorite spot is not featured? See how shops get on the list.
Shops can be viewed in any order, but it is important to note that some, such as Handel’s, have more than one location. Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans suggests stopping by on a hot, sunny day to fully appreciate the ice cream and (judging by the crowd) see how pivotal a role these ice cream shops play in their communities.
Use this interactive map or a printablecopy of the trail to visit these ice cream parlors and let us know your thoughts on what they have to offer.
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Fairport Harbor Creamery
It doesn't get more relaxing than having ice cream on the beach, but one could argue that consuming boozy ice cream on the sandy shores of Lake Erie beats that out.
Fairport Harbor Creamery is the place to get both options, plus a daily mix of house made cookies and brownies.
Part-time residents Brian and Karen Volzer restored a turn-of-the-century building and turned it into this coastal creamery. Bestsellers include peanut butter Oreo, butter pecan and cookies and cream.
We ordered their red velvet flavor, which is a cheesecake ice cream with red velvet cake crumbles, and peanut butter Oreo.
202 High St., Fairport Harbor; 440-898-0030; fairportharborcreamery.com
Mitchell's Ice Cream
Who would've thought a finance professional and philosophy major would make such wonderful ice cream?
Growing up, brothers Mike (philosophy) and Pete Mitchell (finance) always loved ice cream, so after Mike graduated they discussed starting a business around their shared interest. In October 1999, they opened the first Mitchell’s Ice Cream Shop in Westlake.
Best ice cream in Ohio: Reader's Digest names Ohio's best ice cream. Why Mitchell's Ice Cream is No. 1
Then in 2014, they transformed a century-old theater in Ohio City into their flagship location. Here, customers can grab a scoop and see the innerworkings of how it was made in their kitchen, which whips up ice cream for Mitchell's eight other shops and pints at local grocers.
An ooey gooey cone of caramel fudge brownie ice cream topped off our visit to the well-known shop.
1867 West 25th St., Cleveland; 216-861-2799; mitchellshomemade.com
Mason's Creamery
This one is for the lovers of good vibes, adorable dogs and wacky ice cream flavors.
Mason’s Creamery makes small batches of ice cream (and ramen) in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. In fact, their ice cream is so good it was featured on an episode of Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on Food Network in 2022.
With flavors like coconut pandan, watermelon, strawberry with pink pepper and ube, it's no wonder this little shop caught Fieri's eye. Our flavor picks included piña colada, Thai tea and honey cornbread.
Co-owners Jesse Mason and Helen Qin moved from Los Angeles to Cleveland in the beginning of 2013. They found a thriving food scene in addition to a city that embraced small, local businesses and decided to start their own.
The couple started off as a mobile ice cream business, but moved into the building that previously held Ohio City Ice Cream. Now, when walking in, customers are greeted by drawings of pets messily consuming ice cream cones before choosing their own.
4401 Bridge Ave., Cleveland; 216-762-1095; masonscreamery.com
Lake Erie Scoops
Lake Erie Scoops is a grab-n-go ice creamand treat shop in the Detroit Shoreway community of Cleveland.
Customers can find homemade ice cream, non-dairy frozen treats, baked goods, candy, sodas and other nostalgic delights at the small shop. Available ice cream flavors include milli vanilli (vanilla), chocolate, Saturday Morning, Go B-A-N-A-N-A-S!, strawberry, caramel swirl, coffee (made using cold brew from their neighbors at Ready Set), and cookies & cream.
Owner Jennifer Taggart encourages those who stop by to rediscover and embrace the days of childhood summers — everything from the music, art, tv shows, movies, and snacks. Taggart opened Lake Erie Scoops in 2023 after noticing that the neighborhood was missing an ice cream shop following the closing of Sweet Moses Soda Fountain & Treat Shop.
6604 Detroit Ave., Cleveland; 216-870-8169; lakeeriescoops.com
Kamm's Corners Ice Cream Co.
Kamm's Corners is located in the heart of Oswald Kamm's "Four Corners" in the Kamms Plaza Shopping Center.
Their goal is to provide Cleveland's West Park Neighborhood with extraordinary service and homemade ice cream. The cute little shop also has a colorful interior and neon sign stating "Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for Cleveland."
