Ice Cream & Dessert
Gillighans
About Gillighans
Ice cream is a hot weather trade, and Penticton has the summers to support it. Gillighans can be found at 3624 Parkview St, away from the Main Street shopping blocks, in a city where the walk between two lakes takes about as long as a cone lasts in August.
Dessert counters differ in ways worth a question or two. Some scoop hard ice cream, some serve soft, some make their own and some sell what they buy in, and the range of flavours on a given day is rarely the same as the range on the sign. If you are ordering for a group, ask whether tubs or takeaway containers are an option, and whether there is seating or the expectation is to take your order outside. Anyone avoiding dairy is better off asking directly than guessing from the counter.
Seasons matter more here than in most trades. A Penticton summer runs hot and long, with the beaches at both ends of town busy from morning until dark and the channel between the lakes carrying a slow parade of floating tubes all afternoon, and that is when a dessert stop makes sense to everybody at once. The cooler months are far quieter. Places that live on warm weather commonly adjust when they open to match it, so checking before making a special trip is a sensible habit once summer is over.
Visiting Gillighans
Getting there
In the Downtown Penticton neighbourhood of Penticton.
Get directions (opens in a new tab)Keep exploring
More places near Downtown Penticton
Other ice cream and dessert shops and nearby businesses in the Penticton directory.
From the blog
Penticton guides and stories
Longer reads from the editor, with the places worth a detour linked inside them.
Halloween Ideas and Events in Penticton
The Apple Bin Corn Maze's family and spooky-evening sessions, the Great Pumpkin Loop through wine country, and the City's road-safety guidance.
Read the guide
Penticton's Labour Day weekend is the fullest calendar in the valley, beaches included
Two markets Saturday morning, a winery music circuit all weekend, a beach concert Saturday night, a benefit show worth crossing town for, and no triathlon this year.
Read the guide
Where to shop in Penticton: small, walkable and mostly local
Penticton's shopping is smaller than Kelowna's and more its own thing: a Main Street of independents, specialty food shops that outclass their size, and Cherry Lane covering the mall tier.
Read the guide
Keep the directory honest
Own Gillighans?
Claim the listing to confirm your details, add your hours and photographs, and keep what people find accurate.