I couldn't walk by! Tourists beware. This gem of a business sits at the corner of Main St heading down to Grant Park. After a day of shopping and checking out Acadia Park, it say directly in my path towards my parked car and the trip to a well earned dinner. But like a neon sign, my eyes were drawn to the handmade sign "Homemade blueberry soft serve". I mean how can you not? I stopped my crew and said dessert first? The interior is like any ice cream shoppe but the flavors are unique. A wonderfully kind lady hooked me up with 7 blueberry soft serves and we dove in. Perfect. Not too sweet and with hints of vanilla this blueberry concoction will make your Bar Harbor visit a happy one. They only take cash, so make sure you have some coin in your pockets. read more

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Cash only! We noticed that all 3 or 4 ice cream places in Bar Harbor have crazy long lines after dinner, so we decided to go after lunch instead. We walked in around 1:15pm on a Sunday and there was only one other couple there. While there were a ton of yummy-sounding ice cream flavors, we all got the blueberry soft serve which was creamy and delicious! I got the blueberry vanilla swirl in a cake cone and that is THE move my friends. The owner was the one who served us and he was very nice and obviously a pro at the soft serve machine. read more

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This place had lots of delicious vegan ice creams to offer, and the best part is that they had plenty of options which were not coconut-based for those of us who feel that the flavor of coconut tends to overpower the advertised ice cream flavor (like mint chocolate chip, which is what I had). However, be sure to have cash on hand since the place doesn't accept cards. The inside was a little cramped, but that's to be expected in a place like Bar Harbor, and seating is available outside. read more

Awesome ice cream- awesome service- a must stop! (Go for the blueberry twist soft serve- ) Cash only! But worth the trip to the ATM- read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Found this place while strolling Bar Harbor, and was unable to resist their Black Raspberry Disaster ice cream. Absolutely terrific! Go find your own favorite - they're sure to have it. read more

The service was good and the line moved super fast! I would def recommend the raspberry flavor with chocolate. The Maine blueberry was meh -- I'm sure people who love blueberry flavored things would like it, but it tasted a little artificial to me. Note: This place is CASH ONLY! read more

my sister and I visited Bar Harbor for 3 nights. Every night we had to get the blue berry soft serve it is THAT GOOD. will dream of this ice cream while back in ohio read more

Fantastic ice cream for a premium price. Detailed breakdown below: **Service, 5/5** There was a miscommunication with the woman helping us, but it was quickly corrected. Overall super efficient despite it being so busy. **Decor & cleanliness, 3/5** Okay not the best decor especially considering all the gorgeous patios and venues in the area, but the ice cream is the star here. **Price & portion, 3/5** Pricey at $6+ for a single scoop and almost $10 for a double. But the ice cream is a unique consistency and worth a try. **Taste of the food, 5/5** - Blueberry crumble yogurt, 5/5: Generous swirls of blueberry, tasty morsels of crumble, and a really smooth and perfectly sweet yogurt base. - Toffee with chocolate covered caramel pieces, 5/5: Toffee base was really solid and not too sweet! And there was a good amount of chocolate covered caramel in there that you could get a piece with every bite. The texture of this ice cream was also phenomenal. It didn't melt too fast and was a bit elastic. Soooo gooood! - Blueberry soft serve, 5/5: Thick, creamy, and awesome blueberry flavor. Wasn't sure what to expect but it was great! **Other notes** This is a CASH ONLY establishment, but there's an ATM on premises. read more

Great ice cream! The blueberry soft serve is amazing! This place is cash only, there's an atm inside. There's usually a long queue outside the place, but it moves pretty quick. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Blueberry soft serve - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Try the almond milk based soft serve. It is amazing. The milkshake is pretty big- easily split between two adults. Great service. The folks have an efficient system going on behind the counter. Cash only. I would highly recommend this place read more

Stopped in after dinner on a Tuesday night. I got a single scoop of Black Raspberry Disaster, a TON (honestly probably too much) of chocolate pieces. GF got the Maine Maple Walnut which she loved. Go with the small/single scoop, it's plenty. read more

