Like ice cream? PA trail stops in York, Lebanon, Franklin counties
Shelly StallsmithPennsylvanians must like their ice cream.
Last year, 12 creameries across seven counties made up the first Pursue Your Scoops Ice Cream Trail. This year, there are three trails across the state, and they involve 32 creameries in 23 counties.
Shops in Franklin, Lebanon and York counties join creameries in five other counties to make up the South Central trail.
Patches Creamery in Lebanon County and Perrydell Farm and Dairy in York County are on the trail for a second time. Windy Knoll Farm Market & Creamery in Franklin County joins the trail this year.
Perrydell Farm and Dairy was invited to participate for the second straight year. Donna Perry, wife of one of the farm’s owners, said the process was more stringent the first time around.
“We had to have the creamery on the farm,” she said of the initial requirements. “We make our own mix from our own cows, which a lot of places don’t do.”
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Perrydell Farm and Dairy, owned by brothers Tom, Greg and Chip Perry, is located on 170 acres in York Township. The farm supports 250 cows, of which about 120 are milked twice daily. The rest of the herd are too young or too old to produce milk.
This time of year, the cows produce just over 1,000 gallons a day. They prefer cooler weather, when their production increases 300 to 400 gallons each day, said Tom Perry, Donna’s husband.
Some of that raw milk is processed into 2-percent, skim and whole milk. The rest becomes vanilla and chocolate ice cream mix. That ice cream mix becomes a variety of hand-dipped and novelty ice cream items that are sold in the dairy.
Popsicles, push-up pops, ice cream sandwiches and a flavor of the month are just the beginning of what Perrydell offers.
June’s special flavor is strawberries and cream, but not just because the month is prime season for local strawberries. It was a special request by Collusion Tap Works.
“They made a strawberry milkshake IPA and wanted an ice cream to go with it at First Friday,” Donna Perry said. “So we came up with strawberries and cream, put it in the ice cream truck and went to First Friday in York.”
She isn’t sure what the flavor will be for August but hopes a test this week leads to crème brulee for July.
“We started doing ice cream about 10 years ago, and it’s been growing every year,” Tom Perry said. “We don’t just do the regular flavors, [Donna] is always looking for something different. I compare our ice cream to craft breweries. It’s for people who are more discerning.”
Peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter and coffee by the sea (coffee ice cream with sea salt fudge cookie swirl) are the creamery’s top sellers.
Perrydell is certainly a fan favorite. It has been named “Best Ice Cream in York” for the past two years.
Not only are visitPA.com, Pa. Department of Agriculture, PA Preferred and the Center for Dairy Excellence increasing the number of creameries involved in the three trails, they are offering incentives for making the rounds.
Ice cream lovers should download a passport from https://visitpa.com/scoops or pick one up in a shop on the trail, and get a stamp each time they visit a different shop.
Get five stamps before Sept. 2, and you will receive an Ice Cream Trail T-shirt. Hit each one on a specific trail, and you get an ice cream bowl with your T-shirt.
Here is a look at the stops on the South Central Trail:
Berks County
Way-Har Farms (7701 Bernville Road, Bernville)
The Lesher family opened Way-Har Farm Market in 1970 to sell milk directly from their cows. An ice cream wagon can be rented and used for fundraisers. Have an ice cream flavor that you always wanted to make, but couldn’t get it done? Way-Har Farms can make your dream a reality with Designer Ice Cream.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.
Nesting Box Farm Market & Creamery (230 Snyder Rd., Kempton)
Known initially for its cage-free brown eggs, the Nesting Box added homemade ice cream to its farm fresh offerings. The expanded market “offers handcrafted artisan ice cream that echoes the traditional ice cream texture and flavor of times past” according to the Ice Cream Trail website.
Hours: Nesting Box is closed on Mondays; open noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; noon to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Cumberland County
The Sugar Shack of Boiling Springs (101 W. 1st St., Boiling Springs)
At any given time, there will be 24 ice cream flavors on display. That means there are more than 75 other flavors waiting in other freezers in the back. Although the flavors change frequently, among the unique ones most likely on display are salted caramel banana foster, coconut and roadrunner raspberry. The Sugar Shack also serves up specialty sundaes such as cookie doughlicious, Cookie Monster delight, Mallow Cup, mocha madness and warm peanut butter turtle.
Hours: The Sugar Shack is closed on Mondays; open 2-9 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays.
