Unearth The Voyage
Along a quiet road in Lancaster County’s Amish Country, a family dairy farm has been making homemade ice cream from the milk of its own Jersey cows for nearly 50 years. Visitors come for generous scoops, fresh waffle cones, and rich farm-fresh dairy products, but they stay to meet the cows, watch the afternoon milking, bottle-feed calves, and experience a working farm that’s open to everyone. It’s the kind of stop where dessert naturally turns into an afternoon exploring the countryside.
The experience goes well beyond the ice cream counter. Guests can browse fresh milk, cheese curds, butter, and eggs, relax on a deck overlooking the pastures, or even order from a drive-thru that’s used by both local families and Amish neighbors. Whether you’re following Pennsylvania’s Scooped Ice Cream Trail or simply looking for one of the state’s most memorable farm stops, this is a place that’s easy to return to again and again.
Here’s why Lapp Valley Farm has become one of Pennsylvania’s most beloved ice cream destinations and a must-visit stop in Lancaster County.
Where the Farm Sits and How to Find It
The farm that started it all sits at 244 Mentzer Road, New Holland, PA 17557, right in the middle of Lancaster County’s Amish Country. New Holland is a small borough surrounded by farmland, and the drive out to Mentzer Road feels like a deliberate escape from the noise of everyday life.
The roads narrow as you get closer, and the scenery shifts to open fields, wooden fences, and the occasional horse-drawn buggy. It is the kind of setting that makes you want to roll the windows down.
Lapp Valley Farm is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 AM to 8:30 PM, Monday from 8 AM to 8:30 PM, and Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM. The farm is closed on Sundays. You can reach them at 717-354-7988 or visit lappvalleyfarm.com to plan your trip before you go.
The Story Behind 50 Years of Farm-Fresh Ice Cream
Ben Lapp launched this operation in 1975 with a simple idea: make ice cream from the milk his Jersey cows were already producing and sell it to people passing through. The early customers were mostly tourists attending church services at nearby campgrounds, and word spread fast.
What started as a modest roadside offering grew steadily over the decades. By 2002, the demand had grown large enough that the family built a proper retail facility right on the farm property.
In 2022, the Lapp family also opened a newer Creamery and Cafe along Route 340 in Gordonville, complete with hot food and an indoor play area. But the original farm on Mentzer Road has never lost its appeal. There is something about buying ice cream in the same spot where the cows live and the milk is produced that no second location can fully replicate. The roots of this place run deep, and that matters to the people who keep coming back.
Why Jersey Cows Make All the Difference
Not all milk is created equal, and the Jersey cow is proof of that. Jerseys produce milk with a higher butterfat and protein content than most other dairy breeds, which translates directly into a richer, creamier end product. When that milk goes into ice cream, you taste the difference immediately.
At Lapp Valley Farm, the herd is hormone-free, and the animals are clearly well cared for. The cows have a calm, curious temperament that makes them approachable for visitors of all ages.
The milking process happens daily around 4:30 PM, and guests are welcome to watch. Seeing the actual source of your ice cream go through the milking process is a grounding experience, especially for kids who have never been close to a working dairy. It turns a simple dessert stop into something that sticks with you long after the cone is gone. And yes, you can scratch the cows.
They love it.
The Scent That Greets You at the Door
Before you even see the ice cream case, your nose makes the first impression. The smell of fresh waffle cones being made hits you the moment you walk through the front door, and it is genuinely hard to describe without sounding dramatic. It smells like caramel and warmth and something you vaguely remember from childhood.
The waffle cones are made right in the shop, and they are served fresh with every order. That crunch when you take the first bite is not an accident. It is the result of a process that values the details most soft-serve chains skip entirely.
The shop itself is clean, cheerful, and laid out in a way that makes ordering easy even when there is a line. The staff moves quickly and handles the crowd with a kind of unhurried friendliness that fits the farm setting perfectly. First-timers often spend a few extra minutes just taking it all in before they even look at the flavor board.
A Flavor Lineup That Keeps People Coming Back
The farm typically offers 16 to 17 flavors, sometimes rotating seasonally to keep things interesting. Butter pecan and maple walnut are consistent favorites among regulars. Strawberry, cookies and cream, black cherry, and butter brickle round out the lineup with enough variety to make the decision genuinely difficult.
Mint chocolate chip and coconut also show up on the board, and the chocolate is rich enough to stand on its own without any toppings. Each flavor is made using milk from the farm’s own Jersey cows, which gives every scoop a freshness that pre-packaged brands cannot match.
Portion sizes are generous, which is always a good sign. A two-scoop waffle cone is a real commitment, and most people finish it with zero regret. The flavor combinations work well together, so ordering a mix of butter pecan and maple walnut in one cone is not a wild idea. It is, in fact, a very reasonable life choice.
