Many people find relief from the heat and humidity of the dog days of summer with a simple treat — a ball of ice flavored with syrups and often topped with marshmallow.

It is a beloved sign of summer when snowball stands across the region open their doors. The Snowball Stand in Woodstock has been a fixture in the area for 45 years. The current operators, Miki Hill and her family, are celebrating their 11th season running the stand.

“We get people literally from all over the country,” Hill said. “Arizona, California, Ohio, Maine.”

Marc and Amy Magid of Long Island, N.Y., say they make it a point to stop at the stand whenever they are in Maryland to visit family.

“It’s the only reason I come to visit my in-laws,” Marc Magid joked on a recent day as he dug into his “Scooby-Doo” snowball — a mixture of peanut butter, snowball and ice cream.

“They are the best,” said Bruce Shapiro, Magid’s brother-in-law. “Their formulas, their recipes are different than others.”

Water and sugar — real sugar, not fructose — is all it takes, according to Hill, but it makes a big difference. In the future, she hopes one day to offer organic flavors using real maple syrup and fresh-squeezed juices from fruits ranging from lemons to mangoes.

“We’ve done it at home and it is amazing,” Hill said. “It is good for your health, but not a feasible business plan,” as the cost, typically $10 for 8 ounces of fresh juice, would drive up prices.

Of the Snowball Stand’s current 33 flavors, egg custard is among the most popular, according to Morgan Sigur, 18, who has been working at the stand for two seasons.

“I didn’t think I was going to like it, but it is the best,” Sigur said.

Delaney Olds, 18, was trying an egg custard snowball topped with marshmallow for the first time on a recent weekend.

Typically, she gets ice cream or a cherry snowball, she said, but since she’ll soon be heading off to college in Ohio, she thought she should give it a try.

“I wanted to try the classic Baltimore flavor,” she said.

Others like to mix it up a little. Maggie Lewis,18, was trying sour apple topped with candy Nerds. Peter Salama, of Ellicott City,likes lemon lime and blue raspberry combined.

“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid,”

Salama said. “I love it. They are friendly people. They have built up a real good reputation.”

Tropical Waters, in Clarksville, has been offering about 66 flavors since 1998, according to Anand Ambrosi, who was working the stand outside Kendall’s Hardware store on a recent day. While egg custard is a top seller, Ambrosi’s own favorite is a mixture of blueberry and lemonade.

“Rainbow is popular with children.”

Ambrosi said.

Near Blandair Park in Columbia, Pete’s Snowball Stand has been serving 30-plus varieties of snowballs for more than 25 years, according to crew member George Barlas. The stand also offers fresh produce, including tomatoes and eggplants, as well as fresh honey from the family’s beehives.

Barlas admits he is not crazy about snowballs, but says his father — the “Pete” behind the stand’s name — loves them.

Still, Barlas says he enjoys meeting people from the neighborhood, and also likes interacting with people who come from far and wide to events at Blandair Park. For many, it’s a rare chance to get a taste of a local treat.

“We do a lot of tournaments,” Barlas said, “and see kids from every state, and Canada.” kvjones@tronc.com