Seven C.O. spots make ‘Oregon Ice Cream Trail’

How do you create a new food trail that showcases the top ice cream shops across an entire state? Simple. Ask the experts! And that’s just what the Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council did when it crowdsourced the new Oregon Ice Cream Trail.

Crowdsourcing is the process of enlisting the services of a large number of people, typically via the Internet. In this case, it was ice cream aficionados. Starting with an assortment of 10 landmark ice cream shops, fans were encouraged to submit and vote for their favorite shops in Oregon.

The result? You can now choose your own ice cream adventure to include more than 50 stops clustered within seven geographic regions.

“Building this trail reaffirmed something we already knew – people are passionate about their ice cream,” said Josh Thomas, senior director of communications for the Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council. “Thanks to the hundreds of votes we received, this trail showcases the top shops and some of the best ice cream you’ll find anywhere in the world.”

The Oregon Ice Cream Trail includes all varieties of scoop and soft serve ice cream, custard, gelato and even frozen yogurt – all made in Oregon. All stops are featured on a free, downloadable map at OregonIceCreamTrail.com.

Seven Central Oregon locations made the map and list, including four in Bend: Addy Mac’s, Bonta Natural Artisanal Gelato, Dreams Rolled Ice Cream and Hardy’s Burgers & Ice Cream, along with Goody’s in Sunriver, Sno Cap in Redmond and Tastee Treet in Prineville. Find their addresses and links in the map link.

So that ‘s the scoop on the Oregon Ice Cream Trail. If you’re still looking for a good excuse to hit the trail, National Ice Cream Cone Day is coming up on Sunday, Sept. 22.