Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery

One of the best country ice cream definitely. Such a beautiful place and if the weather is good, do not miss a chance to plan with your family here. Lots of open space and you get to see the cow ‘s grazing too. Do not miss their local ice cream flavors.

We searched google for Best ice cream in Cary area and Howling Cow was one in the list. The place is lovely, service was nice, price was reasonable and the ice cream was really yummy. It was crowded, all the outdoor seats were occupied so we sat inside enjoying our ice cream. This will be our go to when we crave for ice cream.

Insanely busy (30-45 minute waiting time) but the scenery and ice cream makes it worth it - massive scoops and great flavors!

Howling Cow is the perfect mix of education and enjoyment. The ice cream is rich, creamy, and made with milk from cows right on the farm. The Dairy Education Center gives visitors a unique look into how dairy products are made, and the Randleigh Dairy Museum offers interactive exhibits for all ages. The porch with rocking chairs and views of the pastures make it a relaxing stop. It can get busy on weekends, but it’s absolutely worth the visit.

This place sells NCSU brand ice cream with many different flavors. The ice cream is made directly from the cows on the farm. If you love ice cream, this is the place to be.

Howling Cow is amazing! From Cow to Cone is the motto, and they mean it. The ice-cream is fresh and delicious. The cows outside are so cute. I went on a sunny afternoon and I was mooing to the cows and one walked up to the fence. Adorable!

This is my favorite ice cream and I will go sooo far out of the way for it! Even if there is a line it moves pretty quick and the cows nearby are so cute. I’ve never had a bad ice cream flavor here and personally recommend buttered almond ❤️

I visited Howling Cow Dairy Education Center yesterday while in North Carolina visiting my mom and stepdad. My husband and I tried the ice cream nachos, and they were absolutely delicious! You could really tell the ice cream is made with high-quality ingredients. The experience was great overall — even though there was a long line, it was definitely worth the wait. While waiting, you get to enjoy beautiful scenery and watch the cows, which was a nice touch. There’s plenty of space for kids to run around and have fun too. The only downside was that parking was a bit limited for the number of visitors, but it didn’t take away from the visit at all. Highly recommend stopping by if you’re in the area!

My wife and I are fans of Howling Cow ice cream. We get it from our local Harris Teeter stores in Chapel Hill and Durham. Howling Cow is a product of NC State, but the ice cream we get from Harris Teeter is actually produced in my hometown of High Point. I wonder how that came to be. The prices we've paid have been $4.49 (price with VIC card discount, regularly $4.99) and $3.50 per pint (on sale). I rank the flavors we've had as follows: 1. Campfire Delight 2. Cookie Dough^2 3. Cookies & Cream 4. Butter Almond 5. Chocolate Chip Mint My wife disagreed with me, as she often does when it comes to food. She liked Butter Almond the best and said the rest of the flavors were about the same. In addition to disagreeing on the flavors, we disagreed on the consistency. Currently, the ice cream brand we buy the most from grocery stores is Tillamook (from Oregon). I think Tillamook ice cream is richer and creamier than Howling Cow and therefore, better since I prefer creamier ice cream. My wife thought Howling Cow had denser, less airy texture compared to Tillamook. So, I inferred she preferred the consistency of Howling Cow to Tillamook. Overall, we agree that Howling Cow ice cream is delicious and we haven't had a single bad flavor yet. It's good ice cream. The Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery is located south of Raleigh proper and NC State's main campus. It's on farmland used by NC State for teaching (e.g., College of Agriculture and Life Sciences). You can get Howling Cow ice cream at the parlor here (to enjoy on-site and in take-home pints), on campus, at the state fair, and in stores like the aforementioned Harris Teeter.

We've drive by this place a couple of times on our way to Yates Mill however this time we stopped by. I believe this has been the best tasting ice cream I've ever had. The flavor was 'baked' into the ice cream and with every bite you were getting the full flavor. The prices are reasonable, and the staff is friendly. It's a peaceful farm setting where you can sit inside or outside to enjoy your ice cream. They have a huge open grass area where kids can run around of you could play some games if you so choose too. We'll be back

The best and freshest ice cream anywhere! This was my first time going to this location, I usually go to the Howling cow on N.C. State campus this one had more options and you can sit outside and watch the cows that supplied the cream. I had the salted caramel one scoop in a waffle cone it was delicious! Next time I want to try the cherry. I will give a lower score to the cashier- we wanted some ice cream to go and she said she couldn't (they sell most of the flavors in a case- they were out of the one we wanted) normally they would just fill one for us.

