PETA’s ‘Nice Cream Trail’ Reveals Maryland Shops Offering Vegan Ice Cream
A scoop ahead of National Ice Cream Month in July, PETA’s “Nice Cream Trail” dipped into top Maryland shops to encourage residents and tourists to sprinkle kindness by buying vegan ice cream. It’s never been easier to spare cows suffering in the dairy industry, especially with Maryland’s many options. Choosing a compassionate cone of chilled delights made from plants—rather than a bowl of frozen bovine mammary secretions—helps stop perpetual abuse to mother cows and their stolen babies, combat the climate catastrophe, and improve human health.
Top Maryland Shops With Vegan Options for Ice Cream Month—and Beyond
PETA has compiled a helpful two-page pamphlet that shares why going vegan is good for people and where to find Maryland’s top ice cream shops with compassionate scoops. It includes all the addresses, phone numbers, and websites of the ice cream shops, with a map featuring little cones marking each location. Every spot also displays window signs (as pictured above) to show it’s part of PETA’s Nice Cream Trail. Hop on the path with us, and pop into each shop if you can:
116 Annapolis St.
Annapolis, MD 21401
443-775-5297
196 Main St.
Annapolis, MD 21401
443-714-8674
129A Mitchells Chance Rd.
Edgewater, MD 21037
443-949-8309
The vegan flavors at this shop’s three locations change daily, but they include Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Coconut Chocolate Chip, Matcha, Chocolate Chip, Strawberry, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Coconut, and Chocolate Peanut Butter.
1033 Virginia Ave.
Hagerstown, MD 21740
301-797-5422
The Big Dipper frequently offers one Hershey’s hand-dipped vegan flavor at a time. It is usually Classic Cookie but may occasionally be Vanilla or Chocolate. The shop also offers one soft-serve vegan flavor at a time, changing the offering every few weeks. Vegan soft-serve flavors featured in the past include Banana, Black Cherry, Cotton Candy, Pistachio, Pumpkin, and Strawberry.
- Cajou Creamery (all-vegan)
411 N. Howard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-929-2644
This creamery rotates its available flavors in summer, but classics include Horchata, Baklava, Kulfi, Cortadito, Sweet Potato Pie, and Blueberry Cheesecake. Seasonal flavors typically include Pastelito (Guava and Cheese), Mango Lassi, Raspberry Cheesecake, and a collection of flavors called Childhood in the Caribbean, which includes Rum Raisin. Cajou Creamery uses plant-based, handcrafted cashew milk made from scratch.
801 W. 36th St.
Baltimore, MD 21211
410-814-0493
6807 York Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21212
443-275-2859
1700 W. 41st St., #400
Baltimore, MD 21211
443-759-4905
6000 Merriweather Dr., #185B
Columbia, MD 21044
443-546-3359
Two vegan flavors are usually available in every shop (and often more in the summer months as sorbet production ramps up). Some examples are Cookies & Coconut Cream, Vegan Coconut Sando, Fruit Cup Sorbet, Pineapple Orange Sorbet, and Toasted Coconut.
22 W. Pennsylvania Ave., #101
Towson, MD 21204
410-296-1937
The café’s vegan offerings have included Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Mango Sorbet, and it often has seasonal flavors. All the ice cream sold is Taharka Brothers brand.
8225 Main St.
Ellicott City, MD 21043
The Crazy Mason’s vegan flavors have included Hershey’s Oatmazing ice cream in Simply Vanilla, Chocolate Chunk, and Classic Cookie. As long as it’s ordered without whipped cream, one recent plant-based milkshake is the Holy Cow-Free (vegan cookie ice cream, vegan vanilla frosting, vegan edible cookie dough scoop, and chocolate sauce).
120 N. Main St.
Berlin, MD 21811
410-973-2839
306 Dogwood Dr.
Salisbury, MD 21801
410-831-3103
The vegan flavors have included Mocha, Chocolate, Coconut, and various sorbets. Vegan toppings are cake and sugar cones; peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and pecans; cherries; peanut butter topping; pineapple topping; strawberry topping; and chocolate and rainbow sprinkles.
5957 Exchange Dr., Ste. F
Eldersburg, MD 21784
410-875-7238
Recent dairy-free options at this location include Non-Dairy Chocolate (classic), Sweet and Sour Cherry Sorbet (summer seasonal), Tart Cherry and Lavender Sorbet (summer seasonal), Blackberry and Lime Sorbet (summer seasonal), Mixed Berry Sorbet (summer seasonal), Lime/Spearmint Sorbet (rotating flavor), and Roasted Apple and Riesling Sorbet (fall seasonal).
802 S. Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21231
410-236-0741
4901 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
571-495-0946
This shop’s recent vegan offerings, which will likely be available at both locations, are Vidama (Chocolate Sorbet), Lemon Sorbet, Mojito Sorbet, Strawberry Sorbet, and Raspberry Sorbet.
10219 Old Georgetown Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20814
240-800-3977
5241 River Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20816
301-652-6823
Vegan offerings at these two locations can change but have included Vegan Double Chocolate, Pink Grapefruit Champagne Sorbet, Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet, Rainbow Sorbet, and Honeydew Sorbet. The sugar and cake cones are also vegan.
Why Scope Out Vegan Scoops for National Ice Cream Month?
The demand for vegan food keeps increasing, and one projection for the global vegan ice cream market’s growth between 2022 and 2026 is $1.55 billion. Nondairy ice cream has bloomed into a big industry, offering wide varieties of intriguing flavors and textures to entice multiple palates and dietary needs. Reportedly, a 300% increase in sales of plant-based ice cream occurred just since 2018, with an accompanying explosion in product availability and quality.
People are more curious than ever to try vegan scoops, whether it be for ethical or environmental reasons—soy or oat milk requires roughly 90% less water than cow’s milk—for their health, or simply because it tastes good. Recent vegan ice cream innovations have far outdone previous options so that even the average customer feels the products are familiar now.
The global vegan food industry will likely hit $91.9 billion by 2027, and forecasts predict the plant-based food market will blossom at a compounded annual growth rate of 18.1% by then. Going vegan spares nearly 200 animals each year incessant suffering and terrifying deaths while benefiting human well-being by reducing the risk of developing various types of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and diabetes.
Cows are intelligent, gentle animals who mourn the deaths of those they love and sometimes shed tears over their loss. The mother-calf bond is particularly strong. There are countless reports of mother cows who, once separated from their calves, continue to call and search frantically for them.
PETA encourages everyone to reject cruel animal abuse and protect both the planet and their health by ditching dairy and choosing vegan ice creams. Every compassionate person who embarks on the Nice Cream Trail and decides to go vegan will help end speciesism and prevent a lifetime of suffering for all animals needlessly raised and slaughtered by humans.
How to Be Kind to Cows From Now On
You guessed it—go vegan! It’s simpler than ever before, with ample options of delectable vegan ice creams, cheeses, yogurts, milks, and much more in many stores and shops. Whether you’re rooted in Maryland, en route through the state temporarily, or nowhere nearby, consider the cows, the planet, and your own health when reaching for your next ice cream carton. Make the kind choice, and melt into your compassionate journey with our free vegan starter kit (VSK):
And since you’re already dipping your spoon in, sprinkle our VSK into a friend’s life, too:
