I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Here in Washington people tend to vacation during the warmer months. Lakes, rivers, and, of course, miles and miles of ocean beaches beckon. All the restaurants, festivals, and outdoor activities got me thinking. What about ice cream? Where do people go? Is there a favorite spot? What are the available flavors? Where can I find soft serve [which I’m partial to]?

It all depends on where you’re coming from, really, and where you’re headed. Sometimes the best option is off the beaten path, and that’s where you begin if you are traveling west on U.S. Highway 12 toward the beaches.

Gene’s Stop & Go

Gene’s Stop & Go on Pioneer in Montesano is an old-fashioned side-of-the-road burger shack that has different varieties of soft serve on rotation and they’ll even make you a parfait.

You might want to check their active Facebook page to see which flavors are available. In fact, they don’t promote much else other than ice cream on their Facebook page. The serving sizes for soft serve are generous and you can’t beat the value for what you get.

As you head toward the coast, what comes next really depends on your final destination. Are you going to Westport or Ocean Shores? If it’s Westport, you’ll have to head that way just as you get into Aberdeen. But for our purposes, we’ll take the long way around.

Buddy Moo’s

While Hoquiam-based Buddy Moo’s Ice Cream has opened a new location in Aberdeen on I Street as part of the D&R Theatre property, it can take a bit of doing to get to their original parlor if you’re heading west on U.S. Highway 101. Once you get through Aberdeen and go through Hoquiam, you have to take the Riverside Bridge and turn left on Emerson Avenue and break back left on Simpson. Manager Drew says it’s easier to hit them on the way out rather than on the way in.

Regardless of when you go or how you get there, you’ll find decent parking and a festive, cozy ice cream parlor atmosphere, along with a good selection of flavors.

Buddy Moo’s offers all manner of ice cream concoctions, sundaes and such, they sell ice cream by the pint and feature something I have never seen before — ice cream flights. I’ve experienced beer and wine flights, but never ice cream. For less than nine bucks, you can get a “boat” with a scoop of each of six flavors. Who does that?

You might want to plan your stop at Buddy Moo’s. If you make a wrong turn coming off Riverside Bridge, you might be driving around in circles for a while. And if you skipped Gene’s and Buddy Moo’s, you’ve got a bit of a wait for ice cream.

Ocean Shores has the most ice cream places per capita in Grays Harbor — three, to be exact, and one of them is brand new.

Peppermint Parlor

As you drive through town on the main drag, Point Brown Avenue, you’ll find Peppermint Parlor on the left-hand side just past Playtime Family Fun. You’ll find plenty of parking and an open, airy atmosphere with plenty of seating. Benches are available outside as well.

Peppermint Parlor offers one of the biggest selections of ice cream flavors in the area.

Murphy’s Homemade IceCream & Candy

After you leave Peppermint Parlor and continue south along Point Brown Avenue, take the first exit right in the roundabout and drive past the Convention Center and pull into the shopping plaza. There you’ll find Murphy’s Homemade IceCream & Candy (not to be confused with Murphy’s Ice Cream in Dingle, Ireland). Parking can be a bit iffy, especially on festival weekends.

Inside is quite spacious, and the selection of flavors rivals or maybe even exceeds Peppermint Parlor. You’ll also find plenty of candy, including a wide variety of saltwater taffy.

The Salty Scoop

The newest location in Grays Harbor, The Salty Scoop is part of Oyhut Bay Seaside Resort’s efforts to expand its offering. A burger shack is in the works as well.

The parlor held a “soft open” the weekend of March 14–15 with much fanfare, and is now open regular hours. It’s located right next to The Market at Oyhut.

The cozy, colorful, trendy shop offers indoor and outdoor seating.

The Sweet Life Candy and Ice Cream Shop

Murphy’s isn’t the only combination ice cream parlor/candy shop in Grays Harbor. Approximately 30 minutes north of Ocean Shores on state Route 109 in Seabrook, you’ll find The Sweet Life.

All of these parlors and shops smell wonderful, but the aroma at The Sweet Life practically punches you in the face when you walk in the door. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just more noticeable.

The Sweet Life offers 16 small-batch “flavors of the day,” homemade ice cream sandwiches, and lets customers create their own ice cream floats.

Next up is Westport and its three ice cream locations. If you head to Westport from the beaches, and you haven’t yet, now is your chance to hit Buddy Moo’s in Hoquiam and then wind your way through Aberdeen, cross the Chehalis River Bridge, and zip out to Westport. If Westport was your destination all along, you’re ahead of the game.

Before you get to the Westport Marina District, you’ll cruise through Bay City, and you’ll see Bay City Sausage on your left. We’ll get back to that.

Surfer Girl

Along the Westport Marina boardwalk, you’ll come across Surfer Girl Waffle Cones, Gifts and Toys. As we’ve seen, some of these shops offer a combination of ice cream and candy. This one, however, proudly sells “modern and vintage toys for boys and girls of all ages,” as well as freshly baked waffle cones and “premium” ice cream. You can’t miss the colorful storefront.

Whale of a Cone

Further down the Westport boardwalk, if you’re not paying attention, you might walk right by Whale of a Cone. But that’s kind of difficult because of the line of customers that’s usually snaking out of the door.

Attached to an arcade, Whale of a Cone also sells beer. When asked if the line is always that long, shop owner Jah says, “Only if people want the best ice cream.” The shop features roughly two dozen flavors of ice cream and a dozen or so beers. The scent of fresh-baked waffle cones is intoxicating. Whale of a Cone also hosts birthday parties.

I asked Jah about soft serve, and he said carrying it was “difficult.”

Bay City Sausage

I mentioned I’m partial to soft serve. Drew at Buddy Moo’s said their soft-serve machine is made by the same manufacturer as McDonald’s. Peppermint Parlor won’t serve straight chocolate soft serve … something about not being able to keep it in stock.

Perhaps the best-kept secret [or worst if you’re in the know] is the soft serve at Bay City Sausage. If you follow them on Facebook, then you’ll know what flavors they’re serving. They rotate on a weekly basis.

The machine is tucked in the right-hand corner if you’re facing the meatcase. You get a healthy serving in a cake cone.

While researching this piece, I did not have the opportunity to visit every shop I mentioned. And I didn’t get a sample at every one. I had to control myself. Surfer Girl closed early the day I went. Of the samples I did have, Murphy’s salted caramel had big flavor, Peppermint Parlor’s Death by Chocolate was up to its usual standard, Buddy Moo’s rainbow sherbet was as advertised, The Salty Scoop’s spumoni was tasty, but Whale of a Cone offered the biggest surprise. I am a chocolate fanatic, yet their “espresso madness” knocked my socks off. I did go back for a proper serving during Pirate Daze and I was not disappointed.

During my ice cream junket, I held off getting a cone or a sundae or a cup or a scoop. As pleasant as some of the surprises were, as aromatic as the shops were, I knew I’d allow myself just one treat — a vanilla and cherry Dole soft-serve cone from Bay City sausage. It was worth it.

After visiting almost every ice cream shop in Grays Harbor, I can draw a few conclusions.

Not all of these places have websites or Facebook pages. It may take some effort to find them or their offerings. They all have some sort of specialty, it just depends on what you’re in the mood for. Ice cream isn’t just for summer or vacations. Ice cream lovers near and far have plenty of options when it comes to cones and flavors and experiences.

The ancient Chinese may have invented ice cream, the Turks and the Italians may have refined it, but we Americans perfected it and made it what it is today. And you don’t have to go too far to find some of the best there is.

You might have to do a little driving for soft serve, though.