Holy Ice Cream! Iconic Upstate NY Parlor Serves Massive Cones It’d Take Two to Eat
Holy ice cream! An iconic parlor in Upstate New York that serves massive cones it'd take two people to eat is among the best in the country and so worth the trip. And it's not just the size. It's the taste too.
What started as a chicken farm has been transformed into one of the best places to get ice cream in the country. Martha's Dandee Creme has been a Lake George landmark for over 7 decades and will celebrate the 75th season this year.
Chicken Farm to Ice Cream
Martha Schoelermann fell in love with the Lake George area during a trip with her girlfriend. She ended up purchasing a 100-acre chicken for $8,000 in 1946. After Martha married Carlton Freiberger, they remodeled the farmhouse and later built a separate building for the restaurant and ice cream stand.
Family Business
Martha and Carlton Freiberger sold the business in 1982 to longtime customers Roger and Lena Lafontaine. The Lafontaine’s then sold the business to Great Escape in 1999.
10 years later, Beth and Dennis LaFontaine bought Martha’s from Six Flags in 2009, putting the ice cream stand back into the hands of the family that owned it for almost two decades. Dennis and Beth Lafontaine are the latest generations to carry on Martha’s tradition.
Martha's opened for the 75th season on March 19 with 12 new flavors being offered each day.
Flavors & Size
The ice cream is crafted in small batches every day to bring the best tasting flavors to their customers. You don't have to choose just one either. You can have a variety, piled high in the large cone that costs less than $5. And look how big the large cone actually is. Who can eat all that by themselves?
National Attention
The Ice Cream shop has been recognized for having the best ice cream in the country by Tripadvisor and The Today Show. People drive from miles around the wait in the long lines and take pictures in front of the famous Martha's sign.
Martha's Tradition
"Go here. I don't care how long the lines are, I will wait on them for this place. The ice cream is the best we have ever had and there is a reason why the entire town of Lake George stops to go here," Paul wrote on Tripadvisor.
Those lines can be really long sometimes too.
Locals make it an annual tradition to stop by Martha's at least once during the summer season.
Dogs Love Martha's Too
It's not just humans who enjoy stopping at Martha's for the tasty treats either. Dogs get special treatment too - a sundae topped with a biscuit.
Martha's Location
Martha's Dandee Creme is located at 1133 State Route 9 in Queensbury, New York, right across from Great Escape/Six Flags. Learn more at Marthasicecream.com, where you can even order online, or on their Facebook page where daily flavors are posted.
Road trip anyone?