This utterly charming scoop shop is exactly what an ice cream shop in an arts district that’s surrounded by mid-century modern vintage shops and rockabilly boutiques should be: a 1950s-inspired ice cream parlor complete with a vintage Wurlitzer jukebox, pastel-pink walls, and a rainbow-colored floor. They serve an assortment of Thrifty ice cream flavors with a variety of options for toppings, soft serve and Dole whip, specialty sundaes, and ice cream sandwiches.

Secret Creamery operates out of a trailer in a parking lot behind Reef Dispensaries in a part of town best described as the Strip’s backstage area. There’s just a small, small tent covering the window where you order and pay, so when it’s 1,000 degrees outside, the process of acquiring the ice cream might feel a bit daunting. Stick it out; it’s worth it. Sample the unique options like blueberry goat cheese, golden turmeric, and 24-month aged parmesan, then order a couple of scoops.

Rolled ice cream is a big thing here in Vegas and there are plenty of places where you can get it, but Frost N’ Roll is a few steps above most others. The ingredients they use are top of the line, including organic agave instead of sugar and fresh fruit that’s hand-picked daily. Their premium dairy ice creams are all-natural, preservative-free, made fresh to order, and customized for each customer.

Located in the Downtown Container Park, which is always a fun trip in itself, Waffelato serves puffy, Hong Kong-style egg waffles and creamy Italian gelato. The waffles are made fresh to order (choose from vanilla, chocolate, or marble) and waffle “cones” are filled with your choice of rotating gelato flavors and topped with any number of candies and sauces.

La Flor de Michoacan specializes in frozen Mexican treats, including cream popsicles and fruit popsicles chock full of huge chunks of hand-cut fruit, shaved ice, chamangos, ice creams in flavors like pistachio, guava, and strawberry vanilla, and more. The popsicles here are edible works of art—kind of like those handmade soaps that look like slices of fancy cakes you want to eat but can’t. These you actually can!

La Flor de Michoacan, which has multiple locations throughout the Vegas area, specializes in frozen Mexican treats.

La Flor de Michoacan, which has multiple locations throughout the Vegas area, specializes in frozen Mexican treats.

La Flor de Michoacan, which has multiple locations throughout the Vegas area, specializes in frozen Mexican treats.

La Flor de Michoacan, which has multiple locations throughout the Vegas area, specializes in frozen Mexican treats.

Because everything is Instagram and Instagram is everything, many ice cream shops go out of their way with outrageous dessert creations. At Scoop LV, they’ve got the boba bear bottles—bear-shaped souvenir bottles for your boba teas. There are also super fun ice cream flavors like Cookie Monster, Nutella Banana, Hokkaido Milk Tea, and Fruity Pebbles.

Gus Dean’s churns out premium ice cream from its Las Vegas production facility that is sold at retail outlets inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and at Pawn Plaza downtown. Made very simply with butter, sugar, and nonfat milk powder for a smooth texture, Gus Dean's offers over a dozen flavors including all the classics and modern favorites like salted caramel and mocha. The signature flavor, however, is Rebel Red, a strawberry, almond, and cookie ice cream named for the UNLV Rebels.

This place is classic Vegas—and classic walk-up custard stand. Located spitting distance from the Strip in the shadow of the STRAT in downtown Las Vegas, Luv-it has been around since 1973 (that’s historic in Vegas years) and serves two unique rotating and seasonal flavors, in addition to the staple vanilla and chocolate, all made fresh daily. Check the flavor calendar online for exciting additions like Sin-a-Buns or Cookie Dough.

Rolled Ice Cream is not the only shop in town to capitalize on the rolled trend, but it is the only one with the namesake. Rolled ice cream is made by pouring liquid ice cream base onto a frozen pan with selected flavors and mixers, and then it is chopped and rolled into tightly wound ribbons that are then packed into a cup and finished with a variety of toppings. Try one of the house creations like The Elvis with Nutter Butter and banana, or get creative and make your own.

Get a crash-course education in Asian ice cream desserts at Creamberry, where they make nearly all of them. The spot has 22 ice cream and sorbet flavors and another 20 toppings to mix them with. The kicker is that you can order them in all kinds of crazy shapes: rolled ice cream, rolled “tacos” (rolled ice cream in a waffle taco), bubble waffles, bear waffles (shaped like a cartoon teddy bear), halo halo, shaved ice, snow ice, and honey toast sundaes, among other things.

Nielsen’s Frozen Custard is a blast from the past—back to the days of soda shops and sock hops. Think vintage tin Coca-Cola signs and black, red, and white checkered packaging. Nielsen’s custard is made fresh in-store every few hours, always with a unique “flavor of the day” (check Facebook) in addition to chocolate and vanilla. You can order a custard cone or a pint to go, but their specialty is the Concrete, a very thick shake you eat with a spoon.

CJ’s serves homemade soft serve custard, gelato, and Italian ice. Flavors change constantly, but expect some nostalgic ones like cotton candy gelato, Cinnamon Toast Crunch custard, and Sour Patch Kid ice. The shop also offers a variety of waffle cones dipped in chocolate and coated in cereals, candies, cookies, and sprinkles. In case you’re feeling indecisive, the customer favorite (and Instagram-famous) Bobalati is a mix of boba, Italian ice, and gelato all rolled into one.

You don’t have to go all the way to Disneyland to indulge in the Dole Whip craze, and you also don’t have to settle solely for pineapple. At Las Vegas’ Pineapple Park, flavors include the classic pineapple as well as strawberry, mango, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla, and seasonal flavors (all of which are vegan). Plus, you can top them with all kinds of candies and cookies and sauces and fruits.