Chelmsford Creamery is a little roadside ice cream shack with a huge parking lot, on 3A just south of I-495. (The internet being what it is, this was Gary's Ice Cream from 1973 to 2020 and searching still turns up pictures of the old place.) Counter service with an overhang, and plenty of picnic benches out front and around the lot.

First Visit

I had a bright yellow Butter Pecan, which had more of a buttery taste than I've had before; I made the mistake of having it on top of an Orange Sherbet (I was craving "creamsicle" after missing out on it at Cabot's and it was good - but combining them was a mistake on my part.)

They also had a good strawberry ice cream, with strawberry bits in it. Overall they had a pretty good range of "summer" flavors along with the traditional New England ones.

I do owe them a return visit to get an orange sherbet frappe, and also to try their "Chocolate Decadence" Flavor.

Little Z's is just off 110 east of Chelmsford Center. Outside picnic tables and window service, but also a couple of indoor seats and an indoor counter - and an opening in the wall that connects it to Zesty's Pizza (Little Z's is basically a seasonal spinoff.) It's also in the same building as Euphoria Coffee (which should really just add an Affogato to their offerings, especially if it involves sneaking out the back door to pick up the ice cream from Little Z's. ⛾ 🍨 ) Plenty of shared parking - and the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail runs along one edge of the parking lot, so there's also plenty of trail to walk off your ice cream, if you're into that.

The Little Z's menu includes ice cream, smoothies, soft serve, frappes, floats, smoothies, and raspberry lime rickeys; an interesting list of flavors and toppings (including twix pieces, toffee bits, and sour worms.) Their August Specials included a "Salted Caramel Pretzel Frappe" which seems like too many salts, though perhaps it's worth a try anyway.

First Visit

I had Grasshopper Pie (which was a refreshingly strong mint with crumbled chocolate cookies throughout - if you often find yourself thinking that mint chip ice cream is just Not Minty Enough, it's worth trying this instead) and also Cookie Chaos (which, as the name suggests, has a little bit of everything. Lots of crunch.)

I also got a taste of their strawberry - after trying their amazing mint so I was braced for not being able to taste anything else - but the strawberry shone through, I was pleasantly surprised.

Next Time

Next time I'll probably try the Pistachio and complain about the lack of Maple Walnut (though they do have walnuts as a topping, maybe mocha chip with walnuts and pretzels to get a similar texture.)

Alternately "Kimball Farm Ice Cream at Bates Farm" or "Kimball Farm Carlisle" (there are a couple of others including the huge place in Westford with Miniature Golf) this is one of those that you stumble on when driving through "back roads" but still trying to get somewhere - it's on 225, not far from the Concord River (which serves as the Carlisle/Bedford border.)

Lots of parking and some kid-oriented farm entertainment (literally, they have goats.) Picnic tables, some shaded; they also host a Farmer's Market on summer weekends.

Good dense ice cream in traditional flavors; I stop in when I happen to be relaxing on those particular back roads (the Bedford Boat Ramp is actually a good birding spot when there isn't a lot of boat or fishing traffic.) Most recent visit: ½ Butter Crunch and ½ Maple Walnut, solid classics; my friend had a Strawberry Ice Cream Soda. (Their menu also includes Vegan (coconut based) and Sugar-Free options, which I will not be reporting on further.)

It's one of your New England classics - you might not have been looking for it, but if you drive by and think "Hmm, I could go for some ice cream" you will not be disappointed, and it's big enough that it won't be too crowded in the summertime. I've been stopping at Kimball Farms on and off since 2007, and was there most recently this past weekend.