Richardson’s Ice Cream Parlor

The wait really wasn’t that bad, and the new picnic tables provided plenty of seating, with a great view for people watching. It’s a goofball magnet for sure. Every freak on vacation ends up here for dessert. Makes it fun just to hang out. Hell, people were probably watching us thinking the same thing!
My son ordered a double, and the girl showed him what a single looked like, and he changed his mind. It was like dumping a whole Ben and Jerrys in a cone. That’s a lot o sugar!
It’s our family’s tradition to ride our bikes there every time we camp in Tahoe. Totally worth the trip, for the grub and the sights !

The new crew working here is very slow. The young men scooping the ice cream were talking and laughing, and at times were in the back room leaving no one up front. We’ve been there many times over the last 20 years, and have always admired the great quality of employees. We were last there in 6-​19-​2016.

This place looks great — but I think it might just have the most incompetent workers in the area (only 2 sloth-​like teenagers and no management). No exaggeration that each cone took 3 – 4 minutes and then 2 min to ring up the sale — we were in line for 20 min and maybe 8 –10 people people were served (40 –50 or so in line out the door) as we finally abandoned the place we walked by 3 – 4 kids crying as their parents pulled them away from this «business». What a joke.

I came here as a child all the time when I was up In Tahoe. Came in and waited over an hour from the door to the counter. Got up to the counter and encountered a young guy who when we gave our order gave us a weird annoyed glare. Okay cool whatever ignore that and just laugh at what a joke that was. Waited another 10 minutes just to get my shake and it tasted like milk and no ice cream. && before this happened a lady had returned her root beer float that had no ice cream in it. If someone’s paying $ 5 for something and waiting over an hour it shouldn’t be tasting like complete crap. Also time to get some new staff members who work quicker and actually want to be there.

The good:
–Tasty ice cream
–Generous portions
NECESSARY improvements:
–More staff
–Efficient staff (I waited close to ah hour the evening of ⁵⁄₂₉)
–Staff that understand what’s ordered (I asked for «a single scoop of cookie dough in a waffle cone and a single scoop of rocky road in a waffle cone» and the dude tried to give me a single cone with a scoop of each flavor.
–Put a sign with the flavors, scoop/​cone/​sundae options and prices OUTSIDE so people can decide what they want in advance, especially if one person is going to order for a group.
–Put up an accurate sign listing flavors both outside and inside the scoop shop (even if it’s hand written). The current sign does not list all the flavors so people waste a bunch of time looking in the freezer and changing their minds.

Very disappointed that they were closed. Why list your hours on Unilocal if you’re not going to be open?
UPDATE: we talked to the manager at the Lodge we are staying at… apparently they are only open during the summer. Would be nice if they update Unilocal to reflect this.

Huge scoops for super low prices! The line is out the door, but it’s worth it on a hot day! We came here after a long day of hiking, and I was in need of a cool-​down ice cream. The staff is very friendly, and they are happy help you sample some of the flavors because if you’re gonna stand in that line for that long, you better get a flavor you’ll like!
I had the mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough, and my mom had the coconut (special of the day) and half rocky road. We each had kids scoops and it was more than enough. The ice cream isn’t the highest quality around in terms of ingredients or texture, but it’s still hits the spot. There are also tables outside for you to enjoy your ice cream, though they are bit sticky…
Overall, it’s a great deal for ice cream that you’ll be craving after a day of activities in Tahoe! Then you can explore the lake and walk around Camp Richardson as you digest your yummy scoops!

Omg! So big ice cream even kids size for me! I’ve been there twice since June when My husband and I went hiking in south Lake Tahoe! We stopped by there after hiking! We love ice cream, we love this ice cream shop!
You can taste some flavored ice creams before you order then you can choose your favorite ones!

If you have time and are in the mood for spending money on ice cream, this place is worth it. Be ready for 30+ min waits if the line is 10 people out the door
We stumbled across this apparent local favorite after driving down from North Tahoe failing to find ice cream. Seeing this place with a line out the door almost to the street made us stop.
I’ll admit, our patience almost faltered, we nearly stepped out of line exclaiming «there’s no way this is worth it!» But the persistence of the many people in line before us made us keep our feet still. (Ended up being at least 30 min).
They have a wide selection of flavors (maybe 14) and 2 special flavors per month. HIGHLY RECOMMEND COOKIES AND CREAM. Orange sherbet and cookie dough were also good, the coffee was a bit strong for my taste. It very creamy and definitely a scoop above the rest.
You can get two flavors with the $ 4 «single» scoop; its nice to share the $ 5 double scoop (a pint). Cones (waffle) are $ 1 extra but I didnt think that was worth it.

Great place to stop. We went in on our way back Bike ridding. One scoop cones are huge. This was the first time my kids could not finish their ice cream. Wow!

