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How do you know where to go for the best ice cream in Gatlinburg, TN? Today we’re going to look at the top places to grab delicious ice cream in this unique town.
With so many choices available, it can be hard to choose. We’ve made your choice easier by narrowing it down to the top 10 places to get ice cream in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. This blog post will help you find the perfect place to get your ice cream fix while in the Smokies!
Best Ice Cream Gatlinburg
Here are the best Gatlinburg ice cream shops to tempt your taste buds and satisfy your sweet tooth. Enjoy the sweet aroma of waffle cones made in-house at a lot of locations and enjoy a tasty scoop of ice cream on your Smoky Mountain vacation.
Mad Dog’s Creamery and Donuts
Mad Dog’s Creamery is one of the best places to get ice cream in Gatlinburg. They offer 24 different flavors, including some unique options like Yellow Brick Road and Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake. You can also find all of your favorite classic flavors like Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. Try some in a waffle cone!
In addition to ice cream, they also have a variety of donuts available. Try the apple fritters, yeast donuts, filled donuts and cake donuts – there is a donut here for everyone!
Famous for: Fresh donuts made in-house, premium hand-dipped ice cream, banana splits, soft serve, sundaes and funnel cakes. If you need a sweet treat, you’ll find it here.
Locations: 731 E Parkway, downtown Gatlinburg and 3048 Parkway, Pigeon Forge
Recommendations: You can’t go wrong here but our favorite flavor is white chocolate raspberry and we love the maple bacon donuts and apple fritters!
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Glades Soda Fountain
Glades Soda Fountain is another excellent choice for ice cream in Gatlinburg. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time when you visit this quaint little shop.
This shop is located in Gatlinburg’s Morning Mist Village (in the Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community) and is an authentic soda fountain experience. Sit at the counter and watch your dessert made before your eyes by the friendly soda jerk!
In addition to ice cream, they also serve nachos and hot dogs. So if you’re looking for a quick snack before your cool treat, they’ve got you covered. Once we found this gem, it quicky became a new favorite local ice cream shop.
Famous for: their old-fashioned sodas, floats, banana splits, and sundaes.
Location: 601 Glades Rd # 20, Gatlinburg
Recommendations: Root beer floats and banana splits are our favorites here, plus we always have to get an old-fashioned soda.
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Kilwin’s
At Kilwin’s, they take pride in serving only the finest ingredients available – real butter, fresh cream, pure cane sugar, and the best chocolate and nuts. No shortcuts are ever taken – with unparalleled originality and quality, they strive to craft the very best confections so you can enjoy an exceptional experience that can only be Kilwin’s. They have some amazing signature flavors of homemade ice cream and a superb selection of fudge.
Famous for: Orginal recipe ice cream, hand-rolled waffle cones, Smoky Mountain fudge, and treats from the candy kitchen
Location: 645 Parkway, downtown Gatlinburg
Recommendations: The kids love the Blue Moon and mom and dad prefer the “perfect” apple pie flavor.
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Maddi Mae’s Cafe & Creamery (formerly Village Cafe and Creamery)
Maddi Mae’s Cafe & Creamery is a great place to get ice cream in Gatlinburg Village. They offer a variety of flavors of premium hand-dipped ice cream, as well as a variety of other items such as coffee, hot chocolate, milkshakes and floats.
They also offer bites to eat such as hot dogs and sandwiches, with a variety of sodas bottled in Tennessee (check the website for current offerings). You can even find frozen doggie treats at this fun shop!
Famous for: their premium hand-dipped ice cream and wide variety of coffee creations
Location: 634 Parkway #17, downtown Gatlinburg
Recommendations: If you love coffee, you can’t go wrong here. We also love the candy bar shakes and local grub.
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Mayfield Dairy Bar
Mayfield’s Dairy Bar is a great place to get ice cream in Gatlinburg. They have a wide selection of Mayfield ice cream flavors, as well as other dairy items such as milkshakes and floats. If you have a favorite flavor of Mayfield ice cream, you’ll probably find it here.
They also offer food and other sweet options, such as corn dogs, hot dogs, nachos, fries and wings. Get a deep fried treat here as well such as deep fried oreos, snickers or twinkies.
Famous for: their ice cream, milkshakes, and floats
Location: 738 Parkway # 1, Gatlinburg
Recommendations: If you enjoy fair food (and who doesn’t??), make sure you try one of the fried confections like fried oreos, snickers or twinkies.
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Pearls Pie in the Sky
If you’re visiting Anakeesta, a very popular destination in Gatlinburg, be sure to check out Pearl’s Pie in the Sky – it’s amazing location makes it a really fun restaurant. Enjoy Bluebell ice cream in bowls or sugar cones, homemade fried pies, cookies and brownies in a 1940’s setting. There are many different flavors of ice cream to choose from such as banana pudding, birthday cake, chocolate chip cookie dough and more. The variety of ice cream flavors changes, so be sure to check out what delicious flavors they have the day you visit.
They also serve breakfast, so try a cup of coffee and a pastry to start your day.
What they offer: Ice cream, pies, cookies, brownies
Location: Anakeesta, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg
Recommendations: The Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream is a must-try!
Click here to visit the website
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Of course there are your chain ice cream shops here, too, if you fancy one of those. You can visit Ben & Jerry’s, Marble Slab Creamery or even Baskin Robbins, but when we are in town we like to enjoy more local flavors made with fresh ingredients and enjoy some incredible ice cream cones made in-house. Plus we enjoy supporting small businesses.
If you’re in the Smoky Mountains and find yourself in Pigeon Forge or Sevierville, be sure to check out the Old Mill Creamery (with flavors inspired by the Old Mill Candy Kitchen such as Oat Mill Cream Pie), Apple Valley Creamery (part of the Apple Barn Village and apple orchard), and Rita’s Italian Ice.
I hope this list has inspired you to try some of these handmade sweets on your next vacation to the Smoky Mountain area.
If you’re in the mood for something sweet but not quite ice cream, check out the best bakeries in Gatlinburg.
