Great Shakes- An Oasis for Dessert in the Desert

Great Shakes

Every year, my in laws rent a couple of villas at one of the Westin Resorts in the Palm Springs Area. Multiple units, multiple families. Its a blast! One thing my wife and I like to do is hit our favorite little snack stop, Great Shakes.

Located in the heart of Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive, Great Shakes is a must do stop when in the area. There are plenty of splurge-worthy ice cream stops in Palm Springs, but no other is as splurge-worthy as Great Shakes. Since 2013 when it opened, this has been a must stop of ours year after year.

And this year, it happened to be 116 outside. Warm to say the least, but the perfect temperature for a shake. But then again, we went there winter when it was in the 30’s and still powered through a shake…or two.

Why Great Shakes?

There is something alluring about a great shake. Is it the memories that they bring back of getting a shake with your parents, or is it the flavors and sweet smells that come with visiting an ice cream parlor. Probably both, I’d guess. Great Shakes offers a bit of everything.

There are so many choices at Great Shakes it can make your head spin. In fact, I believe there are over 25 creations listed on the board when you walk in. But I’m sure if you ask, they’ll make just about anything you want.

Along with all of the great concoctions come the 10 reasons on why to choose Great Shakes. I’ll give you a couple of the keys, but to view them all, click here at 10 Things. My top two reasons are that they are locally sourced and served and created at the perfect temperature.

Locally Sourced

According to their website, they source their ingredients from Scott Bros. Dairy in Chino California with their ranch in San Jacinto, only a few miles from Palm Springs. What this means to us, is that everything is close and fresh. They get their ingredients quickly which translates to the ultimate in freshness. The dates for their date shakes also come from right down the road.

Perfect Temperature

The other main reason we like Great Shakes is that they make their creations at the perfect temperature. According to their website, they have modified a soft serve machine to hit that proper consistency and temperature.

What that all translates to is an ice cream shake that requires no milk. That’s right, no milk. All you get in every cup of a Great Shakes shake is pure, unadulterated ice cream. Well, other than all of the goodies that go into it.

The Shop

As you stroll along Palm Drive, you will happen upon a small store front and a sandwich board on the street. That’s it.

But once you find it and walk in the door, you are in a different world.

Making Your Selection at Great Shakes

The hardest part of your day might just be narrowing it down to just one shake. There are so many options and add ins, it could drive you crazy. Well, a good crazy at least. The first thing you need to do is pick your size. Standard small, medium and large, as well as a waffle cone selection are on tap.

Since we were picking a few up for the family, we went with a wide variety. I chose a Chocolate Banana, with a Peanut Butter Kicker. My wife went with Chocolate Almond Brownie. Then we picked a Date Shake, Oreo Caramel Swirl, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and a Cookie Dough version.

Once you place your order, they go to work. A lot of work and love go into these drinks.

The Results

Once they called my name a little bit more excitement creeped up.

As you can see, these are an absolute work of art. The little donut topper is always a nice touch.

The funny part is, if you want just a bit more sugar or sweets in your life, they have a few other options on the counter for you to choose from.

Oh, and don’t forget the homemade cookies.

Conclusion

There really is only one conclusion, we love Great Shakes! As I mentioned previously, this is one of our go-to stops when in the Palm Springs area. Heck, sometimes when we are visiting the Cabezon Premium Outlets, we just continue on a bit further and make a stop 🙂

Located at 160 South Palm Canyon Drive, Suite A in beautiful Palm Springs. For more information, please click Here

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Happy Eating!

Davey