The best places to get the good old fashioned fried dessert across the country
These donuts will knock your (donut) socks off!
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Donuts are the Best!
When my husband and I got married, my father performed the ceremony. And he really put Jason on the spot when he asked him what he was supposed to do when I was upset.
“Um…hold her and tell her it will be ok?” he said hesitantly.
“No!” my dad emphatically responded. “You buy her a donut!”
Actually… that’s not a bad idea! Donuts are just the best. And they’re ready made to dress up in any flavor or design that you can imagine.
Donuts on Vacation!
I realized when I was trip planning one time, that trying local donut shops was a great way to:
Try new things
Experience something unique to the area
Support local businesses!
It is now my goal to try ALL the best donut shops in the US! Below you have my reviews of all the donut shops we’ve tried.
This list is split into several sections:
My top picks for the very BEST donut shops in the US!
Reviews of ALL the donut shops we’ve tried, listed by state. First the good ones, and then the ones to skip.
Some donut shops are franchised in multiple states, so they are listed by the state in which they originated.
Recommendations from readers for new donut shops to try.
The Best Donuts in the U.S.
(Rated on a scale of 1-5)
What’s in this Article:
My Top Picks
Donut Shop Reviews:
Connecticut
Florida
Indiana
Massachusetts
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Washington DC
Recommendations/To Be Tried:
My Top Picks for the Best Donuts in the US
#1: Five Daughters Bakery
Nashville, TN
The Cowboy Cookie donut (a rotating special). SO good!
This is seriously one of the best donuts I’ve ever had.
And the most expensive.
(Though…to be fair, in summer ‘22 everything is the most expensive ever!)
I would, however, stand in line for 20 minutes in the hot sun and pay more than $5 again, without hesitation, for this donut from Five Daughters Bakery!
It’s not simply a donut. They call it a “100 layer donut,” which might be more familiar to you as a cronut (croissant/donut). I’ve never had one before, but this was delicious!
They also have mini donuts (for a bit cheaper!) so you can try several flavors, or they have regular cake donuts, if for some reason you decide you don’t want the cronut (but you do!).
The only complaint I have is that I decided to share some of my donut (also, it’s huge!) with my family… I had to yell at my cousin to stop eating it so that there would be any left for me!
Atmosphere: 4
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 5
#2: Deviant Donuts
Mystic, CT
The French toast donut was AH-mazing!!
When you like donut pictures on Instagram, you find more donut pictures to look at. And when you look at more donut pictures, you come across the prettiest donuts on the internet.
Deviant Donuts are definitely some of the prettiest donuts on the internet.
I am a faithful follower of their Instagram account, and I can’t wait each week to see what their theme is going to be (Harry Potter, LOTR, pirates and Disney are just some of their themes!).
So even though I was visiting the other side of the state, and was still 2 hours from Mystic, I decided it was #worthit to go on a 2 hour donut detour.
And it was.
They have vegan donuts, gluten free donuts, cake donuts, brioche donuts, filled donuts, topped donuts, donuts, donuts, donuts! And they come up with the most unique and even, I’d say, refined flavors you can imagine.
My only regret is that I missed Disney week by a week.
Atmosphere: 4
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 4.5
#3: Ecklof Bakery
Jamestown, NY
Donuts (the best donuts ever!) and pink stripe cookies.
Ecklof Bakery is my favorite bakery. There may be a bit of hometown pride going on here, but seriously, they have amazing doughnuts. And cupcakes. And lots of other things.
They are famous for their pink stripe cookies, but honestly, I’d just prefer the donuts. They aren’t fancy or unique. Just delicious!
If you’re in Jamestown to visit the National Comedy Center, I certainly won’t judge you for buying a dozen stripe cookies. But definitely get the doughnuts. Those are the best.
Atmosphere: 2.5
Creativity: 2
Flavor: 5!!
#4: Duck Donuts
Franchise from Duck, NC
You may have a Duck Donuts near you. They are the fastest growing chain in the U.S. with over 200 locations now.
Their basic premise is simple. Hot, fresh donuts with fun toppings. The fact that these donuts come to you hot off the press is what really sets this place apart. But it’s also fun to try some of their unique toppings, which includes rotating seasonal specialties.
I tried the Lucky Charms donut for St. Patrick’s Day, and it tasted like a delicious melting pot of sugar in my mouth! However, I will say that, although my donut was extremely fresh, the cereal topping was definitely stale.