There are so many kinds of flavors to try here. They let you sample, which is always a relief to me because it takes forever to decide which flavor to get. I settled on a blueberry flavor, which is a must to have in Maine, and it was delicious!! They have some seating outside on their little patio, so you can eat there while watching everyone walk by. Remember it's cash only! read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Blueberry - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Super fast service but it's cash only! They have an ATM with $2 service fee just in case. I was craving everything blueberry while in Bar Harbor so I got the wild blueberry with vanilla swirl and wow! It was so good. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Wild blueberry and vanilla swirl - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

the woman who was working here was so beyond rude. my group and I were so confused because she was mad at what I ordered which was literally a small ice cream with two toppings? it was like a severe Inconvenience to her? and then she was talking to the other woman about me as I was standing right there and could hear the whole thing ..? very strange , very odd and I will never ever be returning read more

there was a worker in the back bald headed, angry for what?, just staring at me while I got ice cream. everyone else was a delight but him. he made me uncomfortable. read more

tl;dr a forgettable Bar Harbor ice cream parlor with clueless employees and an extensive menu With a surplus of ice creameries in Bar Harbor propper, even long-term vacationers may have trouble deciding favorites among the lot. But on Main Street immediately across from the Village Green, CJ's Big Dipper is easy to pinpoint. The vibrant red-and-white striped awning quickly draws your eye, and the crowd of dessert-goers piques your interest. I swung by CJ's with my partner before the post-dinner rush, and the line was marginally more manageable. I was legitimately shocked by the service. The queue was more of a mosh pit than a line. Moreover, when we finally were able to order our ice cream, our scoopster had no idea what the specialty flavors were -- we were left to decipher them for ourselves. While a few tables are set up on a deck just outside, we opted to sit in the park. Of note, cash only! We ordered a double scoop of the I'm Not Sure Yet (peanut butter and chocolate mixed into a vanilla-ish base), and something else (coffee ice cream with caramel and chocolate). The ice cream itself was about the same quality as store-bought but was heavily laden with mixins. Although we were left guessing as to what we actually ordered, these flavors were enjoyable. In contrast, the blueberry soft serve was beyond disappointing. Weak on the blueberry flavor and not quite an ice cream, it ended up being wholly one-dimensional. At nearly $15 for both items, CJ's definitely is charging a premium. I see the superficial appeal: an ideal location, paired with plenty of safe and adventurous options alike, this spot aims to be a crowd-pleaser. However, it's at the fundamentals that CJ's falls short. And with an absolutely stellar ice creamery just a half-block away (Mt Desert Ice Cream), I see no reason to choose CJ's again. read more

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to CJ's as a treat after our long hike! I tried the blueberry cheesecake in a cone, which was much heavier on the soft, flavorful cheesecake bites than the blueberries, but was still delicious. The ice cream itself has a bit of an icier quality to it, which I appreciated. My partner got the chocolate chip cookie dough, which had tons of cookie dough bites. We came in during a super-busy Fourth of July weekend and faced no wait at all. The lines do seem to get really long in the evening. read more

Enjoyed a double scoop (almond joy and caramel turtle) while grandson had tornado (vanilla ice cream with m & m, Oreos, heath bars read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Almond joy and turtle - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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This locations immediately catches your eyes. The staff is very helpful when it comes to let your try and choose the ice cream you desire We tried their Blueberry Soft Serve, the blueberry was flavorful but it has hard to bite into and not soft We also tried their Peanut Butter, which tasted nicer than the blueberry soft serve Their best ice cream was the Blueberry Cheese Cake one, which was a perfect combination of cheesecake and ice cream, it was very soft and had an amazing texture which is a great way to satisfy your ice cream cravings! read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Interior with Menu - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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ice cream buns and workers were lowk rude bro have some passion in what you do plus it's hot inside

ice cream was ok but one of the workers was very rude and unhelpful. when we asked for a cup of water she filled it up and when we asked for another she said "we dont do that here," and rudely rolled her eyes. would not go again. read more