Kamm's uses a secret recipe to create its smooth and creamy ice creams flavors, of which we tried Maxx's Cookie Monster (a blue cookie dough ice cream) and salted caramel brownie.
3764 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland; 216-417-4382; kammscornersicecream.com
Honey Hut Ice Cream
Stand aside sugar, there's a new sweetener in C-town and it's all the buzz.
Each of Honey Hut's four locations serves ice cream sweetened with honey from an Ohio Amish farm in Walnut Creek. Longtime favorite flavors include honey pecän (Honey Hut’s take on a butter pecan, sweetened with honey) and orange blossom (made with orange zest and orange blossom honey).
Its first location opened in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood in 1974. Founder Frank Page and his family decided to transform the Bruno’s Shoe Repair at the end of their street into the honey-sweetened ice cream joint many Clevelanders know and love today.
Our cone was stacked with two of their special June flavors, a refreshing tripleberry (made with strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries) and ultra-sweet honey graham (Honey ice cream with golden graham crackers).
4674 State Road, Cleveland; 216-749-7077; gohoneyhut.com
East Coast Frozen Custard
Inspired by Owner Ivan Platt's memories of creamy frozen whip at Cleveland's famed Euclid Park Beach, this delicious custard is a "taste of the good old days," according to its website.
Now ice cream fanatics can visit any of their five Greater Cleveland locations to watch custards of all flavors descend in fresh, thick ribbons down their machines' shoots before being taken off with a shovel-like scoop and slapped on a cone with a flick of the wrist.
The flagship location in Parma Heights opened 1985. It's hard to miss its tall neon signs, flashing lights and colorful menu boards. Our order was simple: chocolate custard in a waffle cone.
6240 Pearl Road Cleveland; 440-842-7003; eastcoastcustard.com
Weber’s Premium Custard & Ice Cream
The motto at Weber's has been and always will be "Fresh is best."
The counter workers at the small, inconspicuous tan building will be happy you asked what's fresh, so don't feel guilty popping the question. With both vintage, modern and flavors for dietary restrictions, there's something for everyone at Weber's.
Owner David Ford recommends ordering whatever was just made, that way the creamy treat isn't cold enough to completely numb your tongue and has more of a smell, both of which heighten the ice-cream-eating experience.
The vintage ice cream shop was opened by Nathan Weber in 1931 and has the last pair of Continuous Commercial Ice Cream Machines known to exist. How's that for living history?
20230 Lorain Road, Fairview Park; 440-331-0004; webersvintageicecream.com
Olympia Candy (Sweeties Olympia Treats)
Olympia Candy sells chocolates, popcorn and traditional café fare, but the shop's most coveted items are in its freezers.
Combined, the shop holds more than 40 flavors of ice cream from either Toft's Ice Cream or County Parlor, located in Sandusky and North Royalton, respectively. No matter what you are into, there's a flavor there for you.
That was certainly true for Beacon Journal photo intern Matt Brown, who'd spent much of our time visiting shops looking for his favorite flavor, cotton candy, only to find it at this Strongsville sweet shop.
11606 Pearl Road., Strongsville; 440-572-7747; olympiasweettreats.com
Rosati's Frozen Custard
In 2000, owners Jim and Marcia Rosati used their decades of experience operating Honey Hut Ice Cream locations across Greater Cleveland to open another frozen dessertshop — this one focusing on frozen custard.
It's impossible to miss Rosati's original location, which is decked out in neon lighting and has a giant 25-foot frozen custard cone built into it. The brand's new Brunswick location, which previously operated as one of their Honey Hut Ice Cream shops, has 15-car drive thru, walk-up service and a grassy patch at its rear for an ice cream picnic.
While vanilla and chocolate frozen custard are always available, Marcia’s daily rotating special flavors are what many customers rave about. They range from inventive new creations like maple glazed donut and blueberry crumble to their famous Higbee’s chocolate malted, which was our pick when visiting.