This was a fun treat. Turns out this dairy farm and creamery is about a 2 minute drive from our homeschool co-op so it just made perfect sense on this fine 80° February day to stop by for a couple of scoops. I had serious trouble deciding between the lemon wafer and the banana pudding but ended up with the lemon wafer. If I'm honest, it reminded me of the girl scout lemon cookies. Not a bad thing at all. Both of my kiddos went for double scoops in giant waffle cones: one cookie dough and another cookies and cream. All very very delicious. The scoops are enormous so if you're a regular person you probably don't need more than a kiddie cone in a cake cup or one of their milkshakes which I saw some other patrons crap. Making a mental note to try the cappuccino flavor or the maraschino cherry when I'm here next. If you're feeling ambitious, sure go for a giant, single or double scoop in a waffle cone with all the fixings. But my goodness this is a lot of ice cream. This would be a good buy for the holidays- grab one of their giant 3 gallon tubs if you have family over. Really friendly staff (they're all students). And it was nice to sit outside on the porch in some giant chairs and actually watch the cows that supplied our treats. Will definitely be back. Things got a little crowded when a tour bus stopped by but by then we were about ready to retire. I've also heard that their chore is really awesome and that you get to really learn a lot about the cows. Adding it to my list of things to do in the Raleigh area. Good times.

Good tasting ice cream (lots of choices). Great dining inside or out. Establishment has a unique outside covered porch dining area option with a nice ambience. Rolling pasture land hills with cows in the distance.

Loved this!!! The atmosphere was amazing, the grounds were so fun to walk around, and ahhh I loved the corn and cows!!! Coming from one South Dakota native to fellow Yelp reader, this is THEE place to get fresh ice cream. We tried a single scoop waffle cone of the Cookie Dough and another with Chocolate Peanut Butter Spin. We sat out on the deck and ate it while watching the cows. Cherry vanilla looked really good, so I'm probably going to have to try that next! The hours are kind of hard to make during the week, so a weekend afternoon was perfect.

Oh i love the ice cream so much! I had BYO split with lemon wafer, strawberry and banana pudding and it was just great. The place is beautiful and big. So much sitting chairs and great space to roam around. You can see cows and big farmland all around while enjoying your ice cream. Kids have so much grass area to play around. Weekend seems little busy but not too much as I was in the for like 10 mins before getting my ice cream. The line goes pretty fast. Will definitely go there again.

Great place to stop for ice cream. We were on the road going somewhere else and stopped for a quick bite. Lots of variety. The ice cream sandwiches are highly recommended but we're not available. You can get all types of sundaes, cones, waffle cones and take home pints. Wish we had more time but it was very family friendly. Lots of people coming after their childrens morning games like we did.

Howling Cow is a great place to get some ice cream and watch the cows from the porch. It is a busy place so there might be a line. My last visit was a colder rainy day so I was surprised of the crowd. Besides ordering the ice cream to eat there they also have to go containers and sell milk. I bought some of the whole milk and some chocolate milk. They have t-shirts for sale too. I was going to get the Elvis Sundae on this visit but they were out of bananas. So I got a scoop of Campfire Delight and another of Peanut Butter Spin. The portions are large and the price isn't bad. The porch wraps around and has rocking chairs to sit and enjoy your ice cream and views of the cows.

I continue to come here often especially when I have family in town. The ice cream served at Howling Cow is incredible. It's rich, filling, and incredibly flavorful. My favorite flavor continues to be Campfire Delight, even after trying nearly all the other flavors. They have ample parking out front and seating inside and outside. Prices are reasonable for quality ice cream. I only wish they had more of their flavors available in pre-packed pints. Yes they can hand pack them, but not always. Overall, we love coming here and will continue to do so!

First of all the wait was out the door.... That's a great problem to have. BUt when you get inside you're met by a pretty stone faced, "resting bitch face" woman screaming at people to close the door, don't stand there, don't do this etc. She was bitching at people parking outside as well. At least 3-4 staff members just standing around while there's one person taking orders. Mind you the line is still out the door..... The ice cream is delish BUT the staff made me not want to come back.