Dauphin County
Sweet Treats & More (72 North Market Street, Elizabethville)
If you have a sweet tooth, Sweet Treats & More is the place for you. An old-fashioned candy store meets ice cream shop. Never afraid to try something new, Sweet Treats offered pickle ice cream leading into Memorial Day. June’s flavor of the month is chocolate banana.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Urban Churn (1004 North 3rd St., Harrisburg)
Urban Churn wants to offer something you can’t get anywhere else. Forget rocky road and cookies and cream. At Urban Churn, it’s all about wasabi, cucumber and melon, as well as mango habanero.
Hours: Urban Churn is closed Mondays and Tuesdays; and open 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Franklin County
Windy Knoll Farm Market & Creamery (2685 Spring Road, Chambersburg)
Windy Knoll has won the Golden Scoop Award for Best Ice Cream at Scoop-a-Palooza four straight years. The shop’s popularity might have something to do with its unique flavors. Take the Butterscotch Bomb for example: butterscotch ice cream with Oreos and brownie pieces, all swirled in a butterscotch ripple.
Andy Eby, who owns Windy Knoll, has 30 employees working on wholesale orders and in the store. They use locally sourced ingredients to make their ice cream onsite.
Eby said he's always enjoyed ice cream, so owning the creamery is a "natural fit."
Hours: Windy Knoll is closed on Sundays; open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
Lancaster County
Fox Meadows Creamery (2475 West Main St., Ephrata)
Fox Meadows is a farm-to-table creamery owned by the Fox family. Their specialties include a Baked Fox (warm chewy cookie or brownie outer shell with your favorite ice cream inside), custom milkshakes, Glass Bottle Floats and Affogatos (vanilla ice cream, espresso, whipped cream and a pirouette).
Hours: Fox Meadows is closed Sundays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays.
The Milkhouse at Oregon Dairy (2900 Oregon Pike, Lititz)
The Hurst family opened its first dairy store in 1974, where it sold fresh milk, eggs, produce and Oregon Dairy ice cream. The Milkhouse Ice Cream Shoppe offers 25 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, signature sundaes (including Lancaster County Mud Pie, Tractor Tire, Spotted P.B. Cow, Whoopie Pie, Barnyard Chaos, Cupcake Explosion) and milkshakes.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Lapp Valley Farm (244 Mentzer Road, New Holland)
Lapp Valley Farm is known for its handcrafted small-batch ice cream, made from the rich butterfat of their Jersey cows. The dairy store opened in 1975 and features 16 varieties of ice cream.
Hours: The Lapp Valley Farm is closed on Sundays; 8 a.m. to dusk Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Pine View Dairy (2225 New Danville Pike, Lancaster)
The dairy has been making homemade ice cream on the premises since 1971, featuring more than 25 flavors. Among the unique regular flavors are butter brickle, coconut pineapple, espresso Oreo caramel and German chocolate cake. Pine View Dairy also offers a sampler, four small waffle cones with different flavors. Coming with a crowd? Try the Trough, 12 dips of ice cream, eight toppings and two garnishes (whoopie pies and chocolate chip cookies) that serves four to six people.
Hours: Pine View is closed on Sundays; open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.
More:Patches Creamery 1 of 12 stops on PA ice cream trail
Lebanon County
Patches Family Creamery (201 Fonderwhite Road, Lebanon)
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, Mark and Stephanie Patches and family were “thrilled” when their shop was included in last year’s tour. Their ice cream is made with fresh milk from their own cows, and is mixed and frozen in their processing plant.
They boast all-natural flavors (vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, peaches ‘n’ cream, coconut, orange pineapple, orange pina colada, peanut butter twist and chocolate peanut butter) plus a variety of flavors that feature “add-ins.”
Hours: Patches is closed on Sundays and Mondays; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
Perry County
Hall’s Ice Cream (861 Raccoon Valley Road, Millerstown)
Hall’s offers more than 40 flavors, but makes each one in micro-batches, 10 gallons at a time. Among the more unique flavors you can find at Hall’s: ABC White Birch Beer, Cinnamon, Teaberry, Coconut Custard, Fort Hunter Black Cherry Walnut, Grapenut, Irish Crème, ABC Root Beer, Monkey Butter (banana/peanut butter).
Hours: 3-9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 2-9 p.m. Saturdays; 1-9 p.m. Sundays.
York County
Perrydell Farm and Dairy (90 Indian Rock Dam Road, York Township)
The Perry family owns 170 acres, and rents another 180 acres to plant and harvest everything it needs to feed their cows. They purchased the farm in 1923, started bottling milk in 1963 and supports four families from the milk of 130 cows. The ice cream shop offers 30 flavors, including seasonal (strawberries and cream is the June flavor of the month), gluten free, dairy free and sugar free.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
