Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill

It’s hard for me assess this place, as the majority of my time was spent waiting in line for cider and donuts.
This past fall was especially mild, so it seems like any cider mill you went to was just jam packed every weekend, and this place was no exception. A decent amount of things for the kids to do (at least enough to keep them busy as I waited in line for cider and donuts). As I got in line, they had little markers that would tell the approximate wait time for that point in the line.
When I finally got into the building, like most cider mills, they sold more than just cider and donuts. They had pancake mixes, syrups and other items of the like inside. On the far wall is the refrigerators where they kept all the cider. And when you go up to pay the cashier, they have all the donuts behind them. It seems like they could come up with a more efficient way to do this, but that may require more space.
Got a gallon of cider and 2 dozen donuts (variety of their normal, powdered, and cinnamon sugar donuts) to split with the family. The cider was ok. Considering the other cider mills we went to this past year, it was probably the best, but just ok. I’m not sure if it was something to do with this year’s harvests of apples, but the cider didn’t look as dark as it usually does in most years. The donuts were nothing to write home about.
OVERALL– hard to say if this was a down year for a cider or not, but I wasn’t that impressed. Other than the proximity to my house, and I can’t say that there is anything here that would draw me back.
CELEBRITY RATING– Joey Fatone

Of the handful of cider mills around MI I’ve been to, this one had by far the most space for sitting indoors. The place is packed with various park benches, several indoors, as well as a few outside. This place also had the most other apple related things for sale, including various james, mixes, seasonal coffee flavors, etc. (FYI these aren’t things made on site, but most are still regionally sourced).
It was also one of the few cider mills where you can actually buy fresh apples on site, and I appreciated the various posters and signs about the different apple types and the type of flavor (tart, sweet, etc) they each had.
When we got the donuts here, they were warm and slightly crisp on the outside, yummy!
Downside is that their ciders aren’t pasteurized, FYI.
The outside had a few various tractor trucks to climb, and a couple of farm animals. They also had several painted wooden cutouts, the type where you stick your face through to take a photo.

I’ve been coming to this orchard since I was a child.
It’s an all around nice compact cider mill.
Great cider: check
Yummy donuts: check
Great hometown service: check
Scenic and quaint: check
Hayrides and fun: check
I love this cider mill, lots of great memories. Well ran and operated, plus decent prices. There is a nice little petting farm, and the cider and donuts are delicious.
I love the little store filled with speciality jams and yummy apple butter, pies, breads and many other delicious fall treats. This location also has ample indoor seating to enjoy your treats.
The hayride is awesome. The scenic view of the trees changing into beautiful autumn colors, as well as the orchards decorating is lovely.
A great orchard and cider mill, definitely worth a visit.

I’m giving 5 stars for doughnuts and cider alone. I have been to almost ALL of the cider mills in east and west Michigan so, I can say with confidence that this was one of my favorites. It’s not my number 1 but, the doughtnuts were warm and sugary just the way I like it. Sweet but, not too sweet. The cider tasted so fresh and a perfect balance of sweet and tart. It has alot of indoor seating so theres a place to stay warm on the crisp fall days.

I’ve been to better orchards out here in the midwest and on the east coast. The area was very small, and we were under the assumption that we would be able to pick our own apples — turns out, there was no option to do that. Cider and donuts were OK for the most part.

My all time favorite cider mill… always gotta get my pint of cider and my plain donuts. Love seeing the animals, especially the pigs.

Good location and friendly staff. They have «we are working on our organic certification» signs up and told me they grow organically even though they’re not certified. I wanted organic and that was good enough for me so I bought the apples. But I heard that they buy their apples from a non organic grower. I went back and asked and, yes, that’s accurate information. They couldn’t tell me which apples were theirs and which were not as they were mixed together. That was disappointing to me because I thought I was buying organically grown. They don’t have a service to separate out their apples and don’t have plans to start one. Hint, I’m willing to pay more. So I won’t go back. Too bad.

