As soon as the sun begins to rear its hot head on warm spring and summer days, the familiar jingle of ice cream trucks returns to Denver neighborhoods.
There’s still nostalgia in a trip to a local ice cream shop, even when you think you have no more room left in your stomach after dinner. Ice cream is still the best solution for a scraped knee, and a testimony to the simple pleasures of summer.
Denver ice cream shops aren’t just scooping out vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Whether you prefer soft-serve, sweet cream ice cream mixed with Cheez-Its or Mexican popsicles with fresh fruit, here are eight local creameries that will melt your heart:
Nuggs Ice Cream Shop
Chris and Nick O’Sullivan, the brothers behind the local Brothers BBQ chain, opened this year-round ice cream shop on East Colfax in 2014.
Nuggs doesn’t play it safe with its 38 homemade ice cream flavors, all of which can be made into an ice cream cookie sandwich, banana split, ice cream waffle taco, or affogato. Try the signature Blue Moon that tastes like Fruit Loops or the Heartbreak Cream (peanut butter ice cream with brownie bites and cookie dough, sure to “heal any broken heart that walks into Nuggs Ice Cream,” the menu reads.)
5135 E. Colfax Ave., Denver; nuggsicecream.com
High Point Creamery
For the more sophisticated ice cream palates, High Point Creamery owner Erika Thomas uses her extensive culinary background to churn up surprising combinations, like the regal Earl Grey tea and shortbread or Colorado’s own Tin Cup whiskey and pistachio brittle. Thomas started her local frozen empire with her first artisan shop opening in Hilltop in 2014, and last month she opened a fourth in Central Park.
215 S. Holly St., 2669 Larimer St., 3977 Tennyson St., and 7473 E. 29th Place, Denver; highpointcreamery.com
Right Cream
David Right grew his ice cream following from his home during the early pandemic days after a single Instagram photo of his playful pints quickly caught on among readers with sweet teeth.
Now, with a brick-and-mortar under his belt, fans don’t have to wait for weekly Right Cream drops on social media to get their hands on homemade mashups, like He’s My Sweet Cheez, sweet cream ice cream with Cheez-It streusel toffee and swirls of almost-too-salty caramel. Right Cream doesn’t stinge on toppings. Every bite has a piece of blended Oreos, Fruity Pebbles or mango, depending on your craving.
2423 S. Downing St., Denver; rightcream.com
Little Man Ice Cream
Little Man is a Denver staple, especially since it’s hard to miss the original LoHi location in the shape of a 28-foot-tall, old-school cream can. Locals have been lining up rain or shine for the nostalgic creamery’s chalkboard of weekly rotating scoops since 2008. No wonder there are nine of them around town, including a recent opening in Greenwood Village, and a 10th on the way in downtown Littleton this July, plus siblings, like Fort Collins’ Old Town Churn in the shape of a 26-foot-tall wooden ice cream churn bucket and Dang Soft Serve in Park Hill, one of the only soft-serve spots in town.
Multiple locations; littlemanicecream.com
Neveria La Delicia
If you’ve never had a paleta, get familiar with the Mexican popsicles made with fresh fruit at Lakewood’s Neveria La Delicia. This family-owned shop opened in 2020 with handheld creations you can’t find anywhere at your local grocery store. Order any dipped in chocolate and smooshed between two graham crackers for a s’mores effect or stick it in a creamy horchata.
6601 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood; neverialadelicia.com
Sweet Cow
A pint of Sweet Cow’s oatmeal cookie ice cream is a constant in my freezer. The creamy texture mixed with chunks of chewy cinnamon goodness would be enough to turn any cow. And its vegan flavors are even popular among the lactose tolerant. With six locations around town, it’s easy to make an excuse to stop by Sweet Cow any day of the year.
Multiple locations; sweetcow.com
Liks Ice Cream
Liks is (quite literally) frozen in time, without any tricks or gimmicks to keep customers lining up since it first opened on Capitol Hill in 1976. This is where you go for your classic scoop of strawberry in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone. It’s embedded in so many locals’ memories as an after-school snack, a treat earned after a summer night stroll, and the old-school corner shop that lives on.
2039 E. 13th Ave., Denver; 10903 US Route 285, Conifer; liksicecream.com
Sadboy Creamery
Sadboy Creamery is getting its start in a manner similar to Right Cream, where guests have to pre-order homemade pints online before weekly pickup windows open up on Thursday through Saturday. Owner Michael Kimball embraces the idea that ice cream is best as a pick-me-up, with out-of-the-box flavors like Orange Julius and Cookie Circus with frosted animal crackers.
1280 Sherman St., Unit 200, Denver; sadboycreamery.com
