Nelson’s Drive Inn Dairy Store

This place is fun! The first person to order in our group asked for two dips. It was a lot and the rest of us learned from that and ordered child size portions which were huge (although you can tell your server when to stop loading it on). They had lots of flavors to choose from. The shtick from the servers was to give good tips which we didn’t mind doing, especially since the ice cream price was so reasonable. We went on a rainy day with two kids and didn’t want ice cream all over the car so we stood inside the store. There are no inside tables but plenty of outside tables for a non-​rainy day. No credit cards but ATM machine available. Despite the inconvenient rain we enjoyed the experience.

Loveeee Nelsons :) my favorite ice cream shop! But on warmer days do expect to be waiting in a long line! But it’s totally worth it.

I just ate all of the «child size» and am beyond stuffed /​halfway nauseous. And I’m a fat kid. It’s the best value for your money in all of America.
There were three HS-​aged girls working and they were killin’ it. Line moved quick. Kudos, ladies.
The place has been open since 1923 and it’s no wonder why. Great job everybody.
PS — Monster Cookie is the way to go.

Awesome Ice cream! And huge portions. It’s hard to say that someplace is the «best» ice cream, but this one is definitely a top 5%. Don’t miss it if you are ever in Stillwater.

Dying to go into a sugar coma for under $ 5? Nelson’s is the perfect place for you.
The portions are huge. HUGE. HUUUUUGE. I get a kid’s size and can barely finish it… and any anyone who knows me knows I live for desserts.
The place is small, but they pack the ice cream flavors in, something like 80 flavors? And unlike Coldstone and the like, each flavor tastes like an individual flavor– not like they just added some different ingredients to the same base flavor.
You might have to wait on a summer evening, or on a warm afternoon after the high school lets out. And bring cash. They don’t mess around with technology.
The pirate’s booty is a particularly great flavor, as is the pink peppermint. And the Spumoni. Heck, they’re all good!

Nelson’s is such a fun place to visit with great ice cream! Just make sure you order a kids size — I can’t even imagine how big a regular size would be! The kids size is already the size of a large softball or a baby’s head! The line can be long especially when the weathers nice, but it’s truly worth it! Oh and don’t eat any other meals the day you go! There won’t be any room for Nelson’s ice cream otherwise!

A Stillwater landmark and institution. There is no better ice cream place anywhere.

Once upon a time, it was maybe 90 degrees out with a crazy heat index and I decided it would be an appropriate day to explore downtown Stillwater — should have thought about that twice! Do not plan on antiquing unless you are prepared to feel like you are visiting your great aunt’s non-​air conditioned home somewhere in Savannah, Georgia. After what felt like a trek through the Sahara desert, my friend and I decided to get a sweet treat to beat the heat so we stopped at Nelson’s.
There was a line out the door but it moved very fast and the staff were friendly and efficient. EVERYONE in line ordered a kid size cone because the amount of ice cream they pack into that waffle cone is INSANE. like in the membrane. No small child or large adult should be consuming that amount of ice cream in one, or maybe 10 sittings, but it is still amazing and they let you mix flavors. All of the ice cream is Kemps but they have a very large selection of unique options to choose from — I went with the Superman and the Raspberry sorbet and my friend went with the coconut chip, which is essentially an almond joy in ice cream form. The whole experience was enjoyable and the perfect way to cool down.
The end.
Oh yeah, some notes: Parking is plentiful in their private lot — or else there’s tons of street parking nearby. Seating is only available outside and this location is cash only. After you order, make sure you ask for an extra bowl to reallocate your ice cream cause there is no way that sucker is not going to melt all over your hand… and GRAB EXTRA NAPKINS Y’ALL. For those of you who read this and completely disregard my napkin tip, don’t worry, there’s a sink where you can wash your hands right next to the trashcans.

If you are in Stillwater and like ice cream, you cannot miss Nelson’s. It’s impossible to make a mistake in ordering — all the flavors are wonderful. My personal favorites are the white chocolate raspberry and Java. I would recommend scaling down in size when ordering, however. The servings are HUGE. I usually get a child’s size and it’s still more than I can eat by myself.