They do get atmosphere points for having rubber duckies though!
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 4
#5: Peace, Love & Little Donuts
Franchise from Pittsburgh, PA
How could you not love those adorable little doughnuts? They are definitely instagram friendly.
Peace, Love and Little Donuts is a Pittsburgh based franchise, mostly found in the eastern United States.
As far as the doughnuts themselves go, they’re nothing to sneeze at (if you did, you might be allergic, and that would be awful!). They’re just simple, mini, fried doughnuts. What’s important here are the toppings.
There are so many options for toppings, you have to get at least a dozen just to be able to choose. Plus they’re small, so you can eat more. Just to give you an idea, some of the options pictured above are blueberry pancake, strawberry cheesecake, and cannoli.
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 4
#6: Duke’s Donut Worx
Mashpee, MA
I “accidentally” found a list of the best donut shops on Cape Cod, and it turns out this one is right by Upside Down Escape Games, the best escape room I’ve ever been to (which also happens to be owned by my cousin)!
I immediately messaged him that we had to go to Duke’s Donut Worx, to which he responded, and I quote, “they’re mad good.”
They were unfortunately sold out of the pinky tuscadero by the time we got our donuts (my family’s favorite, though when asked to describe the flavor, all they can do is shrug and say “…pink”), but we tried a variety of other flavors, and they were all “mad good.”
I can’t rate the atmosphere, as my cousin’s wife stopped to get our donuts before they closed. But it’s in the Mashpee Commons on Cape Cod (remember, where the best escape room ever is!), so the atmosphere is probably a 5.
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 4
#7 Dan’s Variety Bakery
Kokomo, IN
Nobody calls it Dan’s Variety Bakery. We all called it Dirty Dan’s (I have no idea why; that’s just what we called it). This shop is about a 45 min. drive from where I went to school. And yes, we OFTEN drove 45 minutes to get doughnuts.
Because this isn’t just a normal open at 6 am doughnut shop. No. This doughnut shops opens at ONE A.M.
It’s open from 1 am - noon, which is somewhat ideal for college students. The main appeal of this place is the fact that it’s just entirely amusing to go out and buy doughnuts at 1 am. But their doughnuts are also absolutely delicious!
Atmosphere: 4 (because it’s 1 am)
Creativity: 3
Flavor: 5
#8 Long’s Bakery
Indianapolis, IN
Look at how that donut just melts in my hand! Seriously, every time I look at this picture my mouth starts watering for those warm, soft, melt in your mouth donuts!!
Long’s Bakery has been on my list FOREVER! They’re one of those classic donut shops who’s not trying to win customers by making crazy donuts because they already have customers by making good donuts.
And honestly, when it comes down to it, that’s usually my favorite kind of donut.
They consistently make lists of the best donuts in the US, so I knew when I went to visit my friends in Indiana, I HAD to stop at Long’s (we also made other donut pit stops, too!).
When we got there they had fresh off the press glazed donuts, which are always THE BEST! But their other donuts are good too.
Note that Long’s Bakery is cash only. They do not have an area to sit down inside. You just park on the street, wait in the long line, get your donuts and go enjoy them somewhere.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 1
Flavor: 5!
Donut Shop Reviews
Connecticut Donuts Worth Trying
Deviant Donuts
Mystic, CT
See above, my top picks for best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 4
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 4.5
Donut Crazy
Stratford, CT
(And other Connecticut locations)
There is a strong part of me that wishes I went to Yale University, mostly so I could “study” in the super cool atmosphere at Donut Crazy.
But if you think being in a college town is the reason this donut shop scores a 5 on atmosphere points, think again. They have (currently) seven locations, each uniquely designed with a fun cool atmosphere, that matches the fun, cool donuts!
While not my favorite donuts ever, the combination of atmosphere and creative donuts makes these worth stopping for.
Atmosphere: 5
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 3.5
Dottie’s Diner
Woodbury, CT
Dottie’s Diners’s donuts (say that five times fast!) has consistently been voted the best donuts in Connecticut. Which meant that (since they were only half an hour out of my way, as opposed to two hours) I had to try them out!
They don’t have anything fancy. They’re a diner. But they know how to make donuts. They have basically chocolate frosted, vanilla frosted, and cinnamon coated. But of course, when you make good donuts, you don’t need to add anything to them.
I thought they were perfectly delicious. They’re not light donuts, and were very filling. I brought a couple home for Jason, too, and he really enjoyed them warmed up in the microwave.
