LaGrange · Steuben · Noble · Kosciusko Counties
Northern Indiana Ice Cream
24 places to get a cone across Indiana’s lake country — including an official eight-stop trail, and the one five minutes from our dock.
Ice cream is not incidental to a summer up here. It is the thing that gets everyone out of the water and into the car at six o’clock, the reward at the end of a hot afternoon, and — on the evenings when nobody can face cooking — dinner, more or less.
Northeast Indiana is unusually well supplied. Three things stack up here at once: dairy farm country, one of the largest Amish communities in the United States, and a lake tourism season that fills these counties every summer. The result is a scoop window in almost every village, and one county that has made a signposted trail out of it.
This guide maps 24 of them across the same four counties as our northern Indiana lakes guide — sorted by how far they are from the water, because that is how the decision actually gets made.
24
shops mapped
across four counties
8
stops
on Steuben's official trail
5
in Shipshewana
alone
May–Sept
peak season
most are seasonal
Why there is so much ice cream up here
Start with the dairy. These are working farm counties, and some of what gets scooped here has not travelled far — the shop in Rome City takes its dairy from Kuehnert Dairy Farm, an hour south. Frozen custard and homemade root beer turn up on menus around Shipshewana because they have always been made here, not because someone decided they were retro.
Then the Amish community. LaGrange County sits inside one of the largest settlements in the country, and a great many of these shops are family-owned in the most literal sense: bought by one family from another, run by the people whose name is on the window. Cowlick’s was Brenda’s until 2024. Lickity Splitz exists because a daughter built the business her late father had been talking about.
And then the lakes. Two hundred and thirty-nine public lakes across four counties pull in a summer population several times the size of the resident one, all of it arriving hot and leaving at dusk. Steuben County worked out that this was worth organising, and its tourism bureau now runs a formal eight-stop ice cream trail. Nobody else has done the same, which is why the other three counties take some finding.
The four counties at a glance
Counts are of the shops listed in this guide, not of every freezer in the region — we only list places we can actually put on a map.
| County | Shops | What it is like |
|---|---|---|
| LaGrange | 9 | Amish country, and the densest cluster of the lot. Shipshewana alone supports five places to get something frozen, and the county has the shop nearest the house. |
| Steuben | 8 | The only county here with an official, signposted ice cream trail — eight stops, promoted by the tourism bureau, spread from Pokagon State Park to the Michigan line. |
| Noble | 3 | Thin on the ground but well placed: one beside Sylvan Lake, one on Albion's main street after Chain O'Lakes, one drive-in at Ligonier. |
| Kosciusko | 4 | The furthest afield, and the most town-flavoured — North Webster's two, the Village at Winona, and frozen custard in Warsaw. |
Where they all are
Every town in the guide, with the number of shops in each. The dark pin is The Farmhouse — everything else is measured from there.
Numbered pins are towns, not individual shops; the dark pin is The Farmhouse. Open a pin for that town's shops and a directions link for each address.
The shops, county by county
Distances are measured from The Farmhouse on Big Long Lake. Stops marked Ice Cream Trail are on the Steuben County Tourism Bureau’s official trail. Most of these are seasonal — see before you drive out.
LaGrange County
9 shops
Cowlick's Ice Cream Shoppe
Closest to the house
1405 W 700 S, Wolcottville, IN 46795Facebook
The one you can reach in the time it takes the kids to change out of wet swimsuits. Vernon and Edith Bontrager took over the former Brenda's Ice Cream and reopened it as Cowlick's in spring 2024; it now runs more than 30 hand-dipped flavours alongside soft serve, shakes, floats and sundaes. Rum black cherry is the flavour regulars order. There are subs, wraps and hot pretzels too, which is why it quietly doubles as dinner.
Vanilla Bean Creamery
A short drive
100 S Van Buren St, Shipshewana, IN 46565Visit Shipshewana listing
At the four-way stop beside the Blue Gate, and the most serious ice cream in the county. A mother-and-daughter operation that started in Elkhart in 2019 and now makes around 30 flavours in small batches from scratch — strawberry brownie cheesecake among them. Order the flight of four mini scoops if you cannot choose.
