There's a particular kind of summer night on Lake Minnetonka: the boats are coming in, the light on Excelsior Bay goes gold, and half the town seems to be walking toward the water with an ice cream cone in hand. If you're new to the area — or just looking for the good stuff — this is where to go.
Licks Unlimited — the family classic
Licks Unlimited at 31 Water Street is the one most locals name first. It's a small, family-owned shop serving over 40 flavors of superpremium ice cream, and the homemade waffle cones are the house specialty. Order a scoop in a fresh cone or go for an ice cream "sammie" — either way you're in good hands.
What makes Licks special is the story behind it. It's been in the same family since 1990, and today it's run by the founders' grandchildren — three of whom grew up visiting the shop and now have decades of experience between them. That kind of continuity is rare, and you can feel it the moment you walk in.
It's the kind of place where the person scooping your cone might have been coming here since they were a kid.
Tommy's Tonka Trolley — ice cream from a streetcar
Tommy's Tonka Trolley is the other Excelsior institution, and it's hard to beat for pure charm — you're served homemade ice cream right out of a historic Minnesota streetcar, steps from the water. On a balmy summer night it's exactly the kind of only-in-Excelsior moment that makes people fall in love with this town.
The current owners have their own sweet story: they moved to downtown Excelsior in 2012, spent years chatting with the Trolley's founder on summer nights, and eventually took over the business they'd always dreamed of owning. It's a small-town passing-of-the-torch, and it's part of what makes the place feel like home.
The bigger picture: this is what living here feels like
A great ice cream shop isn't just a treat — it's a signal. Walkable downtowns, family businesses that last generations, summer nights by the water: this is the texture of daily life in the Lake Minnetonka communities, and it's a big part of why people want to live here.
If you've ever walked Water Street on a July evening and thought "I could live here," you're not wrong — and you're not alone. Excelsior, Wayzata, Orono, and the surrounding lake towns each have their own version of this, and knowing them street by street is half of finding the right home.