The best ice cream in North Carolina is spread across the whole state: Asheville's The Hop and French Broad Chocolate in the mountains, Greensboro's century-old Yum Yum and Julian's Homeland Creamery in the Triad, NC State's Howling Cow, Two Roosters, The Parlour and Goodberry's in the Triangle, Two Scoops Creamery and dairy-free Seemingly Overzealous in Charlotte, and Boombalatti's, Big Buck's and a string of seasonal beach shops on the coast. Add Surry County's sonker, the cobbler-like dessert the county has been baking since the 1800s, and you have a road trip worth planning around dessert.
Our frozen treats are locally made in North Carolina, so we're a little biased. But one of the best things about working here is how generous the scene is. Dairy farms, campus creameries, beach stands that only open for the summer, chocolate makers who churn on the side: there's a scoop for every kind of curious eater. This guide goes region by region, mountains to coast. We've stuck to places we could confirm are open in 2026, and we'd still suggest checking hours before you drive, since many shops are seasonal.
The mountains: Asheville and beyond
The Hop Ice Cream (Asheville)
AVLtoday calls The Hop Asheville's oldest ice creamery, and it has the community ties to match. Its 2026 calendar was full of small-batch releases made with local partners, including a strawberry flavor made with berries from a local farm, a vegan ice cream week for Earth Week, and flavors created with local tour companies and festivals. There are shops in North Asheville, West Asheville, downtown and Black Mountain, so you're never far from one. If you're searching for ice cream in Asheville, start here.
French Broad Chocolate (Asheville)
French Broad is best known for bean-to-bar chocolate, but the Chocolate Lounge on Pack Square serves house-made ice cream too, in dairy and vegan versions. Its menu notes local, grass-fed milk for the dairy scoops and organic coconut milk for the vegan ones, with flavors that change with the seasons. We're fans for a personal reason: French Broad Chocolates goes into our Jinn's Peanut Unda.
The foothills: Surry County and the sonker
Before you head east, make a detour to Surry County. This is sonker country. Sonker is a deep-dish dessert somewhere between a pie and a cobbler, made with fruit and an unshaped dough, and often finished with a "dip" glaze of cream, sugar or molasses, and vanilla. Every cook does it a little differently. The Yadkin Valley tourism office traces sonker in the county back to the 1800s, possibly as a way to stretch fruit or use it at the very end of ripeness.
Two ways to taste it:
- The Surry Sonker Trail, created in 2015 by the Tourism Partnership of Surry County, links restaurants and bakeries across Mount Airy, Elkin, Dobson and Pilot Mountain that serve their own versions. A new trail map came out in August 2026.
- The Sonker Festival, held by the Surry County Historical Society on the first Saturday in October at the Edwards-Franklin House west of Mount Airy, has been running since 1980.
Our Carolina Peach Sonker is our tribute to this North Carolina original: peach, pancake and orange blossom, frozen. It's our small way of adding to the state's culinary legacy.
The Triad: Greensboro, Winston-Salem and around
Yum Yum Better Ice Cream (Greensboro)
Yum Yum has been in the Aydelette family since 1906, which makes it one of the oldest ice cream businesses in the state. It sits on Spring Garden Street right by UNC Greensboro, and it's as famous for hot dogs as for its homemade scoops. Our State magazine describes it as a family institution loved by UNCG students and locals alike.
Homeland Creamery (Julian)
A short drive southeast of Greensboro, Homeland Creamery is a farm creamery run by the Bowman family, who have farmed in Julian since the 1930s and opened their creamery in 2001. They make ice cream, milk and butter, and sell them at the farm store on Bowman Dairy Road.
Elaka Treats (Greensboro)
That's us! Elaka is a frozen treat company founded in Greensboro by Shafna Shamsuddin, making every flavor with small batch quality. Shafna grew up in Kerala, India. Our name comes from the Malayalam word for cardamom, and every one of our eleven flavors carries a touch of it. The recipes come from around the world, from Kerala to the Arabian souks, and the ingredients lean on North Carolina partners: Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh for our Strawberry Hot Chocolate, Work Bench Roasters in Wendell and Markola in Durham for our Q'ahwa (Coffee), and Tidewater Carolina gold rice in our Jinn's Peanut Unda.
A few flavors to start with: our saffron-and-pistachio Kulfi, our Plantain made with ripe plantain and coconut to celebrate Kerala, and Sulaimani Sorbet, a black tea, cardamom and lemon sorbet. Our Carolina Made pack puts four of our most North Carolina flavors in one box. You can find us at pop-ups and events around the Triad (see upcoming events), at local partners (businesses can ask about wholesale), or get a box shipped to your door.
The Triangle: Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill
Howling Cow (Raleigh)
Howling Cow is NC State University's ice cream, made on campus for more than 70 years with milk from the university's own dairy herd. You can get it at the Creamery at the Dairy Education Center off Lake Wheeler Road, on campus, and at the North Carolina State Fair, and Harris Teeter has carried Howling Cow pints since 2019. It's a true North Carolina institution.
Two Roosters Ice Cream (Raleigh and the Triangle)
Two Roosters celebrated its 11th anniversary in July 2026 and now has six shops, including Person Street Plaza, Greystone Village and Lake Boone Trail in Raleigh. It rotates seasonal flavors alongside its permanent lineup and has won "best local ice cream" in the WRAL Voters' Choice Awards four times. If you're looking for ice cream in Raleigh, this is an easy first stop.
