A sweet summer: At Richardson Farm, officials highlight ice cream trail, invite tourism to New Hampshire

If this summer keeps pace with the last, officials expect that 4.8 million people will visit the state, bringing in an estimated $2.6 billion in tourism spending.

This year, they’ll have a sweet new attraction: New Hampshire’s Ice Cream Trail.

Michelle Cruz, director of the Division of Travel and Tourism Development, cited the visitor figures at Richardson Farm in Boscawen, a stop on the newly expanded trail where owner Jim Richardson and his staff craft handmade ice cream from locally-sourced dairy.

Various economic barriers face the state’s tourism industry: concerns over inflation, high gas prices and declining travel from New Hampshire’s northern neighbor, Canada. But Cruz remained optimistic that initiatives like the ice cream trail, which last year included 50 stops and, now, features nearly 70 “must-visit” shops, will attract new visitors to the Granite State.

“Travel demands across the U.S. have remained resilient over the first quarter of this year, so what we’re seeing is that travel spending is up more than 3%,” Cruz said. “We’re looking forward to encouraging people to get on the ice cream trail — there’s no other way to experience New Hampshire than through this authentic trail.”

Cruz highlighted the state’s “Live Free” campaign, alongside Gov. Kelly Ayotte and Josh Marshall, assistant commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. The campaign advertises the state’s “natural beauty, outdoor recreation [and] New England charm” with billboards outside the New England Aquarium, Boston’s theater district and target markets in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The ice cream trail has existed in some form since 2012, when Richardson Farm became one of the first participants.

“For $100? What the heck,” Richardson said. Residents from various parts of the state visited his shop, toting their “ice cream passports” and collecting stickers from each stop along the trail. Eventually, Richardson began to see out-of-state license plates crop up in his parking lot. “How the hell did you find us out here?”

The ice cream trail includes locations across the state, from Bailey’s Bubble and Barnyard Creamery at the Pizza Barn in the Lakes Region to Dudley’s Ice Cream and Gould Hill Farm in the capital area.

For her part, Ayotte said she would try to visit every stop along the trail. Her favorite flavor, for those who are wondering, is black raspberry.

To view the virtual trail map and read additional information, visit https://www.visitnh.gov/things-to-do/food-drink/ice-cream-trail.