Great little family run place with pie and lots of great ice cream flavors. Cash only. Love that CJ's offers so many non-dairy options, including almond milk ice cream, soy ice cream, and almond milk soft serve. I can't fully recommend the almond milk soft serve as it lacks the creaminess of true creamy soft serve. read more

CJ's Big Dipper is one of many small businesses in the hub of Bar Harbor's shopping district. I really needed a 5 o'clock caffeine pick me up but was dismayed to find that every single cafe in the vicinity was already closed. Thankfully, CJ's has an espresso machine, and their butterscotch latte did the trick. The espresso was smooth, but the latte foam was thin to non-existent. The ice cream is definitely its strong selling point. They have over 15 flavors, but what called out to us was the Maine Blueberry. Between the two of us, the scoop was gone within 5 minutes. It tasted like real Maine Blueberries had been used in the making, unlike other ice creams that sometimes have an artificial flavor. The texture was decidedly creamy and smooth. Kids and adults alike are sure to love CJ's! As an added bonus, there's a small park nearby with benches so you can savor your ice cream. read more

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Amazing selection of flavors including Maine blueberry and dairy free options! Cash only business.

First, I want to say that CJ's Ice Cream Shop is family-owned, and they make their ice cream from scratch. It's not super sweet like many other places, which is my favorite part about it. I always get the Almond Joy flavor, but if you're in Bar Harbor, you absolutely need to try their blueberry soft serve ice cream. read more

The wild blueberry soft serve was amazing, so good we had it 3 nights in a row. It is cash only and there was a little bit of a line but it moved fast. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Stopped here several times on our trip. All of the ice cream we had was really good and the staff is awesome!! read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Blueberry - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Went to Cj's as I heard they have dairy free ice cream and I was not disappointed. Lactose intolerant sufferers and vegans should rejoice over the fact that Cj's exists. They had several different dairy free hard ice cream choices, soft serve, and dairy free cones. Service was amazing and the staff member scooping our ice cream was very knowledgeable and friendly. Prices we're also really great for dairy free ice cream. The overall store can get a little crowded but we are outside and had a great time. read more

Good service and very friendly staff. They also offer some healthy selections which I tried. The entire family was happy so we returned the following night for some more frozen treats. Also bought a banana to go night two. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - I don't care if it's sugar free and fat free, it was awesome. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Was craving some ice cream but the catch is that I'm super lactose intolerant. Fortunately, CJ's came to the rescue! They have a pretty impressive selection of dairy free ice creams and even dairy free soft serve! They had plenty of staff so even though they were quite busy, they kept the line moving. Pricing was pretty steep but they definitely impressed with their ice cream offerings! read more

Stopped by to try their blueberry soft serve, it had a subtle blueberry taste, not too sweet, which was perfect for me. The service was fast, but it's a cash only establishment. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Blueberry Soft Serve - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Maybe it's a tourist trap, but I don't care! Blueberry and vanilla twist soft serve with rainbow sprinkles after a long hike in Acadia? Blissful! read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Blueberry Vanilla twist soft serve! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Service was terrible!! They were extremely rude, they don't offer samples despite having weird flavors, and despite advertising soy and vegan option all their "allergen friendly" options have nuts! read more

I'm currently in Bar Harbor for vacation and every time my boyfriend and I walked by this place there was a line out the door. Because of its clear popularity, I was excited to try their ice cream. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed. I had Coffee Brownie with whipped cream and the whipped cream had more flavor than the ice cream. I didn't know it was possible to make bland ice cream. The coffee ice cream barely had any coffee flavor. The brownie had more flavor but not much. I'm always excited to try new ice cream flavors and this place really bummed me out. read more

Cash only, which is inconvenient. My wife and I are chocolate lovers, and I never thought you could have too much candy in your ice cream, but I was wrong. There was too much candy in our ice cream. It would have been better with less. Some bites were all peanut butter cups, but not in a good way... The staff looks depressed; and the woman who served us said things were out that were not. The best thing it has going for it is its location right across from the park, which is a nice place to enjoy your dessert. There are so many ice cream parlors on the strip; I would go elsewhere. read more

