The Best Ice Cream in Greater Portland, Maine
Maine takes ice cream seriously in a way that surprises people, partly because the season is short and partly because there is real dairy out here, not just a freezer case at the gas station. Greater Portland has an embarrassment of good scoop shops, from a nationally known flavor lab in the Old Port to a 70-year-old soft-serve stand that people line up for the day it reopens. The trouble is the lines, the hours, and the fact that a couple of the famous names coast a little on reputation. Here is the honest ranking of where to get a scoop, what to order, and which spots are worth the wait.
The flavor heavyweight
Mount Desert Island Ice Cream at 51 Exchange Street is the one that put Portland on the national ice cream map, and it lives up to it. This is the place to come if you want to be surprised, the flavor list runs to things like Maine Sea Salt Caramel, Vietnamese Coffee, Blackstrap Molasses Banana, Coriander Blackberry Streusel, and a rotating cast of the genuinely strange. The texture is dense and the flavors are intense, not muddy, which is the hard part to pull off. Get the four-scoop flight if you cannot decide, which you cannot. The downside is exactly what you would expect from the most famous shop on the busiest street in town, the line out the door on a summer evening is real and slow-moving. Hours are roughly 1 to 9 p.m. daily. Go at opening or late, skip the 7 p.m. peak, and do not stand in the Exchange Street line if you are in a hurry.
The gelato that holds up
Gelato Fiasco at 425 Fore Street is the Old Port's other heavy hitter, and it has been excellent and consistent for years. Around 30 flavors daily, open seven days noon to 11 p.m., which is the key advantage, it is open later than almost everyone and it is open through the off-season when the stands are shuttered. The gelato is genuinely good, smooth and well-balanced, and the late hours make it the default for an after-dinner scoop downtown. It is a small Maine chain now with a Brunswick flagship and a seasonal gelato truck on the Eastern Prom, which has not hurt the quality. If MDI is the destination, Fiasco is the reliable workhorse.
The neighborhood favorites in South Portland
Willard Scoops at 429 Preble Street, tucked into Willard Square a few minutes from the beach, is the local pick that out-of-towners miss, and it is the best small-batch shop in South Portland. Everything is made by hand in small batches with local ingredients, and the flavors lean playful without going off the rails, the signature is "Sunburn," a strawberry-habanero that sounds gimmicky and absolutely is not, plus a serious PB&J. It is a small shop in a residential square, so parking and the line can get tight on a hot Saturday, but this is worth the minor hassle.
Red's Dairy Freeze at 167 Cottage Road is the soft-serve institution, over 70 years old, and its annual reopening in spring is a genuine local event. This is not fancy, it is a classic walk-up window doing soft serve and frozen yogurt the way it has for generations, and the line is part of the experience. Crucially, Red's is seasonal, open roughly March through September, daily 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., so it is not a winter option. If you want the nostalgic Maine soft-serve cone with a long line of locals, this is the one. Worth it.
The North Yarmouth and Falmouth stands
Head a little north and you get into proper ice cream stand country, which is its own summer ritual.
Toots makes its own ice cream from scratch and has been on Yankee magazine's best-of-New-England list, which is deserved. There are two North Yarmouth locations, the year-round shop at 21 Memorial Highway and the seasonal one at 137 Walnut Hill Road, which famously operates out of a renovated rail car. Flavors like Awe-Thentic Vanilla, Black Dog (black licorice), and Peanut Butaah are made on-site and the quality shows. The Walnut Hill rail-car stand is the more fun summer visit, but check seasonal hours before driving out.
Super Scoops at 178 Route 1 in Falmouth is the no-nonsense stand option, open 2 to 8 p.m. daily with around 23 hard-serve flavors including a solid Maine Blueberry. It is not reinventing anything, it is a good honest stand on Route 1, and that is exactly what you want some evenings.
The farm and a few notes
Smiling Hill Farm at 781 County Road in Westbrook is a working dairy that makes its own ice cream right on the farm, alongside glass-bottled milk, yogurt, and cheese. The draw here is the whole package, you get genuinely fresh farm dairy plus a barnyard animal exhibit and playground that runs May through October, which makes it the obvious family stop. Open daily, roughly 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The ice cream is good and the setting is better, this is a destination outing more than a quick scoop.
A couple of honest updates worth knowing if you are working off an older list. Out in Freeport, Mainely Custard at 150 US Route 1, the well-regarded frozen custard shop, was bought in 2025 by the owners of North Yarmouth's Well and Good Brewing, who have been adding a beer garden, so expect the operation to be evolving. And in Yarmouth, Honeycone has closed, with the Ice Cream Shoppe expanding into the space at 881 Route 1. The custard at Mainely is still worth the Freeport trip, just know the ownership has changed.
How to do it right
The two big rules for ice cream season here are timing and hours. The stands and Red's are seasonal and run on summer schedules, so confirm before you drive out to North Yarmouth or Westbrook, especially in shoulder season. For the famous Old Port shops, the line is the enemy, MDI in particular gets a long, slow queue from late afternoon through evening on warm days, so hit it right at the 1 p.m. open or after 8 p.m. Gelato Fiasco's late noon-to-11 hours make it the best fallback when everything else is closed or mobbed. And if you have kids, point the car at Smiling Hill Farm and make an afternoon of it rather than fighting for parking on Exchange Street.
FAQ
What is the best ice cream in Portland, Maine?
For adventurous, intense flavors, Mount Desert Island Ice Cream on Exchange Street is the standout and the most famous. For consistent quality and the latest hours, Gelato Fiasco on Fore Street is the reliable pick. For a local small-batch favorite, Willard Scoops in South Portland is the one out-of-towners miss.
Is Red's Dairy Freeze open year-round?
No. Red's is seasonal, open roughly March through September, daily from 11 a.m. to about 9:30 p.m. Its spring reopening is a local event, but it is not an option in the winter.
Which Portland ice cream shop has the longest lines?
Mount Desert Island Ice Cream on Exchange Street, especially on warm summer evenings around 7 p.m. Go right at the 1 p.m. opening or after 8 p.m. to avoid the worst of it, or head to Gelato Fiasco, which is also downtown and open until 11 p.m.
Where can I get ice cream with kids in Greater Portland?
Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook is the best family stop. It is a working dairy that makes its own ice cream and has a barnyard animal exhibit and playground open May through October, so you get a full afternoon rather than just a quick scoop.
Are the ice cream stands in Yarmouth and Falmouth worth the drive?
Yes, if you want the classic Maine stand experience. Toots in North Yarmouth makes its own ice cream from scratch and has a seasonal rail-car location, and Super Scoops in Falmouth is a solid no-frills Route 1 stand. Check seasonal hours before going, since several run on summer-only schedules.