Yates Cider Mill
“The scenery is beautiful and the doughnuts are delicious. It’s more than just a fall activity, it’s a place to create memories year after year.” — advertising senior Brianna Moss
The Yates Family Cider Mill in Rochester Hills, Mich., has been making cider since 1876. Their cider-making process is unique because it is powered by water from the Clinton River.
Moss said she enjoys seeing the mill turning in the water year after year — it gives the place an old-fashioned feel.
Their cider blends the tastes of up to six different varieties of apples, and is made without preservatives.
Moss said the scenery might be the best part of Yates. According to the cider mill’s website, visitors get to stroll down paths lined with beautiful fall leaves, taking in the view of the Clinton River which runs beside them.
The Country Mill
“Going in the corn maze really puts me in the fall spirit.” — hospitality business junior Hanna Russell
Just a 30 minute drive from East Lansing, The Country Mill in Charlotte, Mich. provides a variety of activities, including hayrides, a haunted cider mill and a corn maze.
The Country Mill also offers many products that other cider mills don’t. In addition to the ordinary apples and doughnuts, guests can buy blueberries, peaches, and sweet corn.
There is also the opportunity for visitors to pick their own apples from the trees in The Country Mill orchard. According to their website, this is one of the few places in mid-Michigan where people can still do this.
Erwin Orchards
“The doughnuts are my favorite part because they’re always crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.” — communication sophomore Christine Appicelli.
Erwin Orchards is third-generation family farm located in South Lyon, Mich., less than an hour away from East Lansing.
Visitors can enjoy several flavors of doughnuts, including apple spice and pumpkin.
At Erwin Orchards, guests have the opportunity to pick their own pumpkins, raspberries, and cherries. There is also a corn maze, petting farm, and a haunted house, the “Barn of Horrors.”
Uncle John’s Cider Mill
“I’m not kidding, there was like 10,000 people there.” — political theory and constitutional democracy and english senior James VanSteel said of his visit last weekend.
Who could forget the East Lansing favorite? Uncle John’s in St. Johns, Mich. is only a 30 minute drive from East Lansing.
VanSteel said he may have exaggerated the popularity of Uncle John’s, but he still said the line to get cider and doughnuts was out the door and through the parking lot.
Uncle John’s was originally a wholesale fruit and vegetable farm, but John and Carolyn Beck decided to convert the place into a cider mill. As time went on, they began to offer more and more goods, including pies, breads, preserves, honeys and syrups.
Now guests can enjoy weekend entertainers for fall “festival-type” events. There is a gift shop, Snack Barn, and even a winery.
