Fall in Michigan is arguably the state’s best season. Football, falling leaves, cider and donuts, and apples provide endless amounts of activities for people of all ages. Metro Detroit is home to a wide range of cider mills and apple orchards, and these are our favorites:
Wayne County
Plymouth Orchards and Cider Mill has two Plymouth locations on Warren Road and Ann Arbor Road. The cider mill offers freshly made cider and donuts, Michigan products, a variety of organic products, and of course apples! Other activities include wagon rides, live music, and strolling through the U-Pick pumpkin patch.
Parmenter’s Northville is Northville’s second-oldest continuously operating business. The cider mill offers cider and donuts alongside all of your fall food favorites like apple butter, maple syrup, and caramel apples.
Parmenter’s Northville. Courtesy of @jillianrosereed
Macomb County
Blake Farms has three locations in Armada and Almont with Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill being the most popular. The orchard offers apple, strawberry, cherry, and peach picking, U-Cut Christmas trees, cider & donuts, fresh produce, a hard cider & wine tasting room, a corn maze & hayride, a haunted house, and much more!
Aerial view of Blake Farms. Courtesy of @blakefarms
Miller’s Big Red Farms in Washington Township offers a one-stop shop for fall activities. Big Red’s Marketplace is a shopping destination for apple cider, local produce, baked goods, and much more. Activities include U-Pick apples & pumpkins, a petting zoo, a straw mountain, and a bounce house.
Oakland County
Yates Cider Mill has two locations: the main location in Rochester Hills and a second location at the Old World Canterbury Village in Lake Orion. Yates Cider Mill offers a variety of apples, cider and donuts, an ice cream shop, pony rides, and an apple tent along with great spots to have a picnic and take a stroll long the adjacent trails.
Franklin Cider Mill, located in Bloomfield Hills, is one of Michigan’s historic cider mills, and the cider and donut shop has been open since 1837. The cider mill offers fresh cider and donuts made from an old German recipe.
Historic picture of Franklin Cider Mill. Courtesy of Franklin Cider Mill.
Want more apple orchard news? Check out Detroit’s future apple orchard on the east side of the city here.
By Allecia Jurkiewicz
Research Manager, JMJ Phillip Group