The Parlour (Durham)
The Parlour opened in downtown Durham in 2013 and is run by Yoni and Vanessa Mazuz. Its approach is seasonal and local, with dairy from an Eastern North Carolina farm and fruit flavors that only appear when the fruit is in season. The original shop is on Market Street downtown. For ice cream in Durham, it's the name you'll hear most.
Goodberry's Frozen Custard (Triangle)
Goodberry's has been making frozen custard fresh every hour since 1988, from milk, eggs, cream, cane sugar, honey and natural extracts, with a new flavor of the day. If you've ever wondered what makes custard different from ice cream (hint: egg yolks), our frozen dessert comparison explains it.
Videri Chocolate Factory (Raleigh)
Videri is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in downtown Raleigh, and its shop serves soft serve alongside chocolate and coffee. It's also one of our partners: Videri's hot chocolate mix is the heart of our Strawberry Hot Chocolate.
Charlotte and the Piedmont
Two Scoops Creamery (Charlotte area)
Two Scoops makes homemade ice cream from family recipes and keeps a huge range of flavors, more than 100 over the course of the year plus seasonal specials. It has shops in Plaza Midwood, South End and NoDa, plus Concord, Matthews and Mooresville. For ice cream in Charlotte, it comes up in nearly every local conversation.
Seemingly Overzealous (Charlotte area)
Seemingly Overzealous makes ice cream that's dairy-, egg- and gluten-free. It opened its first shop at Camp North End in 2023, added Plaza Midwood and Dilworth, and announced new shops in Davidson and Matthews for 2026. If you're scooping for a group with mixed dietary needs, this is a great find. Our dairy-free guide has more tips on choosing well.
Golden Cow Creamery and Honeysuckle Gelato (Charlotte)
Two more Charlotte names worth knowing: Golden Cow Creamery makes small-batch ice cream from scratch in inventive flavors, and Honeysuckle Gelato makes artisanal gelato with vegan-friendly options. Both featured in a May 2026 roundup of Charlotte ice cream from Macaroni KID.
The coast: Wilmington, the beaches and the Outer Banks
Boombalatti's Homemade Ice Cream (Wilmington)
Boombalatti's is family owned, churns locally with North Carolina grass-fed dairy, and keeps vegan options on the menu. Its first shop opened at The Forum, and it now has locations in the Brooklyn Arts District, Hampstead and Carolina Beach, plus a shop on the UNC Wilmington campus that opened in 2025. It's the place to start for ice cream in Wilmington.
Carolina Beach
On the boardwalk, The Fudgeboat and Krazy Kones is family owned and has been open since 2004, with ice cream, soft serve, fudge shakes and waffle cones made in-house. Nearby, Squigley's Ice Cream & Treats has been "squiggling" mix-ins into vanilla since 1995. Squigley's is open from Easter weekend through Labor Day, so plan a summer visit.
Saltwater Shanty Homemade Ice Cream (Supply)
Near Holden Beach, Saltwater Shanty opened in 2018 and makes more than 20 all-natural flavors. You can eat them in a garden under live oaks.
The Outer Banks
Big Buck's Homemade Ice Cream is a woman-owned business that has been making ice cream fresh daily on the Outer Banks for more than 30 years, with shops in Kitty Hawk, Manteo, Duck and Corolla. In Kill Devil Hills, Scoops Homemade Ice Cream is another local stop. Beach hours shift with the season, so call ahead outside summer.
Planning your North Carolina ice cream road trip
- Check hours first. Mountain and beach shops often close or shorten hours in the off-season.
- Pack a cooler if you plan to bring pints home. A hard-sided cooler with ice packs is fine for a short drive.
- Go regional. Pair the Triad with a Surry County sonker stop, or combine Raleigh and Durham in one day.
- Ask about dietary needs. Many shops now offer vegan or dairy-free options, but cross-contact at the scoop counter is real. Ask, and check labels on packaged pints.
Can't make the drive? Plenty of North Carolina makers sell pints in grocery stores, and some ship. We do too. Read how shipping frozen desserts works, or browse all our flavors.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best ice cream in North Carolina?
There's no single answer, because every region has standouts. Well-loved names include The Hop and French Broad Chocolate in Asheville, Yum Yum and Homeland Creamery in the Triad, Howling Cow, Two Roosters, The Parlour and Goodberry's in the Triangle, Two Scoops and Seemingly Overzealous in Charlotte, and Boombalatti's and Big Buck's on the coast.
What is the oldest ice cream shop in North Carolina?
Yum Yum Better Ice Cream in Greensboro has been owned by the Aydelette family since 1906, making it one of the oldest in the state. In Asheville, The Hop is often called the city's oldest ice creamery.
What dessert is Surry County, NC known for?
Surry County is known for sonker, a deep-dish fruit dessert somewhere between a pie and a cobbler. You can try versions along the Surry Sonker Trail or at the Sonker Festival, held on the first Saturday in October near Mount Airy.
Where can I get dairy-free ice cream in North Carolina?
Seemingly Overzealous in the Charlotte area makes ice cream that's dairy-, egg- and gluten-free. French Broad Chocolate in Asheville and Boombalatti's in Wilmington offer vegan options. Elaka's Sulaimani Sorbet, Pineapple Hibiscus Sorbet and Jinn's Peanut Unda are vegan and can be ordered online.
Can I get North Carolina frozen desserts shipped?
Yes. Elaka ships its frozen treats packed with dry ice, and offers local pickup in Greensboro. Some other NC makers sell pints in grocery stores, such as Howling Cow at Harris Teeter.
However you plan your route, we hope it ends with something you've never tasted before. Find us at an Elaka pop-up, start with a curated 4-pack, or read our story. Stories and smiles in every bite!