We ended up getting the wild blueberry hard ice cream and mango peach sorbet. The blueberry tasted like vanilla ice cream that had a purple color to it. The sorbet tasted like peach mango. All in it was $14.25 for two cups and cash only. Service was good and the line moved quickly. The place was clean and had seating outside. read more

If you like blueberry pie, PLEASE listen to me: this place has amazing ice cream and the best blueberry pie I've ever had. I'm not exaggerating. Nearly every place that sells food on Main Street has the exact same semi-generic Maine blueberry pies to offer customers. Not CJ's. Apparently a local woman makes theirs and there is no comparison. Her blueberry pie is exactly what my wife and I dream of making for our future family. It's a simple pie but there is so much dimension to her recipe. Deep with Maine blueberries, a tiny-tiny hint of lemon and possibly cinnamon (just a guess) with a tender pastry with a nice hint of saltiness to it. Perfect consistency: not too firm and not runny. Baked to absolute perfection. Order it à-la-mode, warmed up with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Just pass on other blueberry pies in Bar Harbor. I'm almost afraid to bring attention to it, in case it makes it harder for us to get next time! If CJ's ever changes this pie, I will lead a boycott ;) read more

CJ's Big Dipper - The best blueberry pie in Bar Harbor and possibly the state of Maine. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Do I think that this place deserves a better rating on yelp?! Yes! This place has blueberry everything, from the blueberry soft serve to the delicious blueberry ice cream. They both had that fresh, tart blueberry taste. My favorite thing ordered was the blueberry pie a la mode. The blueberry pie was mouth-watering and served warm. The crust was buttery and the blueberry filling juicy and fresh. We got it with the maple walnut ice cream which was wonderful on its own. Would definitely recommend this combo! Yes this place only accepts cash but I can work around that for good ice cream. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Blueberry pie with maple walnut ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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For full disclosure, my boyfriend and I tried and ordered the vegan/non-dairy options from CJ's Big Dipper, so I'm not sure about the quality of the dairy ice cream. I tried the vegan cherry almond milk ice cream and the walnut maple ice cream, along with a sample of the vegan soft serve options. The cherry ice cream was good and not overly artificial, but I felt the walnut maple ice cream's maple flavor was too weak. It also could have used a bit more fat to help the mouthfeel. On a whim, I decided to order the vegan piña colada ice cream, and it was the best of everything I had tried! It had a nice subtle coconut and pineapple flavor to it. I don't normally like the flavor of coconut in non-dairy ice creams, but this time it worked because piña colada is supposed to taste like coconut! All the flavors of the vegan ice cream were a touch too watery, and could have used more flavor, but they were good in a delicate way and still hit the spot during the heat wave. That said, I'm really impressed with the variety of non-dairy flavors for such an otherwise traditional ice cream shop. I'd definitely stop by again for the adorable ambiance, and next time try the lemon sorbet, which I saw someone else had ordered and looked great. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - vegan piña colada ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

The ice cream is really good and it is definitely worth a visit. However; the rating is based on our most recent visit and the service was awful at best. We always make time for CJ's when visiting Bar Harbor because the ice cream is delicious. Albeit a little pricey for what you get, I expect that in a tourist town. On this particular visit, the service was challenging as a majority of the employees did not understood the customers which slowed the process substantially. *My boyfriend ordered the cookie sandwich. The employee stated that she did not know how to do that and someone else would have to help him *The same employee asked what I wanted and I ordered a brownie sundae with cookie dough ice cream. She asked another employee what cookie dough ice cream was and the other employee took over our order *We wanted to order the Belgian Waffle Sundae but the folks in front of us ordered one and the employee never sprayed the waffle maker successfully ruining its operation for the evening I would still recommend going, just go with with patience and understanding during a time when you don't have anywhere else to be. read more

CJ's Big Dipper - Brownie Sundae with Cookie Dough ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine