Jolly Cow Ice Cream: A Sweet Rest Stop on the Way to the Catskills
The Jolly Cow Ice Cream makes the perfect rest stop when you're heading to the Catskills from NYC. Just 5 minutes off the Thruway, this Lake Katrine drive-in is around 2 hours from our Brooklyn home, which is precisely the amount of time we can drive before everyone starts complaining. And with kiddy cups and cones priced at $1.40 (one dollar and 40 cents, people!), you'll probably be spending less here than you would at a gas station's convenience store.
We were inspired by our friends at Heart of Glace to try the creamsicle soft serve, a swirl of vanilla ice cream and orange sorbet. I didn't even know sorbet soft serve was a thing. Turns out it's a delicious thing, the creaminess of the vanilla playing off the citrusy tang of the sorbet.
The Jolly Cow isn't a drive-thru -- it's a a drive-in. So plan on actually getting out of your car. There's plenty of shaded outdoor seating. Like our pals at Two Twisted Ladies in Greenville, they serve many, many flavors of Perry's Ice Cream here.
You can also milk/ride a fake cow, if that's your thing. (Totally my kids' thing!) And the sugar rush from two little cups of ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, one vanilla and one strawberry, is all my kids need to get through the last leg of our trip.
The Jolly Cow is located at 1620 US-9W, Lake Katrine, NY, off Exit 19 on the New York State Thurway/I-87; 845-336-6090. (You'll get there faster if you're heading north; you'll have to loop around if you're going south on the Thruway.) Open daily from 11am to 10pm.
