A Visit to Ritchey's Dairy in Martinsburg, PA

White barn-like buiding with red sign reading "Ritchey's Dairy"

Date of Visit: July 26, 2024

One of our favorite summertime activities in recent years has been to follow the Scooped Ice Cream Trail that VisitPA sponsors. It features farm-to-cone creameries throughout the state – many of them located right on the farm.

While visiting the Altoona area, we decided to make a side trip to one of these creameries – Ritchy’s Dairy.

Family of four poses with a giant milk carton at Ritchey's Dairy

Ritchey’s is located a short drive outside Hollidaysburg, Blair County. The drive, at least the way we went, didn’t feel too far “out in the country” until the last two miles on Cross Cove Road where we were surrounded on both sides by farms of all types. One of the first had a sign proclaiming they were a dairy producer for Ritchey’s so we knew this was a truly local operation.

We found the dairy store in a small valley. It’s a small white building with red metal picnic tables outside.

Customers stand at the ice cream counter at Ritchey's Dairy

Inside, it’s a small space that’s filled with goodies. To the right of the entrance is where they are scooping the homemade ice cream for cones and shakes. On the far wall is a freezer with gallon tubs of ice cream and ice cream cakes. The other two walls feature snacks like Middleswarth Potato Chips and a cooler full of Ritchey’s drinks – teas, lemonades, and of course, milk and chocolate milk.

Chocolate ice cream on a waffle cone from Ritchey's Dairy

I got a homemade waffle cone with their chocolate fudge brownie ice cream – an indulgence, for sure, but totally worth it. Jakob, our six-year-old, got a pretzel cone of mint chocolate chip. And Julie got a strawberry cheesecake twister (using their soft ice cream) that she shared with our youngest. He couldn’t get enough of it (but Julie still got most of it – and loved it).

Iced teas and milks in a cooler at Ritchey's Dairy

Afterward, I went back in and grabbed a couple iced teas to enjoy later.

We spent $15 on ice cream and another $2.50 for the tea. In our mind, it was money well-spent.

And the trip to Ritchey’s was definitely a trip worth making.

When You Go

Ritchey’s was about 20 minutes south from our hotel at the southern edge of Altoona. Take I-99 to the Roaring Spring exit and follow Route 36 to Cross Cove Road.
Ritchey’s has limited seating – three tables and a bench in front of the building. Do what we did and share a table and make friends.
In addition to ice cream, Ritchey’s offers a range of dairy products including milk, yogurt, and cream. They also have a line of iced teas and drinks.