The best cider mills in Michigan to visit in 2021! There are almost 150 cider mills scattered throughout the state, so debates of which is the best Michigan cider mill is argued across the state. When the leaves start to change I start thinking about all the delicious donuts being made. The fall season in Michigan holds a special place in my heart. How could it not?
I look forward to the fall season for so many reasons. However, one, in particular, is my favorite. Over the years I have made my way through many of the best cider mills in Michigan so I could try all the freshly baked warm, soft, homemade cider mill donuts. My fingers always get covered in the donut’s delicious cinnamon sugar because they’re so messy, then I wash it down with a refreshing (or warming) cup of apple cider.
Here’s my list of the top 13 best cider mills in Michigan!
But first…What IS a cider mill?
To make the cider the apples are pressed, ground, and milled when it’s then made into delicious fresh apple cider. The “mill” is the equipment that is used to crush the apples and ferment them before the cider is stored and shipped as apple juice products. Cider mills can be found all across the state and other midwestern states in the USA that also grows apples.
All the best cider mills in Michigan sell apple cider and a variety of flavored donuts so you can taste the different types from each mill. Some recipes are passed down from generation to generation so they each have their own version of the cider donut combo. Some have a shop inside where you can purchase a variety of apple and fall goods such as jams, pies, fresh fruits/veggies, wines, and more.
Here are 13 of the best cider Mills in Michigan!
Blakes Farm & Orchard
17985 Armada Center Rd, Armada, MI 48005
Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill opened in 1946 as the first U-pick orchard in Michigan and was added to the list because of their hard ciders!. Easily my favorite because of its delicious hard ciders. If you only pick one, I highly recommend you try Flannel Mouth because it’s my personal favorite.
The orchard offers fall activities for everyone when they visit. making this the perfect family outing. The market offers fresh-pressed cider, donuts, and rooms full of homemade bakery items so take some time to wander around and shop. Hayrides go to the orchards so you can pick your own pumpkin or apples.
What is there to do at Blakes
- Adult cider tastings, my favorite is Flannel Mouth. You can also get a cider flight and try multiple
- Shop local goods; homemade pies, baked goods, fresh apples pumpkins and gords, donuts, and more
- Go apple picking
- Take a hayride to pick your own pumpkin
- October there are haunted hayrides, a 3-story haunted barn, Spookyland, and… zombie paintball. You read that right.
- June Blakes hosts the annual Michigan Lavender Festival
- See more events at Blakes
Paint Creek
4480 Orion Road, Rochester, MI 48306
Many of the best Michigan cider mills are historic with a rich history, so visitors get a look into the past. This mill is family-operated with a restaurant menu made from scratch, so you can have lunch there too. The mill is powered by the river, so It’s pretty cool to see the wheel outside as it spins the water to the mill. When you visit you can expect apple cider, warm cinnamon donuts & fresh locally made treats so you can take some home. Don’t forget to bring your bike, so you can work off all the cider and donuts as you ride down the paint creek trail.
Paint Creek is a local favorite because it is so easily accessible! The trail has a pull-off to the cider mill so we like to stop for treats along our ride. The trail runs from downtown Lake Orion to downtown Rochester so if you want to keep riding you can connect to the Clinton River trail. In 2021 the cider mill introduced new honey, syrups, and hemp-infused honey so you can try all the classic cider mill goodies that are sold. I like to walk along the scenic trail so I can find a spot on the river to enjoy my donuts. You could also head over to Goodrich which is right down the street. You know… so you compare whose donuts are better.
Download the paint creek trail map here.
Things to do
- Shop local goods; homemade pies, baked goods, fresh apples, caramel apples, honey, syrups, and hemp-infused honey
- Paint Creek Trail for walking or biking
- Walkable to Goodrich for cider & donut tastings and comparing who has the best cider/donuts.
- Full lunch/dinner menu
Goodison
4295 Orion Road, Rochester, MI 48306
Just across the street from the Paint Creek Cider Mill is Goodison Cider Mill which is also accessible from the Paint Creek Trail. Goodison makes Pistachio nut bread that is world-famous so you know it’s good. They bake hundreds of loaves each year because it attracts customers from miles away. Goodison is open from Labor Day until Christmas each year.
Yates
1950 E Avon Rd, Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Yates (arguably one of the best cider mills in Michigan) is also located in Rochester Hills just down the road from Goodrich & Paint creek. Yates has been water-powered from the Clinton river since 1863 and presses 300 gallons of fresh blended apple cider per hour.