You can go to Dottie’s Diner for a sit down meal, or you can just order some donuts to go from the counter.
Atmosphere: 2.5
Creativity: 1
Flavor: 4
Neil’s Donuts
Wallingford & Middletown, CT
Neil’s is one of the donut shops that came up on EVERY list I researched of the best donuts in Connecticut. Which meant I had to try them.
There was nothing overly special about Neil’s Donuts. They do have some creative flavors, but overall, their donuts didn’t have anything that set them apart from all the amazing donuts out there.
Not to say that they weren’t great donuts; they were absolutely delicious. So, definitely worth a stop. But not worth a going out of your way for. Overall, just a good, general donut.
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 3
Flavor: 3.5
Connecticut Donuts Worth Skipping
Beach Donut Shop
Clinton, CT
I read through A LOT of lists of the best donuts in Connecticut before I visited.
And Beach Donut Shop, in Clinton, Connecticut was on every. single. list.
Aaannd… I have to say, I wasn’t that impressed.
To be fair, I stopped at three donut shops in the same day… so I could only try one of their donuts. After getting a recommendation from the lady behind the counter, I went with the seasonal apple cider donut.
And… I really didn’t care for it. I mean, I didn’t even finish it, which for me, is saying a lot (potentially also that I was on my way to another donut shop).
I will give them the benefit of the doubt, and say that their regular donuts might be better… but I would put Beach Donut Shop on my list of donuts to skip in Connecticut.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 1
Flavor: 1
Luke’s Donut Shop
Avon, CT
Because I was visiting Connecticut to visit the “Gilmore Girls towns,” I had to visit Luke’s Donut Shop!! Of course, it’s named after the founder, Luke, who named it well before the show began… But still.
I discovered this on one of the lists of the best donuts in Connecticut that I read, so I felt confident enough that they would have some pretty good donuts.
I’m still not sure how I feel about them. They have the most unique texture I’ve ever seen. I also was just coming from Deviant Donuts, so I wasn’t entirely hungry for another donut yet.
I wouldn’t go out of my way for these. Unless you’re a fan of Gilmore Girls. Then yes, I would definitely go out of my way for these. Just, maybe not straight from another donut shop.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 2
Flavor: 2
Florida Donuts Worth Trying
I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re out of this world, but Jupiter Donuts does have good donuts. You have to get there early, or the flavor you want to try (like strawberry Pop Tart!) might be sold out (or…it might be 3 in the afternoon, and apparently they close at 1!).
Even if some of their flavors are sold out, they do have a good variety, and all of their donuts are good choices. Nothing stood out to me as the most amazing ever, but everything was a good, worthwhile donut.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 3.5
Love Bugs Bakery
Melbourne, FL
When my family rented a house near the beach in Melbourne, FL, my aunt asked me, “Haven’t you found any donut shops to try yet?”
So naturally we had to find a donut shop to try.
We found the adorable Love Bugs Bakery, with lots of donut options and delicious looking muffins!
Now, these are not donuts that I would go out of my way for. The ultimate conclusion is that they were a little hit or miss (their cake donuts are amazing, but some of their toppings are waaay too sweet). But if you happen to be at Melbourne Beach, be sure to grab yourself a donut on the way!
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 3
Flavor: 3
Florida Donuts Worth Skipping
Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew
Disney Springs
I was overwhelmed when I first walked into the Everglazed donut shop at Disney Springs (Disney!) They had so many amazing and fun flavor options to try.
Usually Jason and I get a couple (or 6…) donuts to split between us (gotta try all kinds!). But these donuts are pricey!
Thankfully, we did not get half a dozen, because we barely made any progress on the one donut we each got. These are heavy donuts! And I don’t mean just because of the extra 5 pounds of topping on each of them. The donut itself was very heavy, which I personally did not appreciate.
To each his own, I guess, but I was not really a fan of these donuts.
(I was a fan of the “donuts make me happy” sign outside!)
Atmosphere: 3.5 (Disney!)
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 2
Indiana Donuts Worth Trying
Dan’s Variety Bakery
Kokomo, IN
See above, my top picks for best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 4 (because it’s 1 am)
Creativity: 3
Flavor: 5
Long’s Bakery
Indianapolis, IN
See above, my top picks for best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 1
Flavor: 5!
Parlor Doughnuts
Franchise from Evansville, IN
Find a location
I mean, we couldn’t try just one donut when we were in Indy… right?