A great spot to chill during the summer heat. Good selection of flavors. Some unique flavors like campfire (graham cracker) are best enjoyed with dairy farm backdrop. I really enjoyed their banana pudding flavor. Highly recommend getting a scoop. Portions are very generous.

First time here. This ice cream was so good and creamy. I chose the chocolate chip mint and chocolate. Why? Because that's what I get at other places and it was a great way to compare. Next time we're in town, I'll definitely try different ones. Students of NC State are the employees. They have a few tables inside and a great porch with some tables outside to sit on.

Beautiful spot and great views. You feel so far removed from the city without the drive! There's a ton of seating outside and area to walk. There's several rocking chairs to kick back in. I love the vibe here. One thing to note though is they don't allow pets because of the proximity of the cows. The ice cream is of course amazing. I've tried many flavors over the years but opted for the PB Chocolate for the creamery experience and it was SO GOOD! I'll definitely be back to this spot.

I really can't get enough of this rich and creamy ice cream. Usually when it comes to sweets I prefer pies and cakes over ice cream BUT not when it comes to this stuff. This ice cream is made right on NC State's campus. The milk and cream come directly from NC State's cows on the farm they have...no wonder it's so dang on good. If I didn't live 2.5 hours away I would be there more often. I used to always get the ice cream no matter what when I was visiting my son on campus or even if I was close enough to campus I always planned to get that ice cream and I recently found out about this location on their farm where you can get it, WHO KNEW? My favorite flavor is Butter Almond..,it's creamy, sweet, nutty and just perfect in a waffle cone. Some other favorites our family likes is Banana Pudding, Strawberry and Chocolate. If I ate already the I only get one scoop because it is a pretty decent portion but if I didn't eat, I will be greedy and definitely get 2 scoops, with no shame . Seriously, no ice cream compares to this. Go treat yourself and get this ice cream.

Every fall, it's a tradition in my family to take a walk thru Historic Yates Mill Park and take some pictures of the colorful leaves. Something I never realized is that there's a FANTASTIC ice cream shop literally right across the road from the park. Until now! This spot is affiliated with the NC State Food Science program and is located on the program's working dairy farm. The ice cream dreamed up and produced here has been around for years, previously only available on the downtown NC State campus. Ice cream is spot on. Creamy, sweet, no ice crystals, with big chunks of strawberry in my 2-scoops of strawberry. More than a dozen flavors are offered on a rotating basis, everything from the basics to the unusual. It's also a cool setting. Purchase your ice cream inside & then you can relax on rocking chairs on the big back porch and watch the cows doing their thing in the pasture. You'd never think that you're 10 minutes from downtown Raleigh! This discovery means that I'll need to celebrate nature at the park more often... Now that I know a delicious ice cream reward awaits.

I was excited when I heard about this location! As NC State Alumni, I've always been fan of the ice cream. I was at NC State for a meeting and decided to stop by on my way home. The customer service was quite awkward, its was like no one wanted to serve or talk to me. I almost walked out but decided to grab ice cream anyways. The ice cream is well priced for the quantity. I could tell that the ice cream was fresh. It tasted exactly like it would at the state fair. I would recommend better customer service and hiring folks that actually wants to serve people. Overall, an okay experience -- could be much better.

The lowdown: Ice cream is delicious, the wrap around outdoor porch is great for sitting outside to enjoy your cool treat. The only reason for the 4 is due to many unavailable items and cost.. although I understand, for me it was the only real negative. One of the hottest days of the summer we decided to find a sweet treat that would cool us down. My boyfriend, who happens to be a NCState grad and lover of all NC State affairs suggested we try this place out! It is worth the trip out there. Although a bit pricey, the taste is amazing.

Great destination, great ice cream and fast service. All the workers are NC State students. I will definitely be back!

Wonderful ice cream, amazing flavors and beautiful location. The service is really good too. Highly recommend.

This is my family's favorite place for ice cream in the Raleigh area. The ice cream is amazing and staff is very friendly. There is air conditioned indoor seating as well as a porch with tables, rocking chairs and views of green, rolling hills. We enjoy watching the cows while children have a nice grassy area to run and play. Highly recommend!

Love the location. Ice cream is good and the location is interesting. Howling Cow is a gem from NC State and one I hope stays around for a very long time.

This place was just great. The ice cream was top notch and the experience was even better.

Student run ice cream shop. The ice cream is great, and there are several choices. Every flavor we have tried is delicious. The service was great. We went on a hot, busy day, and there were plenty of people working. Service was quick, and we enjoyed sitting on the porch.