Fresh handmade treats such as donuts, apple pies, cider, fudge, apple crisp, jams, and more are sold in addition to their cider and donuts. When it’s a nice day out, we like to ride our bikes from the Clinton River Trail which is just 2 miles away. Yates is one of the busiest cider mills in the Rochester area and parking can be a nightmare, so if you’re able – I would recommend biking there to avoid the hassle. Yates is another Michigan cider mill that still uses water to power its cider presses.
What to do at Yates
- Bike or walk the Clinton River Trail
- Download the Clinton River Trail Map Here
- Sit riverside and picnic with your cider & donuts
Parshallville
Open Friday-Sunday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
November Hours: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Parshallville is also one of the best cider mills in Michigan. They pick their apples right from the orchard where they turn it into non pasteurized apple cider it’s then bottled fresh off the press!
Treats at Parshallville
- Cinnamon sugar & plain donuts
- Apple cider served warm, cold, or slushi!
- Homemade apple pies
- Variety of heirloom apples
- Caramel apples are plain, nutty, and sprinkled
- Crisp “Caramel chips” are apple wedges in a warm pool of caramel
- Local honey
- Watch the donuts being made on the mill
Wiard’s Orchard
5565 Merritt Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Wiard’s was founded in 1837 which was also the same year Michigan became a state. They started making their donuts in 1964, since then they have made over 15,665,600 donuts! The cider mill was also the first orchard in the US to add haunted Halloween attractions. The haunted fun then caught on and grows more and more popular each year.
What is there to do at Wiard’s Orchard
- Haunted Thrills Park
- Visit the country store and pick up some treats
- U-pick apples and pumpkins
- Country Fair: Corn maze, old west wagon rides
- Fort Wiard mini golf
- Straw stack, pappy apple, kid’s kingdom, li’l folks children playgrounds
- Splattertown paintball
- Get your Country Fair tickets here
Franklin
7450 Franklin Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
Franklin first opened as a grist mill in 1837 and was added to the top best cider mills in Michigan list because of its special donuts!. The Michigan cider mill has been pressing apples into cider since 1895, and today, all 21 varieties of apples used are hand-picked fresh and 100 percent organic. The mill sells their honey crisp apple cider in September, so that is what I look forward to each year. It’s so fresh and I highly recommend you try it with your donuts.
We enjoy shopping at the farmer’s market so we can bring home apple pie, way too many donuts, and other fall treats. The cinnamon spice donuts they make are unique to Franklin so if you do a donut tasting from others and you’ll be able to tell the difference. The mill is just minutes away from Cranbrook Botanical Gardens, so take your treats to the garden and find a nice place to picnic!
Erwin Orchards
61475 Silver Lake Rd, South Lyon, MI 48178
Things to do at Erwin Orchards
- U-Pick apples & pumpkins
- Cooking with Linda- Erwin has a list of delicious recipes for U-pick apples! Check them out HERE.
- Corn Maze
- Seasonal U-pick – red and yellow raspberry patch
Saturdays and/or Sundays only:
- Mr. Bee’s Big 3-D Adventure – walk through and view the bright, colorful, whimsical, 3-D attraction
- Farmer Bill’s Target Paintball
- Carousel Acres Petting Farm
- Mystic Kettle – kettle corn popped fresh on site.
- Got You Covered Photo Booth
Spicers Orchard & Winery
10411 Clyde Rd, Fenton, MI 48430
When you visit Spicer’s you’ll find fall fun for everyone! Another of Michigan’s best, Spicers was built in 1928 so the family could survive the Great Depression and WWII. They would take the different fruits from the original farm in Novi and then take them over to Detroit’s Eastern Market. Recently built is a new wine tasting building on site so you can try the different hard ciders and fruit wines crafted from the orchard’s harvest.
Things to do at Spicers
- Wagon rides to U-pick apples & pumpkins
- Tractor Trivia Corn Maze
- Baked treats & goods shop
- Farmer’s Market
Dexter
3685 Central St, Dexter, MI 48130
Dexter Cider Mill is the oldest operating mill in the state so it’s full of history. To make the apple cider an oak rack press older than 120-years old blends three to five locally grown apple varieties.
Parmenter’s Northville
714 Baseline Rd, Northville, MI 48167
HOURS: Aug 28- Nov 21
RESTAURANT FALL HOURS: Wednesday thru Friday 3-11 pm
Every Day 10am – 8pm CLOSED Monday & Tuesday
Shop Goods & Products
- Fresh Donuts & Apple Cider
- Apple Cider Slush
- Warm Apple Pie
- Pumpkin & Apple Butter
- Donut Chips
- Caramel Apples
- Fresh Fudge
- Michigan Jams, Honey, Maple Syrup
Things to do
- Winery & Brewery – All hard ciders, beers, and wines are made on-site.