Lake Tahoe Must Do checklist:
1. Bring beach towel
2. Sunblock
3. Ice cream at Richardson’s
(Not in any particular order)
Brought my son here after an exciting Tuesday of parasailing and pizza to finish off his 15^th birthday. Made it just in time, as they «Shut» at 9pm.
We were here 5 years ago and both remembered this place is like the Disney saying…“the greatest place on Earth”, well at least for ice cream!
Compared to any ice cream shop in Las Vegas, Richardson’s offers «the biggest bang for the buck.» (i.e., Generous, monster, super size-​me, humongous)…a few adjectives to describe the portion size of their fabulous tasting ice cream cones.
Prices are beyond reasonable for the scoop size.
At least a dozen, maybe 2 dozen, delicious flavors to choose from.
There might be a wait, due to the exceptional friendly customer service and patrons sampling flavors, but it’s well worth the wait.
A few tables inside, and several picnic tables outside among the pine trees.
Located in South Lake Tahoe at Camp Richardson, across the 2-​lane street from the Richardson Marina/​beach/​campground/​historic hotel, next to the coffee and bicycle shop.
Look forward to returning again.

Growing up in Lake Tahoe my mom always took me here as a kid to get ice cream, and I completely forgot how wonderful this little place is until I came back with my fiancé a few days ago on vacation!
It is a tad bit pricey but you honestly get what you pay for. I don’t like to eat that much ice cream so I ordered a kids scoop and she packed so much ice cream into that poor little cone I thought it was going to explode! It was honestly like three regular size scoops! I really felt like I was getting more than what I paid for and I like that the staff is always pleasant.
Their tip jar says saving for college and I think that is so fun! How could you turn down a bunch of kids selling great ice cream to go to college?
You just cant!

Ice cream. Classic, basic ice cream. No this cream isn’t anything special but it’s worth the price. The heaping generous portions are what makes it worth it. The kids size is 3 servings of ice cream folks! I got the pistachio kids size with peanuts. Ice cream all through the cone too!

Ice cream is good regular olé ice cream.
What makes this place great is the size of the scoops.
A single scoop was tough to finish. LoL. Look at other people’s orders before you order. You have been warned.
Tip: you can get two diff flavors with a single size. They are nice about that.
You have been warned about the sizing again.

Lines are so totally worth it! Got a single scoop $ 4.00 in a waffle cone (extra dollar) that was enormous!

Fantastic ice cream quality and MASSIVE serving sizes. My husband and I order the kids size to split in a waffle cone and it’s more than enough for us!
Expect a line but it moves fairly quickly. Staff is very young and energetic. This place is an institution in Camp Richardson.

Meh. It’s a super long line (we waited for over 45 minutes around 5 pm one Saturday) for what is basically average ice cream. It’s Baskin Robbins quality ice cream, which is fine. Great, huge portions. But sorry, waiting for something like that just isn’t worth it.
Customer service was good. I think the line gets backed up when people start trying flavors.
As for flavors, we got the strawberry cheesecake, and the chocolate chip cookie dough — both good.

Delicious ice cream and generous portions. It is very affordable and service was great. Can’t ask for much more. Worth the stop and the long line.

This place just screams «Tourist Trap» — and still the charming wooden porch with its old fashioned vertical Ice Cream sign pulls you in.
Even if there isn’t a horde of people waiting outside the store front, you can expect another 15 – 20 minute wait inside. The faded menu above the service counter is supplemented by a laminated one in the window, which may be easier to read so take a picture. Along with the regularly available flavors, Chocolate Chip and Coconut were offered as specials when I visited.
They ask that you have 3 things ready when you order: size (Kids, Single, Double), container (cup, cake cone, or $ 1 extra for a waffle cone), and flavors (up to 2 in any size). Toppings are available for additional $. They also offer Cake Pops, Sundaes, Shakes, and… well, just go see for yourself. :P The Kids size is enough to satisfy a medium-​sized craving; the Double is for ice cream lovers and second dessert stomachs. If you’ve got a kid, you can have them draw a picture that’s related (even vaguely) to Richardson’s and they’ll tape it up on the wall.
There’s benches on either side of the entrance and a few picnic tables outside the building if you’ve got a bigger group. Richardson’s is a super popular place for bikers («We just burned off some calories, let’s go get ice cream!») and Camp Richardson visitors («I’ve always wanted to eat ice cream on the beach!»). Which means, legal parking may be difficult to find.
A single bathroom is located at the back of the parlor — it’s an old, fading white like the rest of the institution, but it’s clean and roomy. Perfect for getting the dirt off your hands and face before you dig in to that big olé’ scoop.

How To End A Perfect Summer Day in Tahoe:
1) Head straight to Richardson’s Ice Cream Parlor.
2) Be excited there isn’t a line out the door.
3) See kids walking out with ice cream cones as big as their heads.
4) Impatiently wait over 15 minutes.
5) Decide you will «help» eat a Brownie Sundae.
6) Decide that your 3 ice cream scoops will be Mint Chocolate Chip, Mocha Almond Fudge and Cookie Dough Ice Cream.
7) Watch your eyes widen as you see that the ice cream is now covered with Hot Fudge, loads of Whipped Cream, crunchy Waffle Cone pieces and a trio of small Brownies.
8) In the battle between Man&Woman v. Food, Man&Woman won today!