Maryland's Best Ice Cream Trail is back for the summer, and this year it spans 13 farm creameries from across the state, offering sweet treats, farm experiences, and a chance to win prizes while supporting local agriculture.
The trail pairs hiking with on-farm creameries, and participants can check in digitally to earn points or grab a paper map to track their stops the old-fashioned way.
"I'm so impressed with the people that finished the trail and how dedicated they are because it's a, it's a lot of distance, we're talking about from the eastern shore all the way to Garrett County this year," Kristin Hanna, Director of Special Projects at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said.
There are prizes along the way, but only one grand champion title.
"Which means that you are the king or queen of all things Maryland dairy," Hanna said.
Participants who complete all 13 stops may be eligible to win a $50 gift card to their choice of creamery.
"These people are really putting in the time and the effort and I think it's really special because they're really making a difference in these farmers' lives and they're seeing parts of the state that they've never seen before," Hanna said.
South Mountain Creamery
South Mountain Creamery in Frederick County is one of the trail's returning stops. The farm dates back to the early 1980s, but the creamery opened in 2001.
"We make roughly around 150,000 gallons of ice cream a year," Tony Brusco, CEO of South Mountain Creamery, said.
There's over 30 flavors including Key Lime Pie and the Snallygaster, a flavor inspired by a local legend.
"It's really refreshing. It has like actual key lime in it, and cheesecake pieces," Sophia Brusco of South Mountain Creamery said. "And then I always come back to our Snallygaster. It's based off an urban legend in Middletown about a dragon that scares children to be good."
The Snallygaster is vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, peanut butter cups, caramel balls, and Oreos.
Visitors can also stop by the calf barn, where about 40 calves are fed daily at 4 p.m., and try their hand at milking a cow with "Milk Dud."
Tony Brusco said the trail gives dairy farmers a meaningful financial boost.
"The ice cream trail is kind of a neat thing that Maryland does. We're a small family operation," Brusco said. "The support from the community, support from the state are all key parts of making sustainable agriculture work."
Moo Cow Creamery
Moo Cow Creamery in Middletown is celebrating 90 years this summer. Owner Pam Moser's grandparents moved to the farm in 1936.
"It's rewarding to be able to continue my grandparents and my dad's legacy," Moser said.
The small operation draws customers from across the country, including Maine, Massachusetts, California, and Rhode Island.
"You'd be surprised how far people will travel for ice cream," Moser said. "They're looking for the good stuff, not the grocery store brands, the on-farm brands, the brands that take a little bit more pride, go a little above and beyond."
Moo Cow Creamery also operates a purple truck, where they blend shakes using just homemade ice cream and milk.
Deere Valley Farm
Deere Valley Farm is making its official debut on the Ice Cream Trail this summer, though the farm itself dates back nearly 100 years to around the time of the Great Depression, when it began as a dairy farm. Today it operates as a livestock, grain, and hay farm, but it's finding its way back to its dairy roots.
The Baker family has been making and selling their own ice cream for three years, and this summer marks their first appearance on the trail.
"It's really just about being a family and doing everything here together, continuing the farm isn't always easy," Zack Baker, a farmer at Deere Valley Farm, said.
Owner Samantha Baker said offering ice cream is one of the things helping keep the farm going during a difficult period for agriculture.
"We've been in a drought for many years, so that's always a challenge with crops," Samantha Baker said. "It's not just a self-contained season. What happens in one season really transfers throughout the entire year for farming."
Deere Valley Farm is one of the only stops on the trail offering soft-serve ice cream. This summer's featured creation is the Campfire Sundae, toasted marshmallow and chocolate salted caramel soft-serve layered with chocolate graham crackers and topped with marshmallows and flavored whipped cream.
"We get calls, you know, have you released the, the new flavors yet? What's gonna be coming up?" Samantha Baker said.
The milk, fresh fruit used in the ice cream and some other items sold in their market, comes from other farms in Maryland.
"Everything that we try to do here in the market and with the ice cream supports Maryland industry, agriculture and small business," Samantha Baker said.
Samantha said the next generation is part of the farm's long-term vision.
"I think we're striving really hard to set up Zack and his brother's generation and the future generations," Samantha Baker said.
2026 Ice Cream Trail stops
May 21–-September 7, 2026
- Broom's Bloom Dairy (Harford County)
- Brown Cow Creamery (Montgomery County)
- Chesapeake Bay Farms (Worcester County)
- Deere Valley Farms (Montgomery County)
- Deliteful Dairy (Washington County)
- Happy Cow Creamery (Frederick County)
- Keyes Creamery (Harford County)
- Lockbriar Farms (Kent County)
- Miller Farms (Prince George's County)
- Moo Cow Creamery (Frederick County)
- Prigel Family Creamery (Baltimore County)
- Rocky Point Creamery (Frederick County)
- South Mountain Creamery (Frederick County)
New this year, a few non-farm locations serving locally sourced ice cream that supports Maryland dairy farms have been added to the trail. See the locations here.