Mom's Ice Cream
A short drive
655 S Van Buren St, Shipshewana, IN 46565momsicecream.com
A stand near the Michiana Event Center and the flea market grounds, scooping Velvet ice cream plus soft serve, shakes and arctics. Exactly what you want at the end of a Tuesday spent walking the market.
Wana Cup Restaurant
A short drive
295 N Van Buren St, Shipshewana, IN 46565Facebook
A proper small-town diner where the move is a soft-serve cone and a glass of the homemade Amish root beer they keep on tap. Get both and make it a float.
Blue Gate Garden Inn
A short drive
800 S Van Buren St, Shipshewana, IN 46565bluegategardeninn.com
There is a vintage soda fountain in the lobby turning out floats, shakes and malts. You do not have to be staying there, and on a wet afternoon in Shipshewana it is the best room in town.
Shawna Rae's Treats & Eats
A short drive
125 N Harrison St, Shipshewana, IN 46565Facebook
A bakery that also scoops, which means you can put ice cream next to a cupcake or a slice of cheesecake from the case. Consider that an instruction.
Howie's Ice Cream
A short drive
6580 W US 20, LaGrange, IN 46761Facebook
A straightforward county-seat cone stop — no reinvention, no queue theatre, just a classic twist handed out a window.
Lucy's Vedie Twist
A short drive
955 S 000 EW, LaGrange, IN 46761Facebook
The other LaGrange standby, and the sort of place that has been settling arguments about where to stop for a generation.
Tiffany's Restaurant
A short drive
414 E Lake St, Topeka, IN 46571tiffanystopeka.com
Not an ice cream shop — an Amish-country restaurant that does hearty plate dinners and then sends you out with ice cream or a milkshake. Come hungry; the ice cream is the last thing you will need.
Steuben County
8 shops
Scoops Ice Cream
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
3331 N State Rd 127, Angola, IN 46703Facebook
Hard scoop and frozen yoghurt on seven acres north of Angola, sitting right on the Pokagon bike trail — so it works as the turnaround point of a ride as well as a drive. Non-dairy and gluten-free options, which makes it the safe choice for a mixed group.
Zesto
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
2931 N State Rd 127, Angola, IN 46703
Soft serve from a recipe the owners will not part with, served out of a retro roadside building. This is the nostalgia stop — the one that tastes like whatever summer you are trying to give the kids.
The Social Ice Cream Co.
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
2405 N 200 W, Angola, IN 46703Facebook
The most ambitious flavours in the county — pecan praline on a maple base, and a roster that rotates through the season. Ten minutes from Pokagon and set up for exactly the crowd coming off the water.
The Backyard Creamery & Mini Golf
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
640 W 400 N, Angola, IN 46703Facebook
Hand-dipped ice cream with a mini golf course attached, which resolves the perennial problem of what to do with an evening and four restless children.
Capt'n Pete's Dairy Dock
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
7425 S Wayne St, Hamilton, IN 46742Instagram
A long flavour list and frozen yoghurt on Hamilton Lake, with outdoor games going while you eat. Opening day each spring is a local event in its own right.
DJ's Tempting Treats & BBQ
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
114 E Toledo St, Fremont, IN 46737Steuben County Tourism
Barbecue and ice cream under one roof — an unusual pairing that turns out to solve the whole evening rather than just the end of it.
Sweet Summers
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
9475 W State Rd 120, Orland, IN 46776Steuben County Tourism
Wisconsin's Chocolate Shoppe ice cream in a bakery that also turns out cookies, muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls and carrot cake. The northernmost stop on the trail and the one worth timing a morning around.
The Café at Potawatomi Inn
Ice Cream TrailWorth the trip
6 Lane 100A Lake James, Angola, IN 46703Steuben County Tourism
Hand-dipped ice cream inside the state park itself, alongside made-to-order sandwiches and house pizzas. The one you can walk to from the beach without moving the car.