Do you like fresh ice cream? Look no further! You can tell it is fresh right when you get out of your vehicle. Lol you can see the kind of cows from whom they get the milk from. They have a nice environment to roam on and they look like happy bovines. Therefore deliciously made ice cream. What I like most about their ice cream, it is not not one made with air. The scoopers had a hard time scooping because they pack it. Theirs has a nice consistency and depth. The topping aren't just on top and they are generous so every bite includes everything they advertise. Also, they give a good portion, an added plus!! The line outside seems long but it moves fast. If they tell you one if your party needs to stay inside so you can hear your order number, please let one if your group stay in. The scoopers do not have time to deliver orders outside. I had to call the patron ahead of us because he didn't understand that he was supposed to stay inside yo get his order. When I got my order, how big it was. I got a waffle cone and my child got a cup. We could've stayed and watched the cows but we didn't have time. Maybe next time If you are in the area, check them out! You won't be disappointed.

What to do on a Sweltering hot Summer day? Howling cow ice cream to the rescue. As an NCSU Grad, I am embarrassed to admit that I had never been to the HC Dairy farm before today. Located on Lake Wheeler rd. approximately 1 mile(?) from Tryon rd, it is God's country but, but readily accessible. It is in a medium sized building, which was very clean, and there is indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor guests are treated to watching the Cows in their pasture while enjoying the ice cream. Ice cream menu has 6-8 flavors, several banana splits & sundae options, waffle cones, sodas, and milk. We had a chocolate peanut butter brownie sundae and 2 scoops chocolate peanut butter waffle bowl. Definitely hit the spot! Employees were friendly, and order was fulfilled in a timely manner. We sat outside, on the covered patio, and thoroughly enjoyed our Summer indulgence. P.S-Good value. $13 for our order.

Located down the street from the Historic Yates Mill park which was the original destination but happen to turn into the icecream place by accident. What a treat! Great icecream and wonderful pastoral views. My new ice cream go to place! Daily open 12-7p.

Dying for some homemade ice cream here's the place. Cherry Vanilla is out of this world.

Love this place!!! The ice cream is excellent!! Every flavor I've tried is so good! My favorite is the strawberry. They also sell pints here. They don't do cash! Also no dogs are allowed. I've seen other families come here and have a picnic and then eat ice cream it's a nice spot. You can see the farm land all around. Don't go too fast on lake wheeler or you might miss it! It's across from Yates Mill.

Delicious, fresh made ice cream! This place started from a lab at NCSU, and is pretty well-known in the area now. Have a decent number of flavors and they all sound amazing. I never really like lemon-flavored dessert but this lemon wafer one is great! Wolf tracks is yummy and not too sweet. Their milk is okay, just normal. The place is located near Yates Mill County Park so definitely stop by for some ice cream after you visit the park. There are cows a couple steps from the store so you can enjoy your ice cream while watching them too if you want lol.

The howling cow dairy store is located on the NC State agricultural campus literally overlooking the cow pastures for a beautiful rural setting At this time they're only doing pints and 3 gallon containers to go and have a very good system for which you can do it. You pull up outside and stay in your car they take your order and credit card no cash and then you pull forward to pick up your order The pints are five dollars and the 3 gallons Ron about 44 so this is definitely premium ice cream pricing but the venue is awesome

I love that Howling Cow dairy farm is an option! I've always enjoyed a scoop at the state fair and now you can enjoy it almost anytime. My mom was visiting from out of town and we decided to stop in for a scoop. She got the salted caramel and I got the banana pudding. The salted caramel was the winner; so delicious!!! I wasn't a huge fan of the banana pudding, but I have loved all the other flavors I've tried. It's also such a nice view to watch the cows while enjoying some ice cream.

What a wonderful adventure! A great spot for an afternoon hangout. An educational yet yummy experience! Every kind of sundae or split you can think of. Grab a scoop, or take some to go! The observatory is beautiful. A great family fun activity. Ice cream was great. Smiling faces behind the counter. Rocking chairs to kick back and relax. Ample parking. Locally sourced ingredients. Compostable packaging. Bring a picnic blanket and enjoy a beautiful setting! Farm to fork & super neat for children to see full circle. Totally recommend.

Went to celebrate finishing our finals, best brownie sundae in Raleigh very nice environment to relax and enjoy some good dairy. Yum! Staff was very nice.

