The Dam Ice Cream & Gift Shop

For me, a trip to New Hampshire isn't complete without a stop at The Dam Ice Cream Shop. Located in a fairly bucolic region, it's both picturesque and inviting. Adjacent to the restaurant rests an idyllic dam - the shop's namesake.

Water peacefully flows over its crest and gently cascades to the other side. Birds generally abound, unobtrusively seeking errant morsels that may have dropped from the cones of inattentive children.  

There are few better places to enjoy one's ice cream.  

Order at one window; receive your creamy deliciousness through the other. The staff has always been very patient and kind. The ice cream is available in a wide variety of flavors with an equally wide variety of toppings. Eat outside and be mesmerized by the steady falling of water and the pleasant chirping of birds.

The gift shop is host to nick-knacks I would generally consider excellent for kindling. They sell a lot of old Grandma favorites - quilts, mountain panoramas, cheesy pictures of moose, creepy dolls, etc.

You get the idea.    

Street parking can be tough when the tourists invade, so I've found that parking in the Post Office lot across the street can obviate a lot of jockeying for roadside space.

And speaking of tourists, yes, I know most of you hail from Massachusetts. Your driving skills, littering abilities and ever-present Red Sox wardrobes attest to that much. (I get it, you're a fan.)

But while you're in New Hampshire, do everyone a favor and leave your bad habits at home.

Unfortunately this has permanently closed. The building has been torn down and there's a park there now.

Unfortunately, I can't agree with the other reviewers.

It's a nice spot, but $2.50 for a scoop of ice cream, with an unfriendly sign saying, "NO SAMPLES," and a lackluster staff?

Not so much for me.