So my friend and I went on a donut crawl (though we only made it to two donut shops before we couldn’t handle any more sugar…)!
Our first stop was Parlor Doughnuts, and I was in sugar heaven. They had beautiful donuts (themed for the season), special drinks (like the red velvet hot cocoa!), and a cool atmosphere.
Except that it was one of those places that made you go up to the counter to get a key for the bathroom. Which meant that we didn’t go to the bathroom because we’re afraid of social interaction…
Atmosphere: 4
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 4
Massachusetts Donuts Worth Trying
Technically, this is a “to be tried” spot for me. But I sent my sister to try them out when she was in Boston, so here is her review.
The brioche dough at Blackbird Donuts was heavier than a traditional donut, and more like a bagel in consistency, which is not her favorite kind of donut. The frosting was very good, but also messy! My sister’s biggest take away of the donut shop was that there were not enough napkins!!
She loved the atmosphere though, especially since the one they visited was actually at Harvard University!
Atmosphere: 5
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 3.5
Duke’s Donut Worx
Mashpee, MA
See above, my top picks for the best donuts in the US!
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 4
Rocco’s Doughnut Company
Westborough & Millbury, MA
Jason & I both had this donut shop on our list. We tried several different flavors, some of which were great, and some I really didn’t like at all.
To be honest, I debated between listing this as a “worth trying” or a “not worth trying” shop. But Jason really loved his eclair donut, and one out of the two I tried was pretty good, so Rocco’s Doughnut Company ultimately ended up on the worth trying list.
I would not go out of my way for them, but I definitely would recommend them if you’re near the area.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 3.5
Taste: 3.5
New York State Donuts Worth Trying
Ecklof Bakery
Jamestown, NY
See above, my top picks for best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 2.5
Creativity: 2
Flavor: 5!!
Paula’s Donuts
Buffalo, NY
A made-to-order cannoli donut!
Paula’s has 4 locations around Buffalo. I live close enough to Buffalo to have heard many people rave about these donuts, so when we were visiting a friend there who was was craving these donuts, we didn’t hesitate to pick some up (even though we had just come from another donut shop!).
They offer a good variety of flavors, with rotating specials. They also have signature doughnuts made to order, such as cannoli and cookie dough!
Atmosphere: 2
Creativity: 3.5
Flavor: 4.5
Ridge Donut Cafe
Rochester, NY
I only discovered Ridge Donut Cafe on accident 2 days before my trip to Rochester, when I was trying to discover if BXCR Donuts was still in business (they aren’t). No worries though, because as I read on a Reddit post, Ridge has the best donuts in Rochester, and of all the ones I’ve tried, I would have to agree.
This is one of those not fancy but doesn’t need to be because they just make really good donut places. And I love really good donuts!
The only thing is if you want to eat in, your donut costs extra… Maybe because they will bring it to you… I don’t know. I just got my donut and then hid in my car.
Atmosphere: 2.5
Creativity: 2.5
Flavor: 4
New York Donuts Worth Skipping
Donuts Delite
Rochester, NY
I had really high expectations for Donuts Delite in Rochester, NY. I had read so many great reviews and was completely enticed by their online menu, not to mention how cute their shop looked.
I guess I just set myself up for disappointment, considering how highly I thought of them before I tried them… I honestly was not impressed at all. I tried a couple different donuts, including their famous cannoli donut. I mean the filling was good (I’ve never met a cannoli filling I didn’t like), but I’ve had better, and the actual donut was just not doing it for me.
They do get atmosphere points for their cool shop (but lose atmosphere points for their awkward parking lot!), but overall I’d have to put this one down as a skip. Go to Ridge Donuts if you’re in Rochester.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Creativity: 3.5
Flavor: 2
North Carolina Donuts Worth Trying
Duck Donuts
Franchise from Duck, NC
Find a location
See above, my top picks for the best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 4
Ohio Donuts Worth Trying
This is not an ordinary doughnut.
It’s a grilled cheese sandwich.
This is why it needs to be included on this list. It’s a grilled cheese sandwich, made on a doughnut, and dunked in soup.
Yep.
I just went with the regular grilled cheese, but at Tom & Chee they have so many options of crazy combinations. It’s truly an inspiration to the world of strange food combinations!
So if the thought of a grilled cheese doughnut doesn’t make you throw up a little in your mouth, then definitely check out one of their locations.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 2.5
Oregon Donuts Worth Trying
VooDoo Doughnuts Universal Orlando location—thus all the sun!