Nothing special about this place. They serve «Kemps» ice cream in a ginormous portion. Because of the size of the ice cream, most people become wasteful when they go to Nelson’s…
I saw most of people order child size but could only finish half of their ice cream and tossed away the other half including me and my friends. Do the owner really want to see the customers throw their food away? I hope not. We can’t really finish!!! Neither did most people.
While it’s a cool concept to serve giant ice cream to impress customer, I think the store also needs to look into their social responsibility and perhaps service a baby portion so we are able to finish our food.

Huh. I wonder how much raspberry chocolate chunk will push me past that invisible event horizon between so full I’m angry and sad and disappointed in myself and so sick that I have to purge in the conveniently located outdoor industrial sink?
The answer is the difference between the absurdly named «child» and «single» sizes. Or about a pint and a half of what’s probably just kemps Ice cream. I mean, are you serious? How can a business be plying the tiny town of stillwater with this repurposed and recolored bog sludge? Only by serving socially irresponsible portions under the guise of small town cute.
Come here if you want way way way too fucking much shitty ice cream. One star because they also have a conveniently placed outdoor hose for all of your high school friends to hose you down with when you have a diabetic siezure and mess all over yourself.

Get a child size cup! You still get like 5 scoops! They will let you choose more than one flavor. Bring cash, as they do not take cards or checks. There’s an ATM inside, but I don’t know the fee.
Sit outside and eat! No room for indoor seating. Use the sink outside to wash up. Grab extra napkins on the way out the door.
Great prices, delicious Brown’s brand ice cream and a local tradition! Get there before 8pm!

Hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about Nelson’s. This place really can’t be beat. Great ice cream at an incredible value. We love biking here along the gateway and end up splitting a child size amongst the wife and I and our two toddlers. That might sound like not nearly enough, but if it doesn’t, you’ve never been to Nelson’s.

After you have something this good you can’t just go back to Dairy Queen. Ice cream will just never feel the same. Nelson’s is the only place I WANT to go for ice cream. I will even make the trip if there are plenty of more convenient ice cream shops around for a few reasons:
1. Huge portions, just colossal mounds of Ice cream for the smallest size available (A single is easily enough for two people).
2. Incredibly cheap for a «serving» of ice cream let alone their servings are gigantic.
3. Best tasting ice cream you can find around
4. SO MANY FLAVORS! I get anxiety while waiting in line staring at all my options.
Be prepared to wait in line. On a nice summer night I can promise you there will be a line out the door. There’s a line out the door if its raining I feel like. This place is super popular for good reason. The line moves quick though and is definitely worth the wait!

A-​OK.
Nelson’s ice cream is the equivalent to every brew pub. I just don’t get it. It’s not bad and I’d go there again, but I can also go to the store and buy the exact same thing for less with no line and enjoy it wherever/​however I want.
I knew they served Kemp’s ice cream here. I was just expecting a little more atmosphere. Why is everyone freaking out over a large ice fishing house that sells huge portions of Kemp’s ice cream for $ 5? It’s not even a reasonable walk off the main strip of Stillwater.
It’s a fair price. It’s good ice cream. It’s not going to melt your brain.
Complaint: No prices listed anywhere, cash only. Should put a sign on the door that says «we like to make things awkward.» There is an ATM inside that has the speed of a 1992 Mac on dialup.
Redeeming quality: They make shakes (though not obvious) and it was pretty damn good.

