While traveling around Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Gatlinburg in the Summer heat, the thought of “Where can I find some good ice cream?!” will probably cross your mind more than once. Here are the top places our Facebook followers recommended for ice cream, plus a couple of choices of our own!
1. Mel’s Diner
Mel’s Diner has been serving delicious ice cream at their location for years! Most famous for their huge, yet affordable, banana splits, Mel’s Diner was the most recommended place for ice cream according to our Facebook followers. In addition to Banana Splits, they also offer Sundaes, Floats, Shakes, Malts, Cobbler, Hot Fudge Cake, and Strawberry Shortcake. Plus, they also serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner-style foods so if you’re wanting more than just dessert they have that taken care of! Best of all, Mel’s Diner is located VERY close to our hotel, so you could easily walk there from Park Grove Inn!
2. The Chocolate Monkey
The Chocolate Monkey, was the second-highest recommended ice cream location according to our Facebook followers. In addition to delicious ice cream, The Chocolate Monkey also has tons of other treats like fudge, chocolate-covered strawberries and other fruit, candy, caramel apples, truffles, and tons of other sweet treats that you will want to try! Best of all, there are multiple Chocolate Monkey locations in Sevierville, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge so finding one to eat at will not be a problem.
3. The 3 Bears General Store
The Three Bears General Store was the third-highest recommended location for ice cream according to our Facebook followers. Located on the Parkway about 1 mile South of Park Grove Inn, the Three Bears General Store is located very close to many Pigeon Forge attractions, including The Island. While enjoying your ice cream in a cup, cone, or milkshake, you can also shop in their 40,000 square foot store which has just about everything you can think of from other sweet treats like hot fudge and candy to t-shirts, hats, jewelry, old-time photos, and of course tons of souvenirs.
4. Curl De La Creme
What makes Curl De La Creme so unique is that, unlike traditional ice cream that is scooped up and put into a bowl or cone, Curl De La Creme takes liquid cream and turns it into ice cream for every order! The curled-up ice cream is then placed inside of a waffle-cone type shell that is very much in the shape of a taco. Not only is it a new way of eating ice cream, but it’s very yummy as well. They have three ice cream base flavors with cookies, fruits, cereal, and nut based pastes that you can mix into the ice cream flavors, plus special and seasonal flavors to keep things fresh. Curl De La Creme is also a short walk from Park Grove Inn!
5. Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard
While they might not technically serve “ice cream”, Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard is still very tasty. Offering dozens of different flavors of frozen and hand-scooped custard, Rita’s will definitely have something that you’ll like! And if you or someone in your group is not in the mood for frozen custard, you can always have their very tasty Italian Ice. Rita’s is located about 1 mile south on the Parkway from Park Grove Inn.
6. Mad Dog Creamery
Mad Dog Creamery has two dozen different flavors of ice cream plus tons of other treats like donuts, milkshakes, cotton candy, and funnel cakes. If you have a dog with you, they even have treats just for dogs plus water bowls located outside for your convenience. Mad Dog Creamery has two locations, one in Pigeon Forge and one in Gatlinburg. Their Pigeon Forge location is about 1.4 miles south of Park Grove Inn on the Parkway.
7. Cookie Dough Monster
While the name might suggest that they specialize in cookie dough, the truth is Cookie Dough Monster has a huge selection of regular food and desserts, including about 15 different flavors of delicious Hershey’s ice cream. In addition to ice cream, they have shakes, cookie dough bites, cheesecake, cake, and cookies for dessert. They also have burgers, grilled cheese, salads, and tons of other food to choose from. Cookie Dough Monster is located on Teaster Ln and is about 1 mile away from Park Grove Inn.
8. The Apple Valley Creamery
Although it wasn’t one of the locations that were recommended by our Facebook followers, The Apple Valley Creamery is definitely one of the best places to get ice cream in our area. In business for 30 years, The Apple Valley Creamery’s selection of roughly 40 flavors of homemade ice cream is impressive, but even more impressive is how good every flavor tastes. The creamery also offers banana splits, sundaes, malts, ice cream floats, milkshakes, cobbler, and fruit smoothies. Additionally, they also have tons of sweet treats like cookies, brownies, the brookie (a brownie and cookie combined), and lots of freshly baked cake breads. The Apple Valley Creamery is 2 miles north of the Park Grove Inn just off the Parkway.
9. Cruze Farm
Very popular in the Knoxville area, Cruze Farm has recently opened its first location in our area in Sevierville, just across the street from Tanger Outlet Mall. With tasty ice cream starting at $3 for kids and $4 for adults, you can’t go wrong trying out one of their dozen-plus flavors. You can also dip your cone in one of four dips or add on toppings like sprinkles, oreo pieces, andes mints, and much more. They also have shakes, churns (similar to a Blizzard from Dairy Queen), floats, sundaes, and affogatos.
10. Old Mill Creamery
Last but certainly not least on our list is the Old Mill Creamery. The Old Mill Creamery makes ice cream the old-fashioned way, churning rich custard to scoop into bowls or sugar cones, whirl into thick shakes, or sculpt into eye-popping sundaes. Their signature flavors include treats from The Old Mill Candy Kitchen, the bakery, spirits from the Old Forge Distillery, and fresh fruits and nuts that change with the seasons. The Old Mill Creamery is a little over 2 miles from Park Grove Inn, but is definitely worth checking out.
So what do you think of our list of ice cream places to try out in our area? Be sure to follow us on Facebook for more great content!