Noble County
3 shops
Lickity Splitz Ice Cream & Coffee
Closest to the house
3204 E CR 900 N, Rome City, IN 46784lickitysplitz.square.site
The newest of the close ones — the Speicher family opened it in June 2025, in memory of Malissa's father, whose idea it originally was. Premium ice cream and seasonal flavours with dairy from Kuehnert Dairy Farm, plus specialty coffee, dirty sodas and mini doughnuts, walk-up or drive-through. Minutes from Sylvan Lake.
Cowabunga Creamery
A short drive
118 E Main St, Albion, IN 46701cowabungacreamery.square.site
On Albion's main street under new ownership since 2023, rotating through Glacier and High Point Creamery flavours with gluten-free and dairy-free available. The natural stop after a day paddling Chain O'Lakes.
JR's Dairy Sweet Drive-In
A short drive
909 Lincolnway S, Ligonier, IN 46767
An old-school drive-in doing ice cream alongside burgers and hot dogs. Unpretentious, and the better option when half the car wants dinner and half wants dessert.
Kosciusko County
4 shops
Skoops
A short drive
114 N Main St, North Webster, IN 46555skoopsnw.com
Jamal and Amanda Meerzo's shop in downtown North Webster — twelve flavours of Hudsonville and Ashby's at a time, with rotating specials, soft serve, root beer floats, malts and shakes, plus dairy-free and sugar-free. They also run The River coffee shop in town.
Onda Ice Cream Shop
A short drive
North Webster, Indiana — no street address publishedFacebook
The other North Webster option, a short walk from the first, which means you can reasonably do both and call it research.
Social Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop
Worth the trip
904 Park Ave, Winona Lake, IN 46590villageatwinona.com
In the Village at Winona, with over 20 premium hand-dipped flavours, homemade waffle cones, and gourmet salads and sandwiches if you want lunch first. The restored arts village around it is half the reason to make the drive. (No relation to The Social in Angola, despite the name.)
Ritter's Frozen Custard
Worth the trip
3845 Lake City Hwy, Warsaw, IN 46580ritters.com
Custard rather than ice cream — denser, richer, served softer — with a flavour of the day that is worth checking before you commit to the vanilla.
Which stop for which evening
Best after a day on the water
Cowlick's Ice Cream Shoppe, Wolcottville
Thirty-plus hand-dipped flavours a few minutes from the dock, and it does subs and hot pretzels — so on the evenings nobody wants to cook, it quietly becomes dinner.
Best ice cream, full stop
Vanilla Bean Creamery, Shipshewana
Made in small batches from scratch, around thirty flavours deep. The four-scoop flight exists because choosing is genuinely hard.
Best for a proper outing
The Steuben County Ice Cream Trail
Eight stops across one county, already mapped by the tourism bureau. Pick three, drive the lakes between them, and you have built a whole afternoon out of dessert.
Best with restless children
The Backyard Creamery & Mini Golf, Angola
Hand-dipped ice cream with eighteen holes attached. Solves the evening rather than just the pudding.
Best for the nostalgia
Zesto, Angola
Soft serve from a guarded recipe, out of a retro roadside building on SR 127. This is the one that tastes like the summers you are trying to hand down.
Best if someone can't have dairy
Scoops, Angola
Non-dairy and gluten-free options alongside the hard scoop, on seven acres beside the Pokagon bike trail. The stop that does not leave anyone holding a napkin.
Before you drive out
Check the hours first
This is the one piece of advice that matters. Most of these are seasonal, several are walk-up windows with no indoor room at all, and shoulder-season hours move around. Facebook is almost always more current than a shop’s website — small operations post “closing early, storm coming” there and nowhere else. Deliberately, this page carries no opening times: printed hours rot, and a guide that sends you to a dark window is worse than no guide.
Take cash
Cards are widely accepted now, but the smaller stands — especially the seasonal windows and the ones on the flea market grounds — are still happier with cash, and a few are cash only. It costs nothing to have twenty dollars in the car.
