Top 9 Ice Cream and Dessert Shops in the Smokies

A downtown Gatlinburg fixture since 1950, started by Dave and Peggy Dych as an old-fashioned main street candy shop. Taffy is still made daily from the original recipe in 33 flavors, including moonshine taffy and sugar-free options, and customers rave about the pecan logs and cashew brittle. A bag of taffy is an easy take-home treat for the whole cabin.

The Sevierville shop of Cruze Farm, a local dairy farm that churns its own ice cream fresh. Flavors rotate by the day, so it is worth asking what is new before the whole group orders the usual. It sits right on the Sevierville Parkway, which makes it an easy stop on the drive back to the cabin after a day in Pigeon Forge.

A longtime Gatlinburg bakery that opens at 5 a.m., which makes it the first sweet stop of the day for early hikers and anyone up with small kids. Fresh doughnuts and eclairs are the draw, and a loaf of cinnamon bread is worth carrying back to the cabin for the next morning's breakfast. Go early for the best selection.

Fudge as entertainment. At this shop on The Island, fudge is made by hand in front of customers while the staff sing through each batch, a tradition since 1980. There are a dozen varieties, from rocky road to maple nut, plus chocolate sauces and candy apples. Kids love the show, and it is a quick stop during an evening at The Island.

The shops around The Old Mill, a Pigeon Forge gathering place since 1830, include two sweet stops in one walk: the Candy Kitchen, known for its Bear Paws, and The Old Mill Creamery for ice cream. The general store and pottery shop are next door, so the non-dessert people have something to browse.

A family orchard complex that is really a cluster of sweet shops: a creamery making ice cream, a candy factory, a dessert and wine shop, a general store with apple butter, and kitchens turning out homemade pies and fritters. Adults can add the cider bar or winery. It is a relaxed half-day for a mixed-age group.

A 1940s-style soda fountain in downtown Sevierville, part of The Corner Downtown complex that also holds Seasons 101 and the rooftop 101 Sky Lounge. It serves hand-mixed sodas, creamy milkshakes and classic sundaes. It is a fun way to end a downtown Sevierville dinner, and the retro setting wins over grandparents and kids alike.

A candy and fudge shop on the Pigeon Forge Parkway that makes its confections the old-fashioned way with real cream and butter. The giant caramel apples, rolled in all kinds of toppings, are the signature and big enough to split. The cream and butter fudge makes a good souvenir, and it stays open late most nights.

A classic Parkway ice cream parlor with hand-dipped premium cones, sundaes, banana splits, floats and handmade milkshakes, plus funnel cakes for anyone who wants something warm. There is a chalk wall where kids can draw while they wait, which helps when you are ordering for a crowd.