- Watch the cider being pressed
- Visit the Nut Hut for candied cinnamon roasted almonds
- Chow Mill – serves hot dogs & kielbasa
- Live music & food trucks
Long Family Orchard
1540 East Commerce Rd. Commerce, MI 48382
Things to do at Long Family Orchard, one of Michigan’s best
- Moonlight corn maze, straw tunnels, corn bounce
- 2 Giant jumping pillows, ball zone
- Giant slide, pedal kart track
- Little/big sandbox, large play structures
- Tube swing, spider web, goat farm
- Apple & pumpkin cannons + U-pick
Past Tense
1965 Farnsworth Rd, Lapeer, MI 48446
Past Tense is a great day trip, especially if you like shopping! Visit the country store so you can buy home decor, florals, holiday decorations, and other souvenirs. Cider Mill Restaurant has a full menu where they also sell the classic cider and donuts. When you visit try their award-winning honey crisp apple cider (my favorite). You can see the difference between them in the center photo as the honey crisp is brighter/lighter colored in contrast to the traditional cider.
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Amazing Fall Color Drives in Michigan
Looking for more to do in Michigan this fall? Check out my post on where the best scenic fall foliage drives are in Michigan
I hope you enjoyed my list of the Best Cider Mills in Michigan!
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62 comments
Very useful information, thanks for sharing.
What a great guide. I love your tips. As someone who wants to go everywhere, sometimes picking one place can be daunting.
Omg all you had to do was show the first pic of apple cider donuts and you totally sold me on Michigan cider mills. My favorite part of fall — and all the cider and goodies look amazing!
hahah The donuts are just so melty and delicious. Michigan is a great place for a fall trip!
LOVED this article! Really made me hungry and missing Northern US fall treats 😀 We have the same types of places in Connecticut!
I’ve never visited a cider mill before or had a cider doughnut, I’d love to try that, love cider! It’s a great guide, thanks for sharing!
I haven’t experienced visiting a cider mill before but it looks like a great time! Who knew there were so many in Michigan to choose from?
Cider and donuts, what’s not to love?! Feels like I’m gonna need a whole lot of time and a good pair of stretchy pants if I ever make it to Michigan – but looking at this I think I’ll have to one day
Michigan looks like such a fun place to be in the fall – I had no idea, I’ve only been there in the summer!
How did I not know that Michigan had soooo many cider mills?! I love exploring cider mills in the fall
I love the idea of visiting cider mills in the Fall. Any enjoy the Fall colors while you drive!
I’ve never visited a cider mill before but I’d absolutely love to! They look so charming and I’m a big fan of cider! All of the treats look so delicious, I’d love to try them! Thanks for the great guide!
Having just moved to Chicago this year, I really need to make it over to Michigan to check some of these cider mills out! I had no idea that cider and donuts were paired together so often, but it sounds amazing! I’d definitely want to try all of the hard ciders and hot ciders on chilly days. The donuts from Erwin Orchards look especially good!
All of your recommendations seem like such perfect fall activities! And I mean… Who can say no to ciders and donuts! I may just have to plan a trip for next fall to experience the haunted hayrides at Blake’s and caramel chips at Parshallville.
Most definitely! Take a fall color tour and see the waterfalls in the UP area, Michigan has over 400 cider mills across the state!
Our first Cider Mills experience was last summer in Vermont and we liked it. I think we will enjoy the apple cider and donuts offer at these mills in Michigan. As someone who likes pistachio, I won’t skip that pistachio nut bread from Goodison.
We have enjoyed finding cider spots on our recent travels in Canada. I don’t like my cider super sweet but have been surprised at the range in taste we found in ciders. It looks like we will need to plan visit to Michigan from Toronto and try out the local cider mills. I would not be passing on this cinnamon sugar donuts either. We are going to need several days to try out all the great Cider Mills in Michigan.
Okay so obviously I love the idea cider mills…but why do they all have doughnuts? I had not idea that cider and doughnuts were a thing that goes together – although now I see it, I do want to try! Michigan sounds like great fun (and very sugary) in the fall!
I adore a good cider donut and the sights at a orchard, but would also love to try the wine and yellow raspberries!
I would absolutely love this! I had no idea this was a thing in Michigan so this post is very helpful! Great post!
Ooo this post makes me wish I lived closer to Michigan! Would love to visit some of these cider mills!
I love cider! I used to drink it in NZ a lot 😅 never heard of the cider donut combo, sounds interesting 😊
My husband and I LOVE cider! I never knew that Michigan was a place for it! I always thought about Washington for some reason. We need to go try some when we get the chance.
I’ve never actually tried cider, but I know it’s very popular around the autumn time, and all of these locations look really nice to visit – especially with the donuts!
I love ciders! This sounds so amazing!
