To celebrate our 50th blog post (Yes, this is number 50!) and Summer 2021 coming to an end soon, we’ve paired some great ice cream stands with our favorite places to watch the sunset, so you can enjoy the close proximity and won’t have to drive all over Erie to plan a fun evening!
Whether you’re looking to have fun on a date night in Erie, enjoy time with friends, spend an evening with family, or take some me time, this list will bring you some pretty wonderful ice cream and sunset locations.
We even included a map and directions from the ice cream shop to the park, so you can visualize it before you go! Click the name of each location to find out more! (Side note: We haven’t posted our blog about Dairy Oasis yet, but we will link it when we do.)
[Editor’s note: Please be aware that we are not affiliated with any of these businesses or locations in any way. This is true of all of our posts. We simply enjoy wandering around the Erie area as we know finding what to do in Erie, PA can be hard.]
We’ve shown you a few ice cream stand locations on the west side of Erie County towards Ohio, such as Castle Ice Cream, and even though we’ve been east at the Double Dipper, we decided to head even east even more towards New York, and we ended up at The Straw Hat in North East, PA. And we have to say, it is a really cool place to visit with some great ice cream treats! With over 50 years of service to the North East community, this sundae shop is pretty impressive!
Location:
The Straw Hat is located at 207 South Lake Street, North East, PA 16428. It is right on the main street of town, and very easily accessible.
Property Description:
The Straw Hat is an ice cream stand that is outdoor only for patrons. The area where you order is covered, which is the first we’ve seen of this in the Erie area! You actually feel like you’re indoors because it is covered so well, with overhead lighting included. There are picnic tables outside for you to enjoy your food at.
We found parking across the street, but we think you may also be able to park behind the building as well.
View from the side
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What to Do:
The Straw Hat in North East, PA is home to not only Perry’s Ice Cream, but ice cream from the Penn State Berkey Creamery as well! Between the two, we counted well over 30 flavors of ice cream! We tried the Grilled Stickies ice cream, and it was so, so yummy! They also have milkshakes, root beer floats, and soft serve ice cream.
Bubble Gum
Pumpkin Pie in a Waffle Cone
Chocolate Mint
Grilled Stickies over Pumpkin Pie in a Waffle Cone
Some of the many flavor options!
We also love that The Straw Hat has dairy free options, for those who are lactose intolerant or vegan. They also have dairy free shakes!
We found something here that we have never seen before; the Straw Hat has a Mighty Fine Donut ice cream sandwich! We had to try one, and of course it was all sorts of delicious! This insanely good donut sandwich is filled with soft serve ice cream. Fair warning, one might not be enough to fill you up, and in our case took a lot less time to eat than an ice cream cone!
Mighty Fine Donut Sandwich
We also found several “Instagram-able” spots if you enjoy taking photos. On the side of the building, there’s a sign with a giant ice cream cone on it, as well as a vintage Straw Hat sign with a chicken on it. In the very front, near the road and within the picnic tables, there is also a giant rooster statue to take photos with as well.
“Instagram-able” Ice Cream sign
Who Can Go:
We love that this ice cream stand is easily accessible by anyone who wants to stop by. We also really appreciate the covering over the front, which makes it so that you can always get your ice cream, even when it’s raining!
Final Thoughts:
This is a really cool place! We love the amount of seating, the covered ordering area, and the yummy donut sandwiches!
We appreciate the variety of flavors between Perry’s Ice Cream and Penn State Berkey Creamery. If you’re a Penn State alumni or if you live in the Erie area and you’re looking for Penn State ice cream without traveling to State College, this is a great stop for you!
They are open from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m.-10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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[Editor’s note: Please be aware that we are not affiliated with The Straw Hat Sundae Shop in any way. This is true of all of our posts. We simply enjoy wandering around the Erie area as we know finding what to do in Erie, PA can be hard.]
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