Beyond the Cone: The Full Dairy Counter
Ice cream gets most of the attention, but the farm store has a lot more going on behind the counter. Fresh bottled milk is available in regular, chocolate, and coffee varieties, and the chocolate milk alone has earned its own loyal following. It is thick, sweet without being overwhelming, and tastes like it was made that morning because it probably was.
Cheese curds, butter, and farm-fresh eggs are also on the shelves, giving visitors a reason to bring a cooler. Many people stop in for ice cream and leave with a gallon of milk and a bag of curds as an afterthought that somehow becomes the highlight of their grocery week.
Ice cream cakes and take-home containers are available for those who want to extend the experience past the parking lot. The range of products makes this less of a single-purpose stop and more of a small dairy market with excellent dessert options attached. The cheese curds, by the way, deserve their own dedicated visit.
The Grounds: A Working Farm You Can Actually Explore
The farm grounds are open to visitors, and the experience goes well beyond standing in line for a cone. Bottle-fed calves are often accessible near the barn, and they are exactly as endearing as you would expect. Peacocks wander the property with the kind of confidence that suggests they know they are the most photogenic thing on the farm.
Cats roam the grounds freely, doing what farm cats do, which is mostly lounging in inconvenient spots and ignoring everyone. There is also a tractor kids can climb on, which earns immediate approval from anyone under ten.
The barns are clean and well-maintained, which matters more than it sounds. A working dairy farm is not always a polished tourist attraction, but Lapp Valley manages to be both without feeling staged. The animals seem genuinely comfortable with visitors, and the staff encourages interaction in a way that feels natural rather than scripted. Plan to stay longer than you think you will.
Seating, Views, and the Art of Slowing Down
Once you have your cone in hand, the farm gives you plenty of options for where to enjoy it. A large deck, a covered porch, and scattered picnic tables all offer views of the surrounding countryside that make a simple ice cream stop feel like a proper afternoon out.
The landscape is exactly what Lancaster County is known for: rolling green fields, clean air, and a quietness that is hard to find closer to the city. Sitting on that deck with a butter brickle cone while watching the cows graze in the distance is the kind of low-key experience that somehow resets your whole mood.
There is no background music competing for your attention and no screens to stare at. The entertainment is the farm itself, which turns out to be more than enough. Families tend to linger here longer than they planned, which is probably the best endorsement the place could ask for. The scenery does not charge extra, and that feels like a genuine gift.
The Drive-Thru That Even the Amish Use
One of the more unexpected features at Lapp Valley Farm is the drive-thru window, which lets you grab ice cream or dairy products without leaving your vehicle. It is a practical option for busy days or for anyone traveling with young kids who have already used up their patience for standing in line.
The drive-thru has become something of a local institution. On any given visit, you might find yourself behind a minivan from New Jersey and an Amish buggy, both waiting for the same butter pecan cone. That image captures something real about this place: it belongs to the whole community, not just to tourists.
The buggy-at-the-drive-thru moment is not a staged photo opportunity. It happens because the farm is genuinely woven into the fabric of the surrounding community. People who live nearby stop here the same way others stop at a coffee shop, with the same casual loyalty and the same expectation of quality. That says more than any review could.
Pennsylvania’s Scooped Ice Cream Trail and Why It Matters
Lapp Valley Farm is a proud participant in Pennsylvania’s Scooped Ice Cream Trail, a statewide program that connects visitors to local dairy farms producing their own ice cream. The trail celebrates the connection between Pennsylvania’s agricultural roots and the people who turn that work into something delicious.
Being part of the trail is not just a marketing badge. It reflects a genuine commitment to the farm-to-cone philosophy that Lapp Valley has practiced since 1975, long before that phrase became trendy. The farm’s inclusion on the trail also introduces it to a wider audience of food travelers who make a point of visiting every stop.
For visitors planning a broader Lancaster County itinerary, the trail is a useful framework for discovering other local creameries and dairy operations in the region. But most people who visit Lapp Valley Farm as part of the trail end up spending more time there than they budgeted. It has a way of making you forget you had anywhere else to be.
Tips for Planning Your Visit and Getting the Most Out of It
A few practical notes can make your visit significantly smoother. Weekdays and earlier hours tend to draw smaller crowds, which means shorter lines and more time to explore the farm at your own pace. Weekends, especially in summer, can get busy, so arriving before noon on a Saturday is a smart move.
The farm is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8:30 PM and Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM. It is closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly. Bringing a small cooler is worth considering if you plan to take home milk, cheese curds, or butter, since the drive back can be warm in summer months.
Cash is always a reliable backup, and the farm has historically had an on-site ATM available. The milking typically happens around 4:30 PM daily, so timing your arrival to catch that adds a layer to the experience that most visitors remember long after the ice cream is gone. Come hungry, come curious, and come ready to stay a while.