Plymouth Orchards is probably in my top list of cider mills for the animals alone. The kid in me loves walking from pen to pen oohing and aahing over the baby goats, cows, pigs, etc.
On to what really matters here… the cider and donuts. Whenever I come on the weekend this place is incredibly busy so there’s usually a long line to even get to the store. Luckily, the line moves fast. They have a lot of fall related goods to purchase as the line snakes up to the counter. Just make sure when you’re perusing to have someone in your spot in line, otherwise you might lose it.
I usually grab a bag of apples, one of their seriously good caramel apples, cider and half a dozen donuts. Cider here is great; not overly sweet with a good bite. Donuts leave a little to be desired for me. They’re a little too dense for my liking but amply coated in powdered sugar (seriously, watch out for falling powder as you’ll leave looking like you just dumped flour on your lap) and cinnamon sugar. Not the best donuts I’ve had, but I have yet to refuse a donut so I eat away at their picnic tables inside with a cup of the great cider.
Watch out for the bees here! They are literally everywhere you go and love to fly right into your personal bubble.

This place is great! Their apple cider is the best! Not pasteurized, just the way cider should be. Their donuts and caramel apples are also really good. They offer a nice little shop area with baking mixes, honey, apples of course, and some organic selections of garlic, pumpkins and gourds. There is a small petting farm and wagon rides. Nice and clean place with plenty of places to sit and enjoy your purchases. Plenty of photo ops.

While this Orchard is pretty run of the mill ;), it is a must-​see whenever I am in town in the Fall. There is a very small petty zoo, lots of head-​through-​the-​hole picture stands, a classroom for field trips, flowers for sale, wagon rides through the orchards, and the best part is the cider mill!
While this orchard isn’t anything fancy, I think the donuts and cider are the best around!

It’s cider season in Michigan. My favorite cider mills don’t have a lot of frills, or at least have options for folks who are only there for the cider and donuts to get in and out quickly. I went yesterday, and the parking lot was about 85−90% full, so it was pretty busy. Thankfully, I was able to walk right into the building and easily found the line. I waited fewer than 10 minutes in a steadily moving until I was able to pay $ 8.50 for a gallon of non-​pasteurized cider. There were multiple cashiers open who raised their hands and called out as they were ready for the next customer. Because the line goes around the outside of the room, it looks a bit crazier than it really is.
Walking out of the room where I paid, there was a large room with tables and chairs for folks to enjoy their cider out of the elements. I expect it gets loud and crowded as the days get cooler and rainier. Still it is a great space, especially for folks with kids who cannot wait until they get home.
The cider is good. It has a nice flavor for this time of year. It has some sediment, but not too much. In my house of two, we are already ½ gallon into it, so it goes down easy! Though it is not bland, I flavored some with rose-​scented geranium, and it picked the flavor up perfectly. I expect it would do the same with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.

We have been coming here for years. My kids always choose this place so they can pet the animals.
I think they have great cider and donuts. I have been too many cider mills and they have great tasting products. I always enjoy the hot cider, especially on a chilly fall day.
I recommend wearing boots. This place can get really muddy. You don’t want to ruin perfectly good shoes.
Also, if it’s warm out the bees can get really bad.

Not the best cider mill I’ve been to. The cider was a little more sour than I’d like. It’s great they’re not over-​sweetening it like some places might be, but this was a tad too sour. The powdered donuts were overly powdered and the powder got everywhere. It falls all over you, your coat, jacket, shirt, jeans, etc. You try to wipe it down and it leaves a white streak all over your jeans. You then get up and walk about in public with people staring and wondering what you were doing with these white streaks on your jeans…
Anyway, in all seriousness, here’s my current ranking of the cider mills I’ve been to in Southeast Michigan:
1. Franklin Cider Mill (West Bloomfield)
2. Dexter Cider Mill (Dexter)
3. Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill

Second cider I have been too. Nice and friendly area. Get a nice warm cider and spiced donut. Perfect for a chilly fall day.

We decided to try this place because it while a 50 minute drive with another orchard closer to us, we made the drive because we thought it would be a nice change. We most likely wont be doing that again. Don’t get me wrong, the doughnuts and cider were delicious, but aside from that, there’s not much to do as far as a family day goes.
There is a small petting zoo area with a pig, a few chickens, a few goats, and I think one other animal. The wagon ride takes you around in a 10 minute circle to a ‘pumpkin patch’ that’s really a 20X20 area where they placed pumpkins to pick from. No u-​pick apples, actually, the apples they sell aren’t even from their farm if i’m not mistaken. It’s completely possible that the pie isn’t made their either.
There was a performer singing kids songs inside, getting them involved with dancing. That was cute. Overall, Just wasn’t impressed.

