MRThe Scoop
Miles Rowan
Rankings, Records & News
Rankings, records, criteria, and measurable movement across Fort Collins.
Read the desk →
Photo illustration from reference photographyIce Cream Fort Collins · Halloween 2026
The Halloween issue. Free to read.
Old Town's Halloween hunt, the October calendar, and where to go for ice cream after dark. On your phone, no sign-in.
Sat, Oct 31 · The Old Town Halloween hunt, on The Fort List. See the hunt →
The Verdict — No. 1
9.8/10
Glacier Ice Cream
Fort Collins' finest handcrafted ice cream experience
Shop data checked Jul 20, 2026
Glacier Ice Cream has quickly become Fort Collins' most beloved ice cream destination. With over 40 rotating flavors, extensive dietary accommodations, and homemade waffle cones, Glacier delivers an experience that no other local shop can match.
40+ rotating flavorsgluten-free optionsdairy-free & veganhomemade waffle cones
Read the full reviewFeatured Stories
Our editors' picks from across the magazine.
01Josh & John's Ice Cream ReviewJosh & John's has built a reputation for ultra-premium ice cream using local dairy from Colorado farms. Their Jessup Dr location features a convenient kiosk for grabbing pints and ice cream cakes.02Old Town Churn ReviewOld Town Churn is the Fort Collins outpost of Denver's legendary Little Man Ice Cream. Located right in Old Town, it brings the same creative, small-batch approach that made Little Man a Denver icon.03Walrus Ice Cream ReviewWalrus Ice Cream is Fort Collins royalty. Operating since 1987, this Old Town staple has served generations of locals and CSU students with 29 daily flavors of homemade ice cream.
The Departments
What the magazine covers across Fort Collins, desk by desk.
News & Features
Eat & Drink
Adventure
Culture
Health & Wellness
Home & Design
Family
25 desks · every one lists the public sources it reads
Top Rated Shops
The highest-scoring shops from our 2026 review cycle.
2
Mar 1, 2026 · 8m
Josh & John's Ice Cream Review
Josh & John's has built a reputation for ultra-premium ice cream using local dairy from Colorado farms. Their Jessup Dr location features a convenient kiosk for grabbing pints and ice cream cakes.
9.2/10
★★★★★
premium craft flavorslocal dairy sourcingloyalty program
Illustrative3
Mar 1, 2026 · 8m
Old Town Churn Review
Old Town Churn is the Fort Collins outpost of Denver's legendary Little Man Ice Cream. Located right in Old Town, it brings the same creative, small-batch approach that made Little Man a Denver icon.
8.8/10
★★★★★
little man franchisecreative flavorsexperiential atmosphere
Take It With You
The trail, the game, and the week — running now.
The Scoop Trail
Walk the trail, stamp the passport.
A 7-stop route across town with turn-by-turn navigation and a passport you fill as you go.
7 stops
The Arcade · 2026-09
The Pour
Closing time, and the machine is already running. Lay pipe ahead of the serve to get it from the hopper to the last cone — and the further it travels, the thicker it gets.
About 10 minutes · no account
This Week
What's on around town.
A reviewed window into the week in Fort Collins, refreshed as listings clear.
Updated weekly
Reading Packages
Curated collections that go deep on a single topic — related reviews and guides bundled into one reading path.
dossier01
The Complete Dietary Guide to Fort Collins Ice Cream
Everything you need to know about gluten-free, vegan, and low-sugar options at every shop in Fort Collins.
- Where can I eat ice cream with celiac disease in Fort Collins?
- Which shops serve real vegan ice cream vs. just sorbet?
feature02
The Fort Collins Ice Cream Trail
Visit every ice cream shop in Fort Collins with our guided route, insider tips, and tasting notes.
- Can I walk to every shop in one day?
- What's the best route through town?
feature03
Fort Collins' Best Ice Cream: The Full Story
Our complete methodology, top picks, and the data behind our rankings.
- What's the actual best ice cream in Fort Collins?
- How do you score each shop?
Follow the city by the scoop.
Ice cream stops first, with nearby restaurants, breweries, coffee, bakeries, and food trucks mapped as route context.
162 businesses · Updated weekly from Google
Ice Cream34
Restaurants40
Breweries33
Coffee54
Food Trucks0
The scoop trail
Editorial trail preview · schematic, not to scale
Open the mapThe Desks
Four desks, four beats, and the name accountable for each.
SMThe Counter
Sarah Mitchell
Reviews
Opinionated, menu-literate reviews under one repeatable five-axis scorecard.
Read the desk →JHThe Dipper
June Hart
City Guides & Service
Guides, public processes, trails, routes, and practical check-before-you-go plans.
Read the desk →TBThe Churn
Theo Bell
People, Work & Culture
People-first features about local history, builders, work, craft, and culture—warm, patient, and on the record.
Read the desk →From the Magazine
Guides, trails, and the stories behind Fort Collins's ice cream scene.
01Ice Cream Is the Hook. Fort Collins Is the Subject.A publisher's note on widening this magazine into a more useful, curious record of Fort Collins—without abandoning the signature scoop.Read story 02The Website Isn't the Product AnymoreInside the publisher's Local Business Factory experiment: why a local-business site matters most when it connects the work behind the screen.Read story 03The Trail Is a Field Notebook, Not a Best-Of ListHow to use the Fort Collins ice cream trail honestly: as a geography-first scouting tool, with rankings and recommendations kept in their own evidence lanes.Read story
The Field Shop · opening collection
Carry the next issue.
Field layers, route goods, working desk objects, and issue-one pieces drawn from the magazine itself.
Opening collection preview · Shopping opens soon.
Visit the Field Shop
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