95 E. Aurora Road, Northfield; 330-908-0889; rosatisfrozencustard.com
co*ckeye Creamery
Dessert comes first, even when the creamery is next to a killer barbecue joint.
co*ckeye Creamery tackles out-of-the-box flavors like honey-lavender, sweet corn and sorghum, and buttermilk pie with ease and proficiency. But if you like things old school, they still serve a rich butter pecan, fresh strawberry, deep chocolate and French vanilla bean on their standard everyday menu.
Because their flavors change so often, the creamery suggests calling the shop or checking out their online menu to ensure the specific treat you want is available before your visit. We ordered a waffle cone of wired, a coffee ice cream using grounds from Third Day Coffee Roasters, and Samoa, a coconut ice cream with toasted coconut, fudge swirl, and Samoa cookies from Girl Scout troop 80008 in Howland.
Have an ice cream flavor idea you think is the bomb? Give them a call or ask for a flavor submission form at the creamery and you might just see it come to life.
Whatever you get, just remember to stop by co*ckeye Barbecue, the yummy restaurant next door.
1805 1/2 Parkman Road NW, Warren; 330-392-7326; co*ckeyecreamery.com
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream
An ice cream shop that started at a Youngstown gas station in 1945 is now the most wide-spread option on this list, with shops on the edge of both coasts and more than a dozen states in between.
Each location has 45 of the brand's more than 100 flavors that are rotated each month. So, what was our pick? Handel's chocoholic peanut butter ripple. Don't be fooled by the word ripple, this is one has large gobs of smooth, creamy peanut butter.
3931 Handel's Ct., Youngstown; 330-788-0356; handelsicecream.com
Milk and Honey Ice Cream and Restaurant
Customers can get the full dining experience at Canton's Milk and Honey.
The full-service restaurant, ice cream shop. soda shop and candy store has an old-school vibe too it. The massive neon ice cream cone on its ceiling, vintage dairy farm mural and yellow and green booths definitely help drive that home.
One of their most popular flavors is the Lake Erie salt mine, which consists of salted caramel ice cream with fudge swirls and cashews. The shop is also known for its hot waffle sundaes, of which there are six variations.
Our order was the banana rumba waffle sundae, which is made with a fresh baked waffle, banana, vanilla ice cream, caramel, hot fudge, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top.
3400 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton; 330-492-5884; facebook.com/MilkAndHoneyCantonOH
Hartzler Family Dairy
According to the ice cream trail guide, this is as close (and as safe) as you can get from cow to ice cream.
Now on it's third generation of ownership, this brand (known far and wide by Ohioans for its delectable milk) is serving more than 50 flavors of ice cream in Wooster. Our top pick was hot mud, a chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookie bits and marshmallow crème.
In the early 1950s, Harold and Patricia Hartzler were raising eight children on the family farm in Wayne County. Forty years later, Harold gathered his children and discussed the idea that later became Hartzler Family Dairy, Inc.
The Hartzlers built a milk processing plant and in April 1996, opened the storefront where fans of ice cream, milk, cheese and other dairy products can now purchase their products. Today, Harold and Patricia's son, Joe, and his son, Jace, own and operate the family business.
5454 Cleveland Road, Wooster; 330-345-8190; hartzlerdairy.com
Cecil's Frozen Custard at Ashery Country Store
This grocery store in Amish country aims to reach the hearts of people through tasteful experiences, something Cecil's Frozen Custard, a stand inside the store, certainly achieves.
This place is for those who like simple yet quality treats, with only three flavors: chocolate, vanilla and a summer special. Though it is worth noting these flavors can be made into root beer floats, blitzes, milkshakes and sundaes.
Owners Curt and Rhonda Yoder bought the business from Curt's mother, Freda, after the passing of his father, Cecil, following a short battle with cancer. Since 2005, the couple have looked after the county store and its lovely custard shop.
8922 state Route 241, Fredericksburg; 330-359-5615; asherycountrystore.com
Mudd Valley Café & Creamery
Located on the main level of Walnut Creek Cheese & Market is the Mudd Valley Creamery, which is well-known in Amish Country for its custard.
Customers can pick from vanilla, chocolate, and their flavor of the day. It doesn't just come in a cone either. You can choose from a variety of mixers, milkshakes, and sundaes, like their buckeye blast sundae, brownie sundae, turtle sundae and more. Check out Mudd Valley Creamery's daily flavor calendar here.
