Found this place after dinner and decided to try. The menu has absolutely everything you could ever want so props there! Hard, soft, milkshakes, slushies, you name it. Tried the raspberry sorbet which was very tasty and my husband had the cherry icecream which was also very good. Might be normal for the area but prices seemed a bit high. Almost $12 for two small single scoops so 1 star off for that. read more

The Big Dipper Ice Cream Stand - Cherry Blossom icecream on the left. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - North Reading, Massachusetts

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So far all the flavors we've had here have been yummy. There is a wide range to choose from. The servers aren't very friendly. Pricing seems to be on par with mostly everyone else around and the sizes seem average. I'd say it's a pretty decent place to grab an icecream or milkshake to go. read more

This is a good ice cream shop that also has hot dogs. The employees are friendly and the ice cream is a good value. They only take cash but have an ATM on site if needed. read more

I have stopped here for a frappe after hitting the driving range but I was never able to sample the ice cream alone. We went on a Sunday night. Service was good, not friendly but efficient. But the ice cream was not very good. Overly sweet and full of artificial coloring. The banana ice cream tasted like a cheap banana pudding flavor and very yellow. The pistachio (stated w/shells on the menu, legally covering their ass) was fake green. Creamy texture but when you cheap out on ingredients then you cheap out on the cream too. No kiddie sizes but portions were big. Cash only with their ATM outside. I'll stick to Cal's. The mosquitoes ate well. read more

Went for the first time after seeing their greatly run social media page. Upon arrival we noticed there was zero line which was strange since it was only 730 on a hot summer night. The server was very unwelcoming and seemed inconvenienced that we ordered. We ordered six small soft serve ice creams and wow are they small. Maybe one scoop, IF that. And by the time the girls handed us our ice creams, after seeing them sit there behind the counter for all six to be done, most were already half melted. $40 on 6 small melted ice creams. We decided to walk to check out the mini golf course. Save your money folks. Course is not well maintained and the property grounds smelt like pure sewage!! Needless to say this was a one and done trip for us. read more

Cash only, and expensive considering it is not house made ice cream. It is convenient to the driving range but that's about it read more

Love that they have vegan options for me and a pup cup for my dogs great family owned business

The absolute best soft serve ice cream around. Massive selection of hard ice cream as well, but the soft serve is the shining star of The Big Dipper. It's a good thing that they are only open seasonally, because it's dangerous that I live close to here. One thing I will say is that the prices do continue to increase each year, which I understand, but in any given summer, the cost of my twist cone with sprinkles is different every time depending upon who is working. It could be $3.50; it could be $3.00 -- it is always a mystery as to what I'll be charged at any given visit. I imagine the issue may be due to temporary help not knowing how to charge for certain things and perhaps needing better training. Other than that, I highly recommend this location. Pro tip: the line is almost always shorter here than at DQ, so that's another bonus. Pro tip #2: It's CASH ONLY, but they do have an ATM. read more

If you want horrible service and vegan ice cream that is not edible - then this would be the place to go. Vegan ice cream crumbled and was not good. When the server was notified they seemed not to care and would not give a replacement. We thought something was wrong and wanted to notify them, that did not seem to matter. So disappointed for a local place that we would prefer to go to. read more

The Big Dipper? More like the Big Ripper! I'm a big fan of Gifford's ice cream. Beats the local hero Richardson's in quality, taste and variety of flavors. I don't think I've found it too far south of Manchester, NH so it is a treat to be able to buy it right next door to me. At the same time, $6 per scoop is ridiculous, especially when a small is about the size of a Hoodsie. read more

The Big Dipper Ice Cream Stand - people standing outside - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - North Reading, Massachusetts

The "Big Dip" was in my wallet. My vegan chocolate was ok (I've had better) but the most disappointing part was the amount I received. I ordered a medium and it wasn't any bigger than my GF's small. She did think her Heathbar Crunch frozen yogurt was pretty good. read more