The exterior doesn’t look like much. There are no seating inside and/​or any décor that is worth talking about. But let me tell you the crew and service is top notch. They are like a bunch of minions that have had way too much sugar or candy during their childhood. They are so ridiculously honest what you need that you have to second guess yourself what the heck have just happened…
You are probably wondering, «WTHeck is this reviewer saying?! Is the reviewer had a brain freeze over too much ice-​cream and talking non-​sense?!» In the words of the famous philosopher, Arron Rodgers, «…R.E.L.AX.»
I took my whole family here from a long day of shopping and looking @ antiques (trust me on this, y-​chromosome humans[male] don’t pick this activity on their own free will). My son’s demand payback for this monstrosity (I agree but didn’t need death threats from the Y-​less chromosomes leaders in the group). Hence on the way home we gotta have some ice-​cream!!!
My wife and 9 yr old girl was gladly picked the SMALLEST sundae cup which is called «Child» size. When it comes to my 14 yr old boy who likes put me in debt via eating everything in sight requested a 2 scoops sundae cup.
This is where the ridiculously helpful crew comes in. His name was ‘John’(Not sure that is his real or ‘professional’ name) who was a pretty big guy and took one look at us and said, «Relax (must be a Packer’s fan)…I will take care of you…» After pilling on tons of ice cream into my cup, he asked me if that was ‘good’ enough for me. I nodded confidently and surely like a man-​child who was intimidated by my server. My son got roughly the same… When we got to the cashier, our server said both of us got a «Child» size. Although I should be offended for not getting beyond «child» size, my wallet were quite content. Needless to say, we were quite satisfied with the ice cream and I never want to see another cone for @ least 2 – 3 weeks.

There’s no way to beat the price and quality of the ice cream. I’ve been going here since I was a teen and made the stop here on my annual trip home to Minnesota with my daughter. Who cares if their ice cream isn’t made in house — it’s still delicious and the servings are beyond huge. NEVER order anything bigger than a child’s size unless you have a group of 4 to split it with!
My favorite has always been chocolate peanut butter, but this year I switched it up and went white chocolate raspberry and was not disappointed. The only disappointment was that there wasn’t enough room in my stomach! My 5 year old did a great job and finished almost half of her child size peppermint bon bon, and my mom had black cherry. They’ve had most of these flavors forever, and the crowds keep coming back so they’re doing something right.
Definitely order it in a cup. There won’t be any room in your tummy for a cone!

I felt like a total sucker after spending my money here.
They should change their motto to, «serving ice cream made by other companies since 1923». I should have just gone to Cub Foods or Dairy Queen.
After going to Grand Olé’ Creamery and Izzy’s Ice Cream a week ago, I was eager to try Stillwater’s ice cream claim to fame – Nelson’s! So four of us waited in line for half an hour.
We saw the HUGE portions coming out the door and got excited. But when we finally got to the front, we saw the empty cardboard ice cream containers from Cedar Crest and Kemps sitting in the trash can behind the counter!!! Are you kidding me???
I feel like a total chump after waiting in line for half an hour for the same mediocre ice cream I could have purchased at Cub Foods for a quarter of the price… and with no waiting in line (if I go through the express lane).
We should have driven to Cub Foods and bought pints of some premium ice cream like Bryers, Haagen-​Dazs, or Ben & Jerry’s.
Next time, I’m going to check Unilocal BEFORE I stop and spend money somewhere.
–Daddy Maxx Retro

I don’t why this place would get anything less than 5 stars. Too many haterz out there.
THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!
Seriously. You have a gazillion flavors to choose from (that’s a flight exaggeration, maybe only thirty), and you get SO MUCH ice cream for so little money.
My ice cream was melting faster than I could eat it so I put my cone in a cup they provided, and my belly was getting fuller so I brought the rest home and put it in the freezer and it fed me for days.
I got two flavors: peanut butter chocolate and a salted caramel fudge… or something like that. And it was the bomb dot com.

One of the best ice cream shops I’ve been to. Didn’t know about this place till someone walking along in Stillwater mentioned this place. It is a tiny little joint up a hilly drive. It was a really long wait on a Sunday night at 845pm. And they close at 9pm till it’s summer. We waited hoping to be let in before they closed and we did :-). Tried the French silk pie, praline pecan and Java chip. The ice cream is delicious… Portion size is huge, the people running this shop are so courteous and friendly. On the whole this place is a Winner. I will go back and definitely recommend people to visit. Note: Just forget your calorie /​points counting or nutrition tracking for the day. Just let your controls down & ENJOY YOUR ICE CREAM!