9 ice cream parlors in northern Illinois to visit this summer

July is National Ice Cream Month, and there’s nothing that hits the spot like a creamy ice cream treat to help keep cool in the heat.

But not just any ice cream. Forget mass-produced tubs – northern Illinois is home to a fantastic array of ice cream parlors, each churning out unique flavors and serving up smiles.

Milk House Ice Cream – Pingree Grove

Milk House is a locally owned ice cream parlor, located in a renovated old farm milk house in northwest suburban Pingree Grove. Ice cream flavors vary, but can include unique twists like Fluffer Nutter, Vietnamese cinnamon, sweet cherry chip, and bake sale lemon bar, as well as the classic flavors. milkhouseicecream.com

Candy’s Creamery – Geneva

Small-batch, handcrafted ice cream is made fresh daily at the creamery’s Geneva location. The shop features classic flavors like cookies & cream, cookie dough, chocolate and vanilla, as well as rotating seasonal flavors like red velvet, Fruity Pebbles, Ube, blackberry and more. Additional menu items include fruit whip, Italian ice, shakes, sundaes and more. candyscreamery.com

The Ice Cream Place – Yorkville

Everything at The Ice Cream Place is homemade, from their creamy ice cream to popsicles to Italian ice! The menu includes scoops, shakes, ice cream nachos, floats and more, as well as a wide variety of flavors. theicecreamplace.net

Meusel’s Dairy Delite – Dixon & Amboy

Family-owned since 1986, Meusel’s opened its first location in Amboy and then the Dixon Dairy Delite in 1998. Serving both soft serve and hard ice cream, the vast menu has sundaes, shakes, malts, flurries, floats, parfaits, specialty dishes, brownie sundaes, banana splits and much more. Flavors include the classics like vanilla, strawberry, chocolate and their specialty, Blue Moon, but also two or three additional rotating flavors. meuselsdairydelite.com

Cool Creations Ice Cream – Lockport

Enjoy made-from-scratch soft serve or hard ice cream in a cone, waffle taco or dish at Cool Creations, which has been in business for over 30 years! Or try a shake, flurry or rich, creamy gelato. The wide variety of flavors includes the classics, but also fun flavors like bear claw, birthday cake, pirate’s booty, Pikachu and so many more. coolcreationsicecream.com

Ollie’s Frozen Custard – Sycamore

A staple in DeKalb County for 40 years, Ollie’s is known throughout the area for its creamy homemade custard. Vanilla and chocolate custard are available every day, in addition to the special Flavor of the Day, which can include favorites like black raspberry, butter brickle, banana cream pie, lemon pie, Georgia peach and so many more. Menu items include waffle cone nacho sundaes, tons of specialty sundaes, Arctic blasts, shakes, sodas, slushies and much more. olliesfrozencustard.com

Julie Ann’s Frozen Custard – Crystal Lake

The locally owned Julie Ann’s Frozen Custard shop serves fresh homemade custard every day. The menu includes sundaes, waffle cones, shakes, concretes and more. Classic flavors are available, as well as rotating Flavors of the Day, which include cherry amaretto, ch-ch-churro, banana cream pie, pistachio and many more. julieanns.com

Kimmer’s Ice Cream – St. Charles, Wheaton, Elmhurst

Kimmer’s Ice Cream opened its first location in St. Charles in 2010, and serves classic flavors as well as unique flavors, all fresh and homemade daily. Kimmer’s has more than 200 recipes, offering some flavors year-round, while others are seasonal or on a rotating basis. The staff at Kimmer’s experiments to create new flavors, so you can always find a new favorite. kimmersicecream.com

Riverbottom Ice Cream Co. – Algonquin

Riverbottom, owned by local couple Bob and Bobbie Novak, opened in 2016, bringing fresh, homemade, old-fashioned ice cream to McHenry County. Staff members are always creating new flavors, so the ice cream menu varies. The menu has scoops, sundaes, floats, cones, shakes and more. Specialty coffees and teas are also available. riverbottomicecream.com