We have tried this place on a few occasions and have never been impressed. It is outrageously overpriced, the customer service is slow and unfriendly and if you stay and eat at the picnic benches, you will be covered head to toe in mosquito bites. The selection of flavors is impressive and interesting which is why we have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but, don't waste your money on this place, except for maybe a special occasion. Here's the 2 scoop cup for almost $6 in my 11year old son's hand. read more

The Big Dipper Ice Cream Stand - 2 scoops almost $6-tapered cup and the second scoop barely makes it above the rim! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - North Reading, Massachusetts

Our go to ice cream place! We love the s'mores and big dipper flavors but they've got tons to choose from. Our dog also loves the pup cup. read more

The Big Dipper Ice Cream Stand - a dog in a red jacket - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - North Reading, Massachusetts

Really good soft serve! The Big Dipper is one of my favorite places in this area for soft serve ice cream. Parking can be pretty tricky during peak times, especially if the flower shop next door is busy, and it's on a pretty busy road. They only use real ice cream in their ice cream and it shows. Creamy and perfect on a summer day! They also play great music. Love those 80s tracks! Be aware- they only take cash here, and I didn't see an ATM. read more

Yummy ice cream Cash only - ATM on premises Hubby got soft serve liked it My daughter and I got traditional ice cream also yummy read more

Stopped by today with my husband and got Sundaes. The service was quick and staff very friendly. Sundaes were the perfect size and tasted amazing. read more

Love, love, love the Big Dipper. Wide variety of flavors, delicious ice cream/yogurt, and best of all excellent customer service....by far the best choice in the area read more

Thank you for being open during COVID-19! You were so smart to use individually wrapped spoons too! We really apprecIate finding an open ice cream store! read more

The ice cream is good but the value is quite poor. For $5.00 I was given a small scoop in a cup. I compare this to my favorite Richardsons and DandiLyons who both have a much cheaper cost and provide a greater quantity of product - I'm still fuming over the ripoff. Moms and Dads, you will save more $ by visiting other locales. read more

Yummy ice cream! My husband got the Big Dipper, the dogs split a small Vanilla Soft Serve (I also tried it and it was so creamy, the use milk local cows), and I got a Strawberry Frappe. All of them were so good and tasted homemade. The Bigger Dipper had lots of M & Ms, fudge, and chocolate chunks, perfect for a sweet tooth. The Strawberry Frappe had the perfect amount of Strawberry flavor and was really smooth. We definitely recommend! read more

In the past I felt you got a good ice cream for a reasonable price. The last couple of times we have stopped here the portions are smaller and the price was more than the product should command Stopped here tonight, got a small chocolate soft serve, I was so surprised when it was handed to me. I have seen kiddy versions larger than what I got. Incredibly disappointing, time to find a new place read more

The softserve tasted great but they didn't have any chocolate dip.

Not evident from the road sign but they serve Gifford's ice cream here. A friend and I stopped in on a Friday afternoon and she asked to try the toasted coconut and whether or not it was made with coconut milk. The young man behind the counter said "I don't know, I'll let you decide" and handed her the sample. Hmmmm... probably not a great answer if people had allergies. But luckily my friend did not, she was just curious. She decided to get it because it had shredded coconut and was quite tasty. I decided on the coffee heath bar which had a generous portion of health bar bits in it along with fudge swirls. Two kiddie cups (one scoop each) with a sugar cone on top was $9.50. Creaminess: 3 Quantity of mix-in's: 5 Service: 1 for product knowledge but 4 for friendliness Value: 1 ($9.10 for two kiddies) rather steep read more

Best banana split I've had in long time. 3 great ice creams and fresh toppings . Might be my new favorite place for a summer treat. read more

We went there today and the service was fantastic! Such a nice polite kid was working. We were highly impressed how clean it is, great customer service and the pistachios ice cream was so good! My daughter had the frozen yogurt blueberry oat crumble and she absolutely loved it! We will definitely be back!! read more

