Uncle John's Cider Mill near St. Johns is worth the trip

When we lived in Lansing, my wife and I would make at least one trip each fall up to Uncle John's Cider Mill. Housed in a wonderful old dairy barn, the gleaming modern equipment can be witnessed from the hayloft viewing area. You can munch on their delicious donuts while drinking some cider and watching the cider making process. They have special events going on every weekend in September and October. Their corn maze is supposed to open up tomorrow, September 12 and they have a ton of fun things for kids to enjoy. There are pedal tractors, wagon rides, a nature trail, and much more. Some of the activities are free and some just charge a nominal fee.

Whatever you do, do not leave without picking up one of their wonderful fresh-baked pies. Oh man, they are SO good.

Here is a brief video overview of the cider mill operation at Uncle John's Cider Mill:

Apple picking time at Hubbard's Corey Lake Orchard

UPDATE: I created a new page with a rather comprehensive listing of Michigan Corn Mazes and Michigan Apple Orchards - Michigan Fall Colors. We stopped by Hubbard's Corey Lake Orchard on our way home from church yesterday to pick up some fresh veggies and we were pleasantly surprised to find a few early varieties of apples for sale. Gala, Jonamac, and everybody's favorite Honeycrisp. We picked up a bag of the Gala apples with the promise that we would definitely (and we will) be back to do some picking.

It's only $8 a bushel (that's a lot of apples, folks) to pick your own and if you've never been apple picking - you should. For three quick reasons - 1) It's a great family outing, 2) Isn't it nice to know exactly where your produce is coming from and 3) That you're supporting local farmers.

One thing to note, I think it is $12 (or more) a bushel to pick the Honeycrisp apples. Plus, they don't have as many Honeycrisp apple trees so if you snooze you lose. In other words, he who hesitates will miss out on the Honeycrisps.

We've been picking our apples there for the last few years and it's just a lot of fun for us and the kids. The Gala apples are nice because they are so versatile. They make excellent apple sauce (my wife's homemade apple sauce is THE best), pies, apple crisp, apple butter, and for just plain eating as well.

Down year expected for Michigan's apple crop

According to the Michigan Apple Committee the Michigan apple crop is expected to be "1/3 or more below average." April snow, a May freeze, and weather too hot for ideal pollination all contributed to the expected fewer apples this fall. The first apple (and most in demand) variety available in Michigan is the Honeycrisp. These apples are usually much more expensive than other varieties due to the demand far outstripping the supply. With a lower yield this year you can expect to pay a lot more come mid-September when the apples are ready.

One thing you can do is to find your local apple grower and either go apple picking (a highly enjoyable event in our household) or purchase their already picked selection. Visit www.AppleJournal.com to find an orchard or cider mill near you.

Corn mazes and apple picking time in Michigan

UPDATE: I created a new page with a rather comprehensive listing of Michigan Corn Mazes and Michigan Apple Orchards - Michigan Fall Colors. Cooler breezes are blowing as the seasons are shifting again. Today marks the first day of day of Autumn and we have the temperatures (and in someplaces frost) to go along with it. Where did the summer go?

My wife, son and I went apple picking a week ago at Corey Lake Orchards. We had a great time picking our own bushