Karrigan MonkHendersonville Times-News
Established in 2023, the Hendersonville Ice Cream Trail lists 13 locations across the county where visitors can find a tasty scoop. Ranging from homemade to brand-name and from ice cream to custards and yogurts, the trail offers something for everyone.
Here’s a list of all the spots and what to expect:
Baabals Ice Cream Shop & Family Grille
With 36 ice cream flavors and 40 milkshake flavors, Baabals Ice Cream Shop & Family Grille offers the largest selection of any other parlor on the trail. In addition to scoops and milkshakes, the spot also offers traditional ice cream-based desserts, including banana splits, sundaes and ice cream floats.
Owner Roy Dickerson said the most popular flavor “day in and day out” is cappuccino crunch.
The shop is located in an early 1900s stone house with a wrap-around porch. The main level of the house serves ice cream and food, while the upstairs is a vintage consignment shop.
Dickerson said being on the ice cream trail brings new customers in every day.
“Happiness and ice cream are kind of the same thing,” Dickerson said. “The one goes along with the other. I got into this as a retirement job because I wanted people to realize that ice cream was happiness and there’s never stress.
Address: 188 St. John Road in Fletcher
Celtic Creamery
This chain ice cream spot specializes in Irish-inspired ice cream where everything is made in-house including the waffle cones. There are more than 50 flavors in rotation at Celtic Creamery, with 14 flavors available each week. The parlor also offers eight signature sundaes.
In addition to ice cream, Celtic Creamery sells mini donuts sprinkled with the customers choice of powdered or cinnamon sugar.
Address: 227 7th Ave. East in Hendersonville
Dairi-O
The North Carolina-based chain’s first Western North Carolina location is in Flat Rock. The store offers more than 30 flavors of ice cream, both hand-scooped and soft serve. Soft serve cones can be dipped in a coating of chocolate or butterscotch.
Dairi-O started in King, North Carolina in 1947 as a drive-up hamburger stand. The Flat Rock location continues to serve these hamburgers, along with hot dogs, salad and wraps with a two-lane drive-thru and dining room.
Address: 140 Upward Road in East Flat Rock
El Rio Ice Cream & Paleteria
The family-owned business opened in 2014 and a serves more than 30 flavors of homemade ice cream. Popsicles known as paletas are also on the menu, as are seasonal varieties of sorbet. Banana splits, ice cream floats, frozen strawberries and a traditional Mexican drink called chamoyada round out the cold treats available at El Rio. The shop also offers street corn on the menu.
Address: 2000 Spartanburg Highway, Suite 200 in Hendersonville
Harry’s Grill & Piggy’s Ice Cream
A Hendersonville staple, Piggy’s ice cream opened in 1979 and currently serves a range of 24 to 30 flavors each day. The ice cream at Piggy’s is supplied by both Mayfield and Blue Bell. Milkshakes and banana splits round out the ice cream menu.
Piggy’s is also home to Harry’s Grill, serving hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecue.
Address: 102 Duncan Hill Road in Hendersonville
Karolina Kremes
Karolina Kremes offers 12 flavors of hand-scooped ice cream in addition to vanilla and chocolate soft-serve. In addition to scoops, the shop also offers more than 50 different milkshake options. Food, including burgers, hot dogs and wraps, is also served.
Address: 96 Etowah Center Drive in Etowah
Kilwin’s
The national chain has several locations throughout Western North Carolina, including one on Main Street in Hendersonville. The shop offers 32 flavors on a daily basis, along with rotating seasonal options.
Other treats ranging from fudge to caramel apples to truffles and more supplement the ice cream at Kilwin’s.
Address: 506 North Main St. in Hendersonville
La Vida Loca Ice Cream & Mexican Snacks
The family-owned restaurant specializes in homemade sorbets, of which there are 14 rotating flavors. Other cold treats include chamoyada and popsicles.
On the food side of the menu, La Vida Loca offers tamales and street corn.
Address: 825 Spartanburg Highway, #16 in Hendersonville
Luv Ice Cream
One of the newer locations on the trail, Luv Ice Cream opened in 2023 and serves 14 varieties of Hershey’s ice cream. Waffle cones and bowls are made in-house.
In addition to ice cream, the shop also offers a variety of food and drinks including sushi, poke, ramen and boba tea.
Address: 5591 Hendersonville Road in Fletcher
McConnell Farms Ice Cream
Started in 1999, McConnell Farms Ice Cream originally only served strawberry ice cream made in a 1908 machine. After two years, the shop upgraded the equipment and now serve a variety of flavors that often incorporate items grown on the farm.
Fruits and vegetables grown on the farm are also available for purchase at the shop.
Address: 177 Old Dana Road in Hendersonville
sweetFrog
A national chain with most locations in the eastern part of the country, sweetFrog is a frozen yogurt business. The shop has 21 flavors available on a daily basis, 14 of which are individual flavors and seven combinations. Six flavors – original tart, strawberry, no sugar added vanilla, cake batter and cookies and crème – are available year-round. The rest are available on a rotating basis. A more than 40 item topping bar lets customers personalize their treat just as they like it.
Address: 201 North Main St. in Hendersonville
The Baker’s Box
The Baker’s Box offers six flavors of homemade ice cream each day. Chocolate and vanilla flavors are always available and the other flavors rotate. Toppings are available for scoops of ice cream. In addition to scoops, the shop also offers milkshakes, including “drunken milkshakes,” which add alcohol to the dish. Owner Mara Nicholas said she doesn’t know of anyone else in Hendersonville that does this.
The Baker’s Box also offers lunch and dinner food items, including sandwiches, salads and wraps.
In addition to ice cream and food, The Baker’s Box also acts as a display of Nicholas’ Lego collection with the sets filling the space.
“I like bringing the joy to people,” Nicholas said.
Address: 1509 Asheville Highway in Hendersonville
Whit’s Frozen Custard
A national chain, Whit’s offers a treat not found at any other spot on the ice cream trail: Frozen custard. Frozen custard is denser and creamier than traditional ice cream. The frozen custard is made fresh daily and is available in four flavors: chocolate, vanilla, flavor of the day and flavor of the week.
Other frozen treats include sundaes, cakes, pies and custard-and-cookie sandwiches.
Address: 602 Kanuga Road in Hendersonville
Karrigan Monk is the reporter forBlack Mountain News and Hendersonville Times-News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