Amazing job I love how nice they were I done a tour with The NYSP group and they showed us the hole area and then gave us ice cream

This place is an experience. It's very far out, in the middle of the country. you wait in a REALLY long line (like, even at an off time) and order your treat, then wait for them to call your number. It doesn't seem like the most efficient ice cream place but, like i said, it's an experience and you are supporting NC State's Dairy by visiting. There are lots of cows to look at while you wait. There's also a huge lawn so you can bring a picnic blanket or just let your kids run around. I tried two scoops of ice cream that were both phenomenal. I especially loved the chocolate and cherry flavor. I would definitely come back, if I were in the neighborhood!

Oh my, the smell of freshly made waffle cones just hits you when you walk in and you can't help but smile. Excellent quality ice cream and a great view to boot!

Fresh, real ice cream with plenty of outdoor seating. You can watch the cows grazing and feel great about supporting The Wolf Pack" (its staffed by NC State students and is located on the NC State farm).

Stopped by to try some ice-cream and we had such a nice time!! The staff were very polite and helpful, I ordered the PB Brownie Sundae and it was delicious!! Afterwards we got to sit outside and watch the cows, so cute! They have a bunch of rocking chairs set out to enjoy both the ice cream and cow watching- it's such a nice relaxing atmosphere! There is also plenty of seating Inside if you want to avoid the flies, there are quite a few, but you'd expect no less! Definitely worth stopping by!

I love howling cow ice cream. We stop here everytime we take the doggo for a walk at Lake Wheeler and grab some pints as well. It's a lovely location with the views of the cows. It's drive up service due to covid but you can sir in the parking lot, grass or their porch once you've ordered! Highly recommend.

Great little gem in good ole Raleigh, NC. Delicious and one of our fav spots! Great place for a date night or even family time. Go visit!

This ice cream is so good and creamy! We even got some pints to go. It's drive thru only bc of Covid, but there is plenty of parking and if you tune the radio to 1606.5 they will tell you all about the cows and the farm.

I am lactose intolerant and one day my husband suggested to come here on an empty stomach after church I could not help myself but the ice cream lover that I am I order 1 scoop of the Wolftrack and one scoop of the campfire delight my stomach was able to enjoy the ice cream with no complications. Wish they would sale it in quartz or gallons.

Ice cream was okay but it would've been nice to had a chance to sample the flavors. They don't allow you to sample any flavors. Therefore we just stuck with a standard chocolate and strawberry and it was fine. Don't know that I would make an extra trip back though

This is a great location to get some delicious Howling Cow ice cream or any other dairy products; I was so glad to pick some containers of delicious eggnog. Due to Covid, they are doing a drive-through service for customers. It's such an easy way for everyone to be safe and enjoy the dairy products! You pull up next to the building/tent to order your items (there's a menu on the dry-erase board). Once you place an order, you will drive up a little more and someone will bring your order to your car. I also picked up a cute NC State insulating bag while at it! :)

We went there after visiting the sunflowers field. Love the backyard that my kids can enjoy their ice cream, watch the cows. The homemade ice cream was good and the price was reasonable, one scoop with waffle cone costs $5. Support the idea and the food program, it is educational and you can't find another place to enjoy your ice cream like this.

This was a great place to visit during COVID, as there is plenty of outdoor area to sit and have your ice cream. I got the wolf tracks flavor and it was very tasty. Great place to get ice cream with friends.

This was such a great find. So glad we came. Mostly importantly the ice cream-I had an ice cream sandwich with wolf tracks ice cream. Swirls of fudge in vanilla ice cream with mini peanut butter cup chunks between Warm gooey chocolate chip cookies. The ice cream was smooth and fresh tasting- delicious! We got here just when it was getting dark so we didn't get to enjoy the view of the dairy farm and the cows roaming. They have a nice back porch with rocking chairs and table and chairs to sit at. Love the fact that this is all part of NC State. The students work at the dairy store. Definitely a must when in the Raleigh area.

Seriously one of the top 3 ice creams I have had in my life. Wow. There is only joy and praise for this place. And, what better way to eat ice cream than to sit on a porch watching the cows?!?!

Fantastic ice cream and venue! The line was out the door when we got there but the crew was super efficient and it moved very quickly. It's in a beautiful area and it's nice to sit out on the rockers to relax while enjoying the ice cream.