Fall is among the best times of the year, and metro Detroit is the place to be when it comes to having nonstop fun in the area.
From cider mills to haunted attractions, there is something for anyone and everyone to enjoy food, drinks, scares and much more.
Fall is here and the metro Detroit region couldn’t be more excited! Each county is blanketed in trees, turning colors and providing atmosphere you can’t find anywhere else. From Halloween and Dia de los Muertos to pumpkin patches and corn mazes, there’s non-stop fun for people of all ages.
This guide is a fool-proof way to plan your Fall activities for quality time with your families, partners, friends or all of the above. Check out what’s in store for this beautiful season below and come back for updates on even more to do.
Photos courtesy of: Westview Orchard & Adventure Farm, Eastern Market and Greenfield Village
One of the best things to do in the fall is to spend time with family and friends at the cider mill or apple picking. Most cider mills in the area open in September, and continue to stay open through at least November, offering delicious apple cider, donuts and much more to visitors.
No matter where you are in the area, there is a cider mill likely to be close to you.
Yates Cider Mill in Rochester, with a location in Lake Orion, is among the most well-known cider mills in Michigan. The mill dates to 1863 as Yates Grist Mill, and in 1876, the Yates family installed a cider press.
On top of the cider and donuts, there are pony rides, a petting zoo, and walking available along the Paint Creek River.
Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills is another mill that dates to the 1800s. The Franklin Grist Mill opened in 1837 and was turned into a cider mill in 1918.
The donuts at the Franklin Cider Mill are made fresh and served warm every day from an old German spice recipe.
Blake’s Farms has locations throughout Macomb County and there is a variety of things to eat and do. On top of cider and donuts, there is a U-Pick orchard for fresh fruits and vegetables, Blake’s Orchard Funland and Blake’s Big Apple Funland which have petting farms, mazes, sports zones and much more.
For those in the City of Detroit, Detroit Farm & Cider offerings farm-to-table dinners, horseback riding, bonfires and more. It’s located in the Dexter-Linwood Neighborhood. There’s also Cider in the City, taking place on Saturday afternoons in October, which turns Beacon Park into a fall festival.
Wiard’s Orchards and Country Fair in Ypsilanti offers a family-fun destination for fall with a ton of attractions like a corn maze, wagon rides, petting rides, mini golf and much more. There’s also u-pick apples and pumpkins.
South of the city, Apple Charlies in New Boston offers much of the same as the others, including a pumpkin patch, u-pick orchard, donuts, cider, a petting zoo and more.
West of the city, you can find many other cider mills and orchards, including Plymouth Orchards and Cider Mill, Parmenter’s Northville Cider Mill, Erwin Orchards in South Lyon and Three Cedars Farm.
North of the city in Macomb County, you can find some of the cider mills listed above like Yates and Blakes, as well as Stony Creek Orchard & Cider, Westview Orchards & Winery, Big Red Orchard and Verellen Orchards & Cider Mill.
Photos courtesy of: Blake’s Cider Mill and Bill Bowen
Metro Detroit is filled with great roads, pathways and parks to see fall colors, which usually hit their peak in mid-to-late October, giving people time throughout the month to see fall colors.
Paint Creek Trail is a large trail running through some of the area in metro Detroit with trees. Think of Michigan’s famous Tunnel of Trees that is up north, but a walking path.
The nearly 9-mile trail in northern Oakland County runs between Rochester and Lake Orion and gives you great views and smells of fall in the area.
If you’re near the city, Belle Isle State Park is filled with perfect places to see the fall colors. There are several areas on the island featuring many trees, and you can also take in the new Oudolf Garden that just opened on the island.
Metro Detroit’s many Metroparks also offer a variety of sights for fall colors. Kensington Metropark and Stony Creek Metropark are two of just 13 Huron-Clinton Metroparks around the area.
When it comes to roads to drive on, the County Road Association of Michigan lists several roads in the area that are prefect for fall colors. Take a look at the list below.
Leaves photos courtesy of: Scott Webb
Michigan has some of the best breweries in the country, and with a great fall atmosphere, combining both of those means some great drinks for the fall.
Blake’s Hard Cider Co., which is part of Blake’s Farms, is the place to get hard cider and is one of the most well-known hard cider brands in the country. If you visit their taproom, you can get a flight of hard ciders and beer, which are all perfect for the fall. Flannel Mouth is their normal hard cider, but if you’re in for some heat, give the El Chavo a try, a mango-habanero cider.
Atwater Brewery has two locations in the area – one in Detroit and one in Grosse Pointe Park – and has a great fall selection. They follow the trend of pumpkin-flavored drinks with the Pumpkin Spice Latte, a pumpkin-flavored ale with cinnamon, nutmeg and coffee flavors, or the Bloktoberfest, a Germany-style Marzen.
Founders Brewing Co. has a tap room located in Midtown Detroit has a delicious Oktoberfest that uses imported German malts and hops. In the Detroit Taproom, they also have a Harvest Ale that includes fresh pine notes, and the Homegrown Harvest Ale that features 100% Michigan ingredients.
Griffin Claw Brewing Co. also features a few different fall-flavored beers. Their location in Birmingham also has a great outdoor patio to drink it. Their Screamin’ Pumpkin Ale is like pumpkin pie in a can,” and is brewed with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, fresh ginger and clove. They also have the Flying Buffalo Screamin’ Pumpkin which is a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout.
In Livonia, you can get a spooky feel at SuperNatrual Brewing and Spirits. The atmosphere inside is very Halloween-friendly, and they release the 13 beers of Halloween every year leading up to the holiday.
Jolly Pumpkin has locations throughout metro Detroit in Ann Arbor, Midtown Detroit, Dearborn and Royal Oak. There you can try many different farmhouse ales, and more. They have different food and beer on tap at each location.
Finally, there are some beers from other Michigan breweries outside of metro Detroit that are likely to be on tap or sold at bars and liquor stores around the area and are perfect for your fall night. They include:
Photos courtesy of: Atwater Brewery
While fall is known for many of the things to do above, there’s one thing that also sticks out – having fun while being scared. Metro Detroit is filled with different haunted attractions for people of all ages to have fun. Some are more for adults, while others provide a great time for kids and families.
Erebus Haunted Attraction is the best-known attraction. Located in Pontiac, the four-story haunted warehouse once held the Guinness World Record for the largest walk-through haunted attraction. It provides levels and levels of scares.
Blake’s Farms also offers haunted attractions to go along with hard cider, apple picking and more. On top of a haunted hayride, you have access to a 3-story haunted barn, spookyland and zombie paintball where you ride in a trailer and shoot paintballs and people dressed as zombies.
Eloise Asylum in Westland offers a new haunted attraction for 2021 with 30,000 square feet of “high-tech horror.” On top of that, Eloise is a former psychiatric hospital that used to host paranormal tours.
Preservation Detroit is also offering historic tours of Detroit cemeteries in the month of October. There will be a different cemetery each week, and you can hear the stories behind the most famous and infamous people buried in the Motor City.
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