We love this place .. owners are the nicest people and staff always courteous and always get it right we look forward to coming back for more next season read more

Very interesting selection of flavors - some sounded cute and kid friendly. I like not seeing the standard selection. As others have said, very friendly service. Appreciate the niceness on days when you know they've seen never ending lines. The line went pretty fast. I tried the kiddie size (big) lemon cookie. I hadn't seen lemon as a flavor before. I liked the lemon part - very refreshing. The cookie part was just so so. Didn't taste that great but my ice cream eating partner liked it so probably just me. I'd love it if they had a stand alone lemon flavor. Price was reasonable. Plenty of parking. I'll be stopping by again! read more

It's been a while since my last yelp review, but I'll come out of retirement for Big Dipper. Unreal ice cream, super friendly service, nice seating area, basically a great summer outing for me and the fam. We went yesterday on the Fourth of July, no line and easy parking (shocking since the Dairy Queen down the street was packed?!) The campfire s'mores and mint cookie were standouts. It is cash only and a little pricey (I paid an even $20 for 4 cups, 2 with a cone and sprinkles) but it was worth it for fast holiday ice cream. read more

Stopped by at closing time on Saturday night. They couldn't have been more accommodating. They served us even though it was late and were just about closed. The ice cream (cherry vanilla and blueberry) were delicious. Our friends thoroughly enjoyed theirs also. Highly recommend. Many ice cream flavors that we can't wait to try. read more

Yummy fresh ice cream and a gazillion different choices! Never a long line and the staff is always super friendly!!! We found this place a year ago and we come all the way from Reading to get our ice cream fix! It's also great you have plenty of gf and low fat options too!!! read more

Holy crap! This is LITERALLY the best ice cream I've had in New England. Fun flavors and toppings, information on each flavor for those who have dietary restrictions, and the most creamy, rich texture I think I've ever tasted. The amazing customer service from the friendly workers just makes this place my favorite and worth the drive from Boston. read more

This place is great! Try the soft serve - it is made with real ice cream - crazy delicious!!! Very friendly staff ! Gifford's of Maine ice cream, grilled cheese sandwiches and hot dogs - what else do you need? read more

The Big Dipper Ice Cream Stand - Who needs DQ - we have 'The Big Dipper'!!! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - North Reading, Massachusetts

Really friendly staff, they have a couple different soft serve flavors which were really good. I'm definitely coming back and i definitely recommend this place! read more

Went here today and it was amazing. I got the caramel sundae and wow so much caramel. I will be back. I highly recommend this place.

DON'T GO IF YOU DON'T HAVE CASH! This is a cash only- that's my only complaint. Many many flavors, great prices, and many areas to sit. Mini golf right next door so it's the perfect venue! read more

Terrific ice cream located right beside a mini golf/driving range. Cash only. Great flavors and nice outdoor seating.

Delicious however if I'm going to spend $6 for a couple scoops I would like them to earn that six bucks and not be as small.

FANTASTIC! Love that they serve a different brand then Richardson's! While I do love Richardson's, it's nice to have something different for a change. There are no lines, the flavors are great (I had the S'mores, dirty vanilla, and chocolate everything). There are so.many.choice! DEFINITELY BETTER THEN DAIRY QUEEN! read more

Yum. This is fantastic ice cream. I've had four hard flavors so far. Besides the taste, the consistency of their hard ice cream is absolutely perfect! Not too hard, not too soft. Although somewhat on the pricey side, the portions are ridiculously generous. Also, it seems that the lines here are a lot shorter than at Dairy Queen or DandiLyons. I can't wait to go again! read more

Love the ice cream at Big Dipper. Just a caveat....their serving size has decreased and their prices have increased! My husband and I were stunned when we went there his past weekend; had one small scoop of ice cream and kiddie soft serve cone = $9.10!!!!! Yikes. read more