9 Carolina Beach Ice Cream Shops to Keep Cool This Summer
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by Sea Scape Properties
- July 13, 2026
- Blog
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We’ve got the scoop on the best ice cream shops in Carolina Beach! It’s one of the best treats you’ll find and the perfect way to keep cool during North Carolina’s summer heat. Enjoy a soft-serve cone while walking the boardwalk, relax on the beach with scoops in a waffle bowl, all while discovering unique flavors you’ll only find here.
Many of the shops are seasonal, so summer is the best time to enjoy them. The good news is that the best ice cream parlors are just a short walk from many of our Carolina Beach vacation rentals. Here’s where you can find the best frozen treats.
Getting squiggled is a rite of passage for Carolina Beach vacationers. The Today Show ranked Squigley’s Ice Cream as one of the best in the country. And it’s not just hype based on the number of their famous stickers posted along Lake Park Blvd.
Forget the scoops! Order a handmade waffle cone and watch the ice cream “squiggle” itself into the perfect cone from their special machines. Snap your pictures quickly before it melts.
Make sure to check out the upstairs gift gallery for Squigley’s-branded merchandise, souvenirs, and 100-year-old postcards collected from Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach, and Wilmington.
Feeling creative? The Island Ice Factory is open for business to craft the perfect ice cream cone. With unlimited free toppings, no two cones have ever been exactly the same since they opened in 2008. Bring some color to your vanilla bean scoops with rainbow sprinkles. Drizzle caramel over your banana pudding-flavored ice cream that comes with vanilla wafer pieces. Elevate the cookies-and-cream scoops with Oreo dust. And the hot fudge pairs well with everything!
Look out for their mobile cart patrolling the beach so you don’t even have to leave your spot to enjoy their ice cream.
Ireland is just across the pond when standing on Carolina Beach. But to save you the 3,660-mile-journey across the Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Creamery imports its ingredients to give Carolina Beach a taste of the ‘Emerald Isle.’
Celtic Creamery is the overseas outpost for the Ireland-based ice cream shop. Once the ingredients arrive, it’s churned and frozen daily, so you’ll get an authentic taste of the award-winning Irish ice cream. Try signature flavors like the Celtic Coffee and Irish Butter Pecan.
Travelers staying in Wilmington also have a Celtic Creamery location nearby.
Mama Mia! The handcrafted Italian-style gelato will be your favorite ice cream shop on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. Gelato is the smoother, silkier cousin to ice cream that will survive just a tad bit longer in the coastal summer heat.
You can eat at Latella at the Beach every day of your vacation and never find the same menu twice since it changes daily. See the latest flavors posted on their Instagram page.
Can’t decide what flavor to get? Order the Gelato Flight for a sample platter of six different flavors.
It’s hard to miss the vibrant pink facade of the Beach Bunny Ice Cream shop near the boardwalk. Hop inside and go down the rabbit hole of sweet treat offerings.
Kids will have plenty of options, so everyone can get what they like. Signature ice cream sundaes, homemade waffle bowls, fruit smoothies, slushies, and fresh-squeezed lemonade are just a few of the refreshing treats on the menu.
Escape the summer heat by enjoying a family-friendly movie playing inside while eating your ice cream.
Boombalatti’s Homemade Ice Cream
No other ice cream shop in Carolina Beach knows flavor like Boombalatti’s. It offers more than 20 premium flavors to satisfy everyone’s palate.
See which flavor will be your favorite! Want something unusual? Beer & Pretzels and Maple Candies Bacon give a burst of exotic flavors. Elevate your choco-cravings with chocolate fudge brownie or chocolate cream pie. Coffee cookies’ n cream and coffee & donuts let you skip the cafe. Even vegans can enjoy the ice cream outing with ants in snow or spiced citrus sorbet, made with a base of coconut milk.
Fun Time is the epitome of a quaint beach town ice cream parlor. But don’t let this small walk-up shop fool you. It’s bursting with flavor, making it the best place to get soft serve ice cream in Carolina Beach.
The soft serve melts in your mouth. Choose between 10 different flavors, including classics like vanilla, chocolate, and twist. Or try specialties like the blueberry cheesecake, blue cotton candy, and dreamsicle. Flavors may be seasonal, so check the shop’s window for the latest in stock. Order at the outdoor window and enjoy your treat on the outdoor bench.
It’s open daily until 11pm in case you get those late-night cravings.
Your sweet tooth will be in heaven at The Fudgeboat. It has homemade fudge and is home to the boardwalk-famous Krazy Kones, which relocated to this location.
It’s easy to spot someone with one of the Krazy Kones on the boardwalk. It’s your typical soft-serve cone accented with a ribbon of bright flavor colors. It’s a homegrown specialty with farm-fresh ingredients delivered from Dunn, NC.
Visitors plan to come just for the ice cream. But with funnel cakes, dipped chocolate treats, popcorn, and more, it’s hard not to stock up on plenty of goodies for your vacation rental.
Dude…Sweet! Ice Cream & Sweet Shop
Dude…Sweet! is open year-round for your ice cream cravings in any season. It’s one of the best places to find rolled ice cream in Carolina Beach.
Rolled ice cream is a unique way to enjoy the frozen treat. Rolls of ice cream are made and scraped into the cup right in front of you. Check their “Rock n’Rolled” ice cream menu for song-inspired flavors including Funky Cold Medina, Sweet Child O’Mine, S’more Than Words, Bananarana, I Want Candy, and Smooth Criminal.
Get ice cream from your favorite shop and explore other exciting things to do on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk.