I love this post! I grew up in Wisconsin so I am all about fall activities and apple cider donuts! Michigan has so many beautiful places too. Even though I am nearby, I haven’t been to Michigan nearly enough. I definitely wanted to change that and visit all of these cider mills!
I’ve never been to Wisconsin, but my friend just moved to Madison – so it may be in the cards sometime next year! The cider and donuts are worth the trip, I hope you get to try them some day!
Fall is my favorite time of year and this post basically captures everything I love about it. The colors, the activities and the food! Those donuts…I just want them all. They look so good
I eat way too many donuts in the fall 😍 but it is my favorite time of year, the fall colors make it!
What a fun fall activity! We have a handful of cider mills in Virginia, but not this many. I think I’d most want to visit the Dexter Mill since it’s the oldest, but they all sound great!
They are all unique in their own ways. Some have wineries on them, hayrides, pick your own apples/pumpkins, haunted houses, etc. It’s worth visiting a couple different ones depending on what you like to do!
This sounds like such a fun fall activity! The scenic trail at Paint Creek sounds lovely and Goodrich Cider looks beautiful too. The Honey Crisp cider at Franklin defs caught my attention as well. And those donuts, yum!!!
I’ve never been to a cider mill, but absolutely would be down to check one out someday! I love apple cider + cider donuts are awesome! <3
If you visit MI in the fall – there are over 70 different cider mills to choose from!
I had no idea there were SO MANY cider mills anywhere! How incredible! Thank you for sharing this, I can’t wait to visit one.
This is just a small portion of my favorites haha there are about 70 cider mills throughout the state of Michigan!
I’ve never been to Michigan before, but fall seems like a perfect time to do and visit a cider mill! Sounds like such a great idea, I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before and that they aren’t more popular elsewhere!
Michigan has tons and tons of apple orchards/pumpkin patches in the fall where you can pick your own – most orchards are located on cider mills!
Ohh this is the perfect weekend activity. I love apple cider… and I love donuts – what a perfect pairing! Makes me want to explore the Midwest now.
MI is an amazing state, and very underrated in my opinion! Visit in the fall and try out some adult cider 😉
I really enjoy drinking cider, it’s such a refreshing drink and some flavours are really interesting. It’s a very good option when you don’t drink beer. I like the idea of picking a pumpkin at the same time, bring on Halloween!
yes, I prefer cider to beer/wine although I do enjoy wine! MI has so many cideries/breweries/wineries there is something for everyone 🙂
I’d always thought a cedar mill was for cedar trees .. learn something new everyday, and now I want to visit. I love apple cider and ciders of all kinds. This looks so fresh and amazing.
Visit in the fall so you can see all the amazing fall colors along your scenic drives to the different cider mills! They have adult cider/cideries across the state as well 😉
So fun…love a good cider mill, especially when there’s hard cider involved. Was hoping to get out there when visiting home this past summer (Chicago!) but alas. Someday!
Next year you should come visit! There are around 70 cider mills across the state, many not too far from Chi!
I really love “pumpkin season”, but I think I may love apples and cider even more! Those cider donuts look so yummy!
I’m from Ohio and one of my favorite things about fall in the Midwest is fresh apple cider. Of course cider donuts and even caramel apples aren’t bad either. This makes me miss my hometown.
Apple picking, cider mills, and fall colors is like the planets way of lightening the blow of summer ending haha
Ooh, I love cider and donuts. Never been to a cider mill,, it sounds like fun!
I really like cider, I drank a lot in the UK. But never heard about eating it with a doughnut, it would be an interesting addition to the experience!
Oh yum! I love cider & almost everything Fall related haha! I’ve never been to a cider mill, but they look amazing!
– Madi xo | http://www.everydaywithmadirae.com
I love everything about Fall. I used to live in Tennessee (now in South Carolina) where we
had cider mills. Seeing your pics of those yummy donuts makes me miss it so much! Your
photos are gorgeous and Michigan looks like a beautiful place in the Fall! Thanks for
sharing.
I love all the different ciders that are available now! Michigan is on my list of places to go, so I’ve pinned this list for later use!
I’ll save this blog post of your just in case I go to Michigan or have friends going there someday 🙂
I love ciders! Also, I plan on going to Michigan soon so I’ll have to keep this in mind when I go!
What a great and delicious trip to do to Michigan
Great post! I love cider and apple cider donuts. Now this just gives me a good reason to visit Michigan!
I love hot apple cider! This is the first year I tried an apple cider donut and it was SO Good!
Yum this sounds delicious and I pin the information for next time I am in the area.
I love this!!!! What a great post!!! Makes me miss the Midwest!!! I feel like I traveled to the cider mills with you though and it makes me happy!!
Oh I love this post, right up my alley! I love ciders!