Booking a vacation rental in South County, Rhode Island, ensures you’re always close to a beach or attraction. It also means you can cook meals using your rental’s kitchen, so you don’t have to worry about finding a restaurant every night of the week.
However, even if you cook most meals yourself, you might be inclined to head out for dessert. Coastal Rhode Island has numerous ice cream shops, many of which make their frozen treats on-site and offer unique flavors to sample.
Determining where you get your dessert can be challenging, so here’s a list of the best ice cream shops in South County, Rhode Island.
Best Hard-Serve: Brickley’s Homemade Ice Cream
Brickley’s Homemade Ice Cream has two South County locations – one in Wakefield and another in Narragansett – giving you a couple of options if you want to sample some of the region’s best hard-serve ice cream. The Narraganset store is on Boston Neck Road near Kelly Beach, so you can check it out after a day by the water, while the Wakefield shop is on Main Street and the perfect post-dinner stop.
You’ll find over 45 hard-serve ice cream flavors at Brickley’s upon arrival, which is why the venue is so popular. All of these flavors are made on-site using the finest of ingredients, too, and some are unique varieties you might not find in many other establishments.
Overall, it’s easy to see why Brickley’s Homemade Ice Cream has South County’s best hard-serve ice cream. The only problem is that everyone here knows this ice cream is delightful, so there could be a lineup when you get there.
Best Soft-Serve: The Original Dusty’s Dairy Bar
The Misquamicut State Beach area in Westerly is home to The Original Dusty’s Dairy Bar, a legendary local spot that’s been serving local ice cream lovers since 1946. The shop has hard-serve ice cream, sundaes, and milkshakes, but the soft-serve takes this place to an entirely different level.
You’ll find three types of soft-serve at Dusty’s – chocolate, vanilla, and twist – but you can add various toppings to your creation at the Dairy Bar. Toppings you’ll find include sprinkles, walnuts, Snickers, peanut butter sauce, bananas, strawberries, Skittles, and Sour Patch Kids, to name a few, allowing you to create a personalized dessert every time you visit.
Best Sundaes: Moo Moo’s Ice Cream Parlor
Moo Moo’s Ice Cream Parlor is conveniently located on Point Judith Road in Narragansett, across from the Salt Pond Shopping Center, making it easy to stop for dessert after a day at the beach. You’ll find a wide selection of treats available at Moo Moo’s, but their sundaes bring the crowds back year after year.
You can choose between multiple sundae types at Moo Moo’s Ice Cream, including vanilla, chocolate, cookie dough, mint chocolate chip, coffee, moose tracks, cake batter, and butter pecan, giving you all kinds of options. It’s also possible to add toppings like hot fudge, caramel, Oreo, crushed pineapple, and cherry hard dip, allowing you to customize your sundae from top to bottom.
Best Vegan Ice Cream: The Inside Scoop
The Inside Scoop is one of South County’s best-known ice cream stands, having won multiple awards over the years. This shop could appear in any category on this list, as well, as they make all kinds of ice cream and have over 64 homemade hard-serve options made on-site daily.
However, the vegan options at The Inside Scoop are worth mentioning because they go beyond what many other shops have to offer. This vendor has six different rotating flavors, including vanilla, Oreo, chocolate peanut butter, blueberry, chocolate chip, and strawberry, available at all times, and they’re all made with CocanOat non-dairy base.
It can be challenging to find vegan-friendly desserts, but The Inside Scoop in North Kingstown is an easy-to-find location with plenty of options to keep you satisfied.
Best Gelato: Nana’s Ice Cream and Gelato Cafe
Nana’s Ice Cream and Gelato Cafe enjoys one of South County’s best locations, sitting around the corner from Narragansett Town Beach, making it easily accessible while you relish a day in the sun. It’s also a family-run local business that’s been a staple in the area for nearly 40 years and is a must-visit in the summer.
Nana’s has over 50 flavors of frozen treats available and 50 toppings to add to them. They have hard-serve, soft-serve, frozen yogurt, and vegan ice cream, but the shop’s selection of small-batch gelato helps it stand out from the crowd.
You’ll find over 20 different gelato flavors at Nana’s Ice Cream at any given time, including one-of-a-kind varieties that aren’t available anywhere else. Whether you’re in Narragansett for the beach or some music in the evening, stopping by Nana’s is well worth your time.
Enjoy Your South County Evenings
There’s something special about heading out for an ice cream cone after a long day in the sun, and these South County shops are sure to have the exact flavor you seek. You can’t go wrong with any of these local businesses, so try a couple while getting to know the area and enjoy your evenings throughout your vacation to coastal Rhode Island.