It's Dairy Queen Free Cone Day: How to Get Your Free Ice Cream

It's springtime, and a warm-weather treat is back for a limited time only, so don't miss out on the chance to celebrate the arrival of spring with free ice cream. The popular Dairy Queen free cone day is back on Tuesday, March 19.

Tuesday is Free Cone Day at participating Dairy Queen locations. Customers who visit one of these restaurants will be able to enjoy a free small vanilla soft-serve cone.

Is it really the first day of spring if we don’t have Free Cone Day?? Kick off treat szn with a FREE small cone at participating DQ locations on March 19. pic.twitter.com/eU0J0HvJV7

— Dairy Queen (@DairyQueen) March 5, 2024

"Nothing says warmer weather is around the corner quite like Free Cone Day. We're inviting fans everywhere to grab their friends and families and get their 'Treat Szn' started with something sweet — on us," said Maria Hokanson, executive vice president of marketing at Dairy Queen. In celebration of spring, the Bloomington, Minnesota-based ice cream chain is giving away free cones for the eighth year.

Customers must stop at a participating Dairy Queen location to qualify for the free small vanilla soft-serve cone. They can also add a dip to their cone for $1. Proceeds will benefit the Children's Miracle Network Hospital. This freebie is available throughout the entire day while supplies last. Only one per person is allowed.

Dairy Queens in malls will not offer the free cone, but participating mall locations will include it with purchase. Deliveries and mobile orders are not eligible for the free cone. The Dairy Queen franchise is located in most states. Click here to check out the nearest location.

Although Dairy Queen fans will only receive vanilla cones this week, rumors of cherry-dipped cones are again circulating about a return. Recently, cherry-dipped cones have become harder to find than they once were, but for some years, they were widely available. 

Over the years, there have been many variations of the dessert, with butterscotch appearing more in the cold-weather months and cherry emerging more often in the warmer seasons.

Dairy Queen's dipped soft-serve ice cream cones have been available in several flavors. In the spring of 2019, the chain introduced creamsicle-dipped cones, and Fruity Blast, a cereal-flavored dip and churro, was introduced in 2022 and 2023. New confetti cake-dipped cones are being tested this spring.