Did You Know Moose Tracks Ice Cream Has Nothing to do With Maine?

When it comes to eating ice cream in the Pine Tree State, it's something that we don't even think about for six months out of every year. Think about it. Why would you want to ingest a frozen treat when it is literally frozen outside?

However, as soon as those warm summery temps strike Vacationland, we all come crawling out of hibernation with pale skin, bed head and a hankering for something sweet and cold.

And if you're like me, depending on where you live, you have your go-to places for frozen goodness. For my family, because we live in Windsor, Maine, we often go to the Jefferson Scoop in Jefferson, or Back's Dairy Bar in South China.

I am a creature of habit, usually always getting vanilla soft serve with a couple of added toppings like Heath bar and peanuts. However, I was out and about today and I was craving something a little different. I realized it had been ages since I've had Moose Tracks ice cream.

I swung through the drive through and ordered up a kid's small. As I was waiting for my midday dessert, I got into a conversation with the person at the window about Moose Tracks and I told them I thought it was one of the greatest Maine inventions ever. They then told me it's not even from Maine... It's from Michigan.

Moose Tracks was named after a golf course

As you might imagine, I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I had to Google it. It now turns out that everything I thought I once new about Moose Tracks ice cream was completely wrong.

According to MooseTracks.Com, YES they have their own website, the delicious flavor was invented in Northern Michigan back in 1988. Believe it or not, the ice cream was named after a golf course that was just down the road.

They went on to say about Moose Tracks,

'In 1988 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a land known for its moose population, Moose Tracks was born! After the creators perfected the recipe, a local ice cream shop began serving the now-iconic flavor, Original Moose Tracks.'

Yankee Magazine's Top Maine Ice Cream Shops

Need a refreshing treat during these hot Summer days? Yankee Magazine has you covered. Here are seven outstanding ice cream shops that Mainers can enjoy.