The Metro Detroit Ice Cream Trail

It’s summer time! And if you have little ones, you know what that means – ice cream for dinner! We’re kidding, but we all love a frozen treat after dinner, multiple times a week. Luckily, metro Detroit is full of locally-owned ice cream eateries that your whole family will enjoy. From the classic to the quirky, you’ll want to check off every spot on this list.

We’ve rounded up our favorites below, including places to get some unique frozen desserts that aren’t just ice cream. We’ve also created a checklist that you can print out – see if you can check off all these ice cream spots by the end of the summer!

Ice Cream in Detroit

La Michoacana Ice Cream: Southwest Detroit’s favorite ice cream stop. Try their strawberries and cream popsicles, ice cream, and of course, mangonadas (mango sorbet plus all kinds of fruity toppings).

 

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Cold Truth: Midtown’s newest addition serves both regular and non-dairy soft serve in unique flavors. Think peppermint, roasted banana, Madagascar vanilla, and lemon curd.

Detroit Water Ice Factory: Kind of like Italian ice – but Detroit-style! Add soft serve to your water ice for a fun twist! Created by journalist and author Mitch Albom, with 100% of profits helping Detroiters in need.

-320 Coffee & Creamery: Located in the Detroit Shipping Company, their secret is instantly freezing their organic ingredients with liquid nitrogen.

Huddle: Downtown Detroit’s frozen custard stand located outside of the Shinola hotel. They offer a simple menu of classic custard flavors, plus sprinkles and chocolate chips.

Ice Cream in Wayne County

Bob Jo’s Frozen Custard: Started in 1947, Bob Jo’s is a downriver classic serving the best custard in the area.

Stroh’s Ice Cream Parlor: Wyandotte’s popular ice cream shop is packed every night after dinner. Featuring every ice cream flavor you can think of!

Calder Brothers Dairy: Located in Lincoln Park, Calder’s ice cream is known throughout Michigan for being one of the best. They make every flavor from horchata to cake batter.

Guernsey Farms Dairy: Guernsey Farms serves premium small batch ice creams. They are also the official ice cream of the Detroit Tigers!

 

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Custard Hut: They are known for their waffle sandwiches with custard smashed in between, plus any toppings you desire.

Brown Dog Creamery: A micro-creamy specializing in small batch ice cream. Try some of their craft ice cream flavors like matcha green tea, pistachio stracciatella, chocolate lockdown, or lemon ricotta.

Chocolate Bar Cafe: This old-fashioned soda fountain in Grosse Pointe Woods serves Detroit-made Alinosi Ice Cream. They have all kinds of splits, sundaes and scoops.

 

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Ice Cream in Oakland County

Treat Dreams Dessert Emporium: The mecca of ice cream in Ferndale, Treat Dreams has new flavors weekly, plus fruity sorbet and vegan ice cream!

Ray’s Ice Cream: This Royal Oak staple has over 50 flavors of ice cream. It’s frequently voted as the best ice cream in metro Detroit by local publications.

Ray’s Ice Cream by Bill Bowen

Donut Bar + Coffee: We had to include this donut shop specifically for their cinnamon sugar doughnut “chimney” ice cream cones. Fill it with a classic soft serve flavor.

Doug’s Delight: This Hazel Park snack shack was reimagined in 2018 and has been a hit ever since. Come here for your favorite soft serve ice cream, and maybe throw in a hot dog, too.

 

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Ice Cream in Macomb

Erma’s Original Frozen Custard: Open for over 75 years, Erma’s now has locations in Shelby Township, St. Clair Shores and Warren. Their custard flavors change weekly, but the good times here are always a staple.

 

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Modern Cone: Self-described as “modern ice cream with endless possibilities”, you won’t want to skip this St. Clair Shores shop. Their Stackers are well known – we recommend the Cereal Killer or their special of the day.

Miller Brothers Creamery: This iconic creamery in Mount Clemens is well known for their blue moon ice cream and their old school sign.

Want to complete the metro Detroit ice cream trail? Download our print out here.