We enjoyed ourselves. Took the wagon ride — it was nice and worth the 3 bucks. We even saw some teenager get bitten by a field mouse. The farm animals were unamused, which was really funny.
The outhouses were absolutely disgusting. If I wasn’t about to wet myself I wasn’t going to use them. They were so dark too. So I felt like I was in a cave of stink.
Their donuts are good, but the cider isn’t worth the price at all. When I get «hot cider» I expect more than a kid’s size cup and for it to have cinnamon or something! I make better hot cider at home. No cost of entrance or parking so maybe that’s why they jack the rest of the prices.
Try the individual pie slices!

This place has lots to offer… of course fresh pressed cider which is excellent and the cinnamon and sugar donuts made on site in an area with windows where you can see how they’re made! There is a large indoor seating area for those days when the bees are too eager outdoors; in addition to this indoor area in the same building they sell the cider and donuts, the cider mill also has a couple other buildings that can be reserved for large groups. One is a screened in room that could easily hold 50 or more people and another is a barn sized room that can hold even more.
The animals are fun to see and the kids get a kick out of the sheep, donkey, pigs, and various birds (including peacock!). Seeing the animals is free; for a small charge you can take a hayride through the orchard.

Always a nice time. Really good donuts and cider. Nice petting farm and hay ride for the kids. They also sell the best cider for when we make our own hard cider. Oh, and if its warm out try the cider slushy!

Seeing as i was gal alone, this was slightly less than spectacular — but for those with families and little ones — woot!
I was sent here in search of amazing donuts and cider. Note: I really only like chocolate cake donuts…
But i took the drive, the off road in the company car, and the beautiful leaf changing scenery in stride!
When you first arrive, it is a little unclear where you need to enter for whatever it is you are there for… I figured that out, peeked around the «store», looked at the «pecks» of apples and saw the cider for sale — talk about expensive. I went to one of the registers and said — «I was sent here to have cider and a donut, can you help me»
They laughed and said yes. How many donuts? I chuckled and said — just 1!
I was told to get a «hot» donut, but forgot that part, so it arrived room temp and the cider was just warm — not piping hot.
All in all it was tasty, but i can definitely just check this off the bucket list! I’m thinking as a group and taking the wagon ride would be a hoot, but as a single, meh.

A cider mill in Plymouth., who knew?! Well I didn’t and felt pretty stupid about it considering I live here. Of course, the minute I found out I needed to go. A same day trip was scheduled, even though it was a rainy day in early September.
Because of the rain, we didn’t get to putz around as much as I usually like to do. We have no small kids, but I still usually like to explore every nook and cranny of a cider mill to check out it’s cuteness in full glory.
A visit to the big barn was the only place for us this day, but that was quite alright because that’s where all the good stuff is kept. Inside is a store with plenty of local products such as fruit jams/​jellies/​butters, raw honey products, fresh baked loaves, pies and breads, mulling spice and fall-​type ‘accessories’ and items. I was pleasantly surprised this store did not have the (what it sometimes seems like) obligatory stuffed animals, mounts of conventional candy and miscellaneous $ 5 cheap China toys to muddy the Fall inspired waters, so to say.
The donuts are a win, we particularly liked the crunchy cinnamon sugar ones. The cider was nicely spiced but a little tart, but I chalk that up to us visiting early in the season. It didn’t bother me as much as it did my family. On a table next to the windows they sell a glazed apple/​raisin bread which we really liked slightly toasted for breakfast the following days.
I like that there is indoor seating available, it feels like a giant barn picnic and it shelters you from the unpredictable fall weather and the bees — which seem to bother most people.
Lastly, they have a really helpful and pretty awesome Apple Chart above their table holding bushels of apples for purchase. This chart tells you when which apples are in season and are being harvested, and it provides you with a detailed ‘bio’ of each variety which tells you its flavor profile and best use. Some apples are good for pies, others are good for sauces, yet others are best to just be eaten and not processed. This comes in handy when you’re an apple variety noob, but want to whip up something delicious with your freshly picked apples.