I have heard A LOT about VooDoo Doughnuts in Portland, OR.
And about donuts in general in Portland, OR.
Someday I hope to take a donut tasting tour of Portland (It’s a thing! They are very serious about their donuts!), but I have yet to make it that far west. So I was excited to find the new VooDoo Doughnut store at Universal’s CityWalk in Orlando.
It was insane! There was literally a spinning wheel of donut flavors (so many flavors!). And I loved my first donut so much (the special “year of the dragon” donut), that I had to go back for more later.
In fact, I seriously considered adding them to the top of this list, under my absolute favorite donut shops. But my second trip was not quite as great as my first, and… VooDoo has some… interesting donut designs (most specifically at their “not family vacation destination” location).
So they didn’t quite make the top of the list, but they are worth a stop if you’re in Portland (or the complete opposite side of the country, AKA Orlando!).
Atmosphere: 4
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 3.5
Pennsylvania Donuts Worth Trying
Oram’s Donut Shop
Beaver Falls, PA
The cinnamon roll donut is probably the biggest donut I’ve ever seen!
I’ve had Oram’s Donut Shop on my list since I planned out a “donut road trip” for my college friend and me to go on back in 2015. We never went on the road trip. I think because I got a grown up job…
But I’ve consistently come across them on every list of the best donuts in PA that I’ve found, so after 7 years of waiting, I was ready for the opportunity to try them!
I got the giant cinnamon roll, as I read they are the best. Jason tried the chocolate frosted with cream filling, which we were then told is so popular, Pillsbury (and a bunch of other companies) has been trying to buy the secret family recipe for years (unsuccessfully)!
If you want to try said secret family recipe, you’re only choice is to travel to the little town of Beaver Falls, PA (near Pittsburgh) to get your hands on something that Pillsbury could not.
These are not fancy donuts. These are not pretty donuts. They are just Donuts. Done. Well.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 2
Flavor: 4
Peace, Love & Little Donuts
Franchise from Pittsburgh, PA
Find a location
See above, my top picks for the best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 5
Flavor: 4
Pennsylvania Donuts Worth Skipping
Federal Donuts
Philadelphia, PA
A specialty donut from Federal Donuts in downtown Philly.
This is where my idea of trying different doughnut shops on vacation started! We were near Philly for a wedding, so obviously we had to take advantage of that opportunity and take a peek at the city (not to be confused with the time we accidentally drove through downtown Philly at 5 on a Friday night because we were following the “no toll” route!).
I came up with Federal Donuts as the best place to try in Philly. So after we drove around trying to find somewhere to park, failed, gave up, drove back to the parking garage by the liberty bell, gave our key to the sketchy security guard who said he needed it in case he needed to move our car (he really did, though), and walked 20 minutes back to Federal Donuts, we finally got to try them.
And they were… ok.
They have unique flavors, or you can get one of their classic flavors, hot out of the fryer. Definitely go with option 2, because the hot, fresh donut was way better than the specialty donut.
Atmosphere: 1
Creativity: 4.5
Flavor: 2.5
Maple Donuts
York, PA
Maple Donuts gets atmosphere points for the adorable retro donut shop vibe. They also have an abundance of creative flavors to try.
As far as the actual donuts, some are better than others, but in general, I found they were very doughy and not particularly tasty. Not that they taste bad… I certainly had no problem downing 3 of them. But really… they have no flavor. They are just a means for holding all the yummy toppings.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Creativity: 3.5
Flavor: 2
Rhode Island Donuts Worth Trying
PV Donuts
Providence, RI
Oh the trouble we went through to try PV Donuts in Rhode Island!
I figured we could stop in Rhode Island on our way home from visiting my family in Massachusetts, so as not to interfere with any of our plans with our family. But Jason wanted to try Rocco’s Doughnut Company on the way home, which I also had on my list, so we had to come up with another plan.
We thought we would drive a few of the 8 hours the night before, then pre-order our donuts so they didn’t sell out of what we wanted, and make it in time to pick them up before they closed at 3 the next day. Which was a great plan. Until I woke up sick the day we were supposed to leave.
We finally squeezed in a completely out of the way trip to RI (bringing along my sister, so that we both could check another state off our list!), and got our donuts!
They may not have been worth quite all the trouble they caused us… but these are definitely good donuts. And big donuts!!! And expensive donuts…
Atmosphere: 3
Creativity: 4.5
Flavor: 4
Tennessee Donuts Worth Trying
Five Daughters Bakery
Nashville
See above, my top picks for the best donuts in the US!
