Iowa Ice Cream Road Trip at North Iowa Drive-Ins

As June Dairy Month comes to an end, I thought I'd better share about my family's last two stops of our 2nd Annual Iowa Ice Cream Road Trip.  The final stops are similar in many ways.  They are both located in North Iowa where we live.  They are both "drive ins".  They are both open only seasonly during the summer.  And they both serve soft serve ice cream.  They are the Viking Drive-Inn in Ventura and Stan's Drive-In in Osage.

The Viking Drive-Inn is located in the town of Ventura, which is located on the west side of Clear Lake.  Did you know there are more than one town that Clear Lake goes through?  We finally visited this local ice cream shop for the first time earlier this month and it lived up to its popular status.  When arriving we had to park down the road and then once the kids and I got to the front door, we could barely open it up to get in, to order.  Like I said, the place is very popular and on a nice, Saturday afternoon, the place was packed.  Inside is room for six people to sit up at the bar, but there is lots of seating outside, where there are several picnic tables to sit at.

The small Black Raspberry cup offered
BIG flavor and a BIG serving

I made ordering simple by asking what their most popular flavor was.  The gal who assisted me said, "Black Raspberry".  So that is what I got, a single Black Raspberry for myself and classic chocolate cones for the kids.  I liked the Black Raspberry ice cream's unique and rich flavor.  The kids' chocolate cones also had a nice, smooth chocolate soft serve flavor.  I ordered small portions for everyone, but the sizes were anything but small.  I'm not complaining, I love ice cream, but just so you know, their servings lean to the large side of the scale ;)

If you are biking or driving around Clear Lake be sure to stop by this little ice cream shop.  They also have a classic drive-inn food menu too if you're hungry for more than ice cream.

MP and LP enjoying chocolate ice cream cones

Stan's Drive-In in Osage is also another popular ice cream stop in North Iowa.  This is a fun place to eat and have ice cream with your family with a little bit of nostalgia.  I mean, how many drive-ins can you drive to today where you can have a car hop come to your car, take your order and deliver it to you in minutes?  The first thing that really impressed me about Stan's was the speed of service.  The place was packed of cars under the drive-in awning and back by the picnic table sitting area.  No matter where you were, the two car hops got to everyone fast and friendly.

Just like at our other ice cream destinations this summer, I asked the car hop what their most popular items were.  She told me the chicken breast filet sandwich with their special sauce and their arctic delights (think DQ's blizzards).  So that is what I went with.  My chocolate cookie dough arctic delight was exactly what I was looking for.  The soft serve ice cream was thick, rich and smooth.

Have you been to either of these popular drive-ins in North Iowa?  What's your favorite flavor of soft serve ice cream you've ever had?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!  Also be sure to check out our other destinations this month to Snookies Malt Shop and Heyn's Ice Cream.