Sundays in Amish country
A number of businesses across LaGrange County close on Sundays, and Shipshewana in particular is much quieter than the rest of the week. Not all of them — several ice cream shops do open Sunday afternoons — but do not build a Sunday afternoon around a drive to Shipshewana without checking, and do not expect the flea market.
Make it a loop, not an errand
The pleasure here is the driving. Chain O’Lakes and then Cowabunga in Albion; the Pokagon beach and then the café at the Potawatomi Inn without moving the car; the Shipshewana flea market on a Tuesday and then Vanilla Bean on the way home. Pair each stop with the water nearest it and an ice cream run becomes the afternoon rather than an interruption to it.
Common questions
Where is the closest ice cream to Big Long Lake?
Cowlick's Ice Cream Shoppe on W 700 S in Wolcottville is the nearest, a few minutes from the lake, with more than 30 hand-dipped flavours plus soft serve, shakes and sundaes. Lickity Splitz in Rome City, just over the Noble County line near Sylvan Lake, is the other close one — it also does specialty coffee and has a drive-through.
Is there an ice cream trail in northern Indiana?
Yes. The Steuben County Tourism Bureau runs an official Ice Cream Trail of eight stops around Angola, Fremont, Orland, Hamilton and Pokagon State Park. It is the only formal trail in the region — the shops in LaGrange, Noble and Kosciusko counties are not part of it, which is why this guide maps all four counties together.
What is the best ice cream in Shipshewana?
Vanilla Bean Creamery, at the four-way stop beside the Blue Gate, makes around 30 flavours in small batches from scratch and is the one locals send you to. Shipshewana also has Mom's Ice Cream near the flea market grounds, soft serve and homemade Amish root beer at the Wana Cup, a vintage soda fountain at the Blue Gate Garden Inn, and ice cream alongside the bakery case at Shawna Rae's.
Are the ice cream shops open year-round?
Most are not. The majority of these are seasonal, running from spring through early autumn, and several are windows or stands with no indoor seating at all. Shoulder-season hours change often and small shops do not always post them. Between roughly Memorial Day and Labor Day you can turn up; outside it, ring ahead or check the shop's Facebook page, which is usually more current than its website.
Where can I find dairy-free or gluten-free ice cream in the area?
Scoops in Angola carries non-dairy and gluten-free options, Skoops in North Webster has dairy-free and sugar-free, and Cowabunga Creamery in Albion offers both gluten-free and dairy-free. Those three are the reliable choices if someone in the group cannot have the standard scoop.
Is the ice cream in Amish country actually Amish-made?
Some of it. In LaGrange County several of these are Amish- or Mennonite-owned family businesses, and the frozen custard and root beer you find around Shipshewana are genuinely local. But plenty of shops here scoop excellent ice cream made elsewhere — Hudsonville, Ashby's, Velvet, Wisconsin's Chocolate Shoppe, Glacier. Made-on-site and worth-eating are different questions, and this guide flags which is which.
Sources
- Steuben County Tourism Bureau, Ice Cream Trail (the eight official stops)
- Visit Indiana, “Take an Ice Cream Road Trip IN Steuben County” (2026)
- Visit Shipshewana, “Cool off in the Heart of Amish Country” (LaGrange County shops)
- Visit Kosciusko County, Ice Cream Shops directory (North Webster, Winona Lake and Warsaw)
- Local reporting for openings and ownership: InkFreeNews (Skoops), WANE 15 and 21Alive News (Lickity Splitz), Towne Post Lakes Region (Cowlick’s)
- Two location errors circulate widely and are corrected here: Lickity Splitz is in Rome City, not Wolcottville, and Cowabunga Creamery is in Albion, not Kendallville.
Five minutes from the first stop
The Farmhouse sits on the shoreline of Big Long Lake in LaGrange County — four bedrooms, sleeps 12, private dock, and Cowlick’s just up the road. Read the Big Long Lake guide or ask us about dates.
Check the Big Long Lake Rental