20-07-2025
It's National Ice Cream Day. Here are great places to celebrate in Delaware
Of course there's a holiday dedicated to one of life's greatest delights.
July 20 is National Ice Cream Day, which falls annually on the third Sunday of July. If you want an excuse for sweet treats, it's the perfect opportunity. And with the forecast being 85 degrees and sunny on Sunday, you'll probably be in the mood for ice cream anyway.
Let's look at some of the best places in Delaware to celebrate the occasion.
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UDairy
535 S. College Ave., Newark, 302-831-2486, and 83 E. Main St., Newark, 302-831-6804;
Named the best ice cream shop in Delaware by Reader's Digest in June 2024, the creamery is run by University of Delaware students and the delicious flavors are made with help from the cows that live on the university's agriculture school campus.
The ice cream is then processed in New Jersey and shipped back to UD to be flavored, frozen and packaged at the storefront.
More: Delaware's top 5 favorite ice cream flavors. Did yours make the list?
Hours:
College Avenue location: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
Main Street location: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day
Woodside Farm Creamery
378 N. Star Road, North Star; 302-239-9847;
Arguably the most popular dairy farm and creamery above the canal, Woodside Farm Creamery is back for the season with dozens of flavors and regular events happening all summer long - including regular telescope viewings and concerts right on the lawn.
From noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, the creamery will have a National Ice Cream Day celebration consisting of an ice cream- eating contest, a behind-the-scenes tour of the site and an opportunity to meet its cows. The contest will have a fee of between $3 to $5, with all proceeds going to the Delaware Food Bank.
For more information on the creamery's celebration, visit
Flavors at Woodside Farm range from the classic chocolate and vanilla to the more unusual bacon flavor (vanilla ice cream with bacon bits, apparently very popular with dogs). Staff members also recommend the Turtle ice cream flavor, made of chocolate ice cream with caramel and pecans.
If you feel overwhelmed by the number of choices, no need to worry. There's a wheel hanging from the ceiling with all of the flavors, relieving customers from the burden of choosing a flavor.
Hours:
Noon until 9 p.m. between Memorial Day and Labor Day
Hopkins Farm Creamery
18186 Dairy Farm Road, Lewes; 302-645-7163;
Since 2008, Hopkins Farm Creamery has been making its own ice cream and serving new flavors to the community every summer, and this year it was nominated for one of the 'Coolest Things Made in Delaware.'
Located on Green Acres Farm just off Route 9 near Lewes, Hopkins has more than 30 ice cream flavors made on-site ready to be served in cups, cones, milkshakes, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches and more.
This past year, Hopkins' apple pie ice cream was in the top 16 nominees for the Coolest Things Made in Delaware 2025 competition, no pun intended.
Hours:
Open 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. until Labor Day
Dairy Palace
2 Jay Drive, near New Castle; 302-328-9740
Another historic Delaware operation, Dairy Palace has been in operation under the Parker Family since 1956, when the Parkers bought the former Dairy Queen New Castle location.
History and tradition are what make Dairy Palace beloved by locals. Its specialty soft serves and wide range of flavor options don't hurt it either. If you're ever feeling overwhelmed at their extensive menu, Dairy Palace's social media pages consistently post menu recommendations.
More: Reader's Digest claims this is the best ice cream in Delaware. Have you tried it?
New flavors will be displayed on the shop's signs as they come in. Staff members recommend trying out the raspberry and banana shakes, made with real fruit.
Hours
Open 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day
Vanderwende's Farm Fresh Ice Cream
The Vanderwende family has owned their Bridgeville farmland since 1954, turning six cows and $35 to a 4,000-acre dairy farm and five creamery locations around the region.
Vanderwende's year-round location is in Bridgeville, but in the summer, its Greenwood, Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island locations open up as well.
There are over 35 flavors to choose from.
Locations:
4003 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville; 1 to 7 p.m. daily, until Labor Day 302-349-5110
8374 Hickman Road, Greenwood, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., until Labor Day; 302-349-5160
23 Bellevue St., Dewey Beach, call for hours, until Labor Day; 302-349-5110
300 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island, call for hours, until Labor Day; 302-519-2509
Yanyan Li is a news intern at Delaware Online/The News Journal. Please reach out to her at YLi1@ or @yyanyanli1 on X with any tips or story ideas.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: National Ice Cream Day: Where to go in Delaware
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