There's a lot to explore in the store and an entire upstairs seating area and café for a more well-rounded meal — but who really needs that when there's ice cream?
2641 state Route 39, Walnut Creek; 330-852-2888; walnutcreekcheese.com/pages/mudd-valley-cafe-creamery
Miller's Creamery
Miller's Creamery is known for its soft serve sherbet (say that five times fast).
Customers can order the sweet treat by itself or twisted with the creamery's soft serve vanilla ice cream. It comes in 22 flavors that rotate out each week, with one being added to the menu every July on the business's anniversary.
Owner Norman Miller has grown Miller's Creamery from a remodeled trailer (then called New Philly Creamery) to three locations across the southern stretch of Northeast Ohio. Miller's wife and children helped run the business when it first opened in July 2003.
Our visit involved eating their Lake Erie salt mine — salted caramel ice cream with crunchy fudge and cashews — and buckeye blitz — peanut butter ice cream with fudge swirls and buckeye candies — on a chocolate The Cone Guys' cone. We also tried their lemon chill flavor.
2337 E. High Ave., New Philadelphia; 330-339-7555; millerscreamery.com
Heavenly Creamery
This little ice cream shop is serving scoops of divine, creamy goodness to all those who worship.
Located in the small lake-side town of Conneaut, this church-turned-creamery whips up frozen custard in all kinds of flavors. Those with adventurous taste buds can try their more unique offerings, like PB&J, fireball, root beer, jolly rancher, honey or breakfast — maple French toast flavored ice cream with pieces of candied bacon.
Owners Joe and Christine Ericksenbought the church, which was built in 1905, before it was scheduled to be demolished in 2014. After acquiring the building, the couple was told they would incur a large fee if it remained vacant. They'd once taken an ice cream making class for their anniversary and decided that was the best avenue for avoiding the hefty fine.
"We actually never went to church here," Joe said. "We just hate seeing old buildings get bulldozed before their time."
So, what did we get? A warm, cinnamon-sugar crusted doughnut stuffed to the max with breakfast ice cream.
If that's not heaven on earth, I don't know what is.
264 Sandusky St., Conneaut; 440-593-6080; heavenlycreamery.com
Deersville General Store
Fans of history, this is the ice cream shop for you.
The Deersville General Store opened in 1898 and uses a machine from a WWII military ship to produce 160 gallons of ice cream each week. Flavors range from lemonade to banana wafer to Nutella, but we tried Bits and Pieces, a salted caramel ice cream with chocolate covered pretzels and bits of caramel mixed in.
Kurt and Laura Peters, who bought the store in 2018, keep tabs on how much ice cream they produce annually and the running total since the couple took over the shop - you can see both on the large chalkboard that hangs over the store's cashier counter.
Kurt's favorite flavor is chocolate krunch, but the store's bestseller is butter krunch. Don't worry, that last one doesn't actually taste like butter, more like a heavy vanilla ice cream with a sugar cookie crumble.
"I don't know why they called it butter krunch, but that's what it's been called for the last 60 years or so," Kurt said.
212 Main St., Deersville; 740-827-4203; facebook.com/DeersvilleGeneralStore
Schloneger's Old Fashioned Ice Cream
It's easy to miss the small ice cream stand attached to Sol's Exchange, Ohio's largest arts and crafts mall, but once you've had their ice cream fresh from the churn it will never leave your mind.
Owner Zachary Schloneger has been churning ice cream with his 1930 John Deere Hit and Miss engine for 28 years with help from his mom, sister and brother-in-law. Some of their rotating specials include strawberry, dandelion, triple chocolate cookie, smoked maple pecan and many more.
We consumed black cherry, one of their regular flavors, straight from the churn. It's refreshing flavor and ultra-creamy texture have left a lasting memory (and craving) for this downtown Berlin favorite.
4914 W Main St., Millersburg; 330-465-0041; facebook.com/SchlonegersIceCream
Got a story recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans. And follow her adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Get a taste of the Northeast Ohio Ice Cream Trail, interactive map