Atmosphere: 4
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 5
Washington D.C. Donuts Worth Trying
District Doughnut
DC & Virginia
Cannoli donuts are some of my favorite!
District Doughnut also has several locations throughout Washington DC, as well as one in Arlington, VA. They have consistently been voted the best donuts in DC.
We visited the Eastern Market location by the waterfront, which was fun (despite being 26 degrees…). They also have a rotating menu of flavors, but with a lot more options than Astro Doughnuts (although no fried chicken).
I don’t know about the best donuts in DC, but they definitely were not the best donuts we’ve ever had. They were better than Astro Donuts though. And the cannoli cream inside mine was soooooo good! I feel like the toppings and fillings were delicious, but the actual donuts were just kinda meh. But I would definitely get it again.
Atmosphere: 2.5
Creativity: 4
Flavor: 3.5
D.C. Donuts Worth Skipping
Astro Doughnuts
DC & Virginia
A birthday cake donut from Astro Doughnuts in downtown DC.
Astro Doughnuts (and fried chicken) has 2 locations in DC and one nearby in Virginia. They have a rotating menu of donut flavors, and… fried chicken (apparently that’s a thing now…).
They also have a beer hall next to their downtown DC location, which isn’t far from the mall and the Washington Monument.
I can’t speak for their savory menu, but as far as the donuts we tried, I have to say, we were not impressed. They were beautiful, but the taste was really disappointing.
However, with all the different rotating flavors, maybe some of them will be better.
Atmosphere: 2
Creativity: 3
Flavor: 2.5
Donut Recommendations/To Be Tried
Colorado
Amy’s Donuts
Colorado Springs, CO
Find other locations
Amy’s Donuts is a mom and pop donut shop started in Colorado Springs, where they now have two locations! They’ve also expanded to a few other states, so you might be lucky enough to have one nearby.
Their donuts are colorful, flavorful, and topped with all sorts of fun treats.
New Jersey
Broad St. Dough Co.
Oakhurst & Freehold, NJ
They also have a location in California
I haven’t been to Broad St. Dough Co. yet either, but 90% of the donut pictures I find on Instagram that I have to try some day come from here. So there you go.
The insane thing is, I used to go to this area every summer to visit my grandma. It’s too bad I wasn’t obsessing over eating donuts back then, so I could have tried them!
Someday I’ll have to make a road trip over to the NJ coast again. Until then, I’ll have to make do with drooling over Insta photos.
New York
Burrville Cider Mill
Watertown, NY
This is another one that I haven’t actually tried personally, but I’ve been told (by a local, and they always know best!) that they have THE BEST apple cider donuts you can get.
So if you happen to be in central NY in the fall (a beautiful time to visit), be sure to get an apple cider donut from Burrville Cider Mill, and let me know what you think!
Ohio
The Donut Trail
Butler County
Get ready. Because this is not one donut shop. This is not 2 donut shops…
This is THIRTEEN donut shops!!
(And no, you do not have to try them all in one day).
Get your “donut passport” so you can get a secret code at each of the local donut shops you visit on the Butler County Donut Trail. Once you’ve completed the trail, send in your secret codes for a free t-shirt that changes every year (ergo, you should do the donut trail at least once a year)!
Pennsylvania
Better-Maid Donut Co.
Pittsburgh, PA
If you want to try a donut from Better-Maid Donut Co. you’re going to have to get in line by at least 8 am. This hole in the wall donut shop opens at 6 am, and there is always a line already formed.
They’re open until they sell out (and make no mistake about it, they will sell out), which is sometimes 11 am, and sometimes 7 am.
I haven’t been here yet (can I get myself up that early…?). But as I know from experience, any donut place that has people lined up while it’s still dark out is gonna be good.
Here is a list of all the best donut shops in and around Pittsburgh, PA!
More to Come!
I’ve got plenty of ideas to “research” for more adds to this list of the best donuts in the US in the future!!
Any suggestions?
If you know of any great donut shops near you, be sure to email me or comment below. I’d love to check them out if I’m ever in the area.
I’m always on the lookout for a good donut!
Further reading:
For more ideas, check out this list of the 30 Best Donut Shops in the U.S. from another travel blogger.
Also check out this list of the Best Donuts in America from a couple who road tripped across the country
Looking for the best donut shops to try?
Save one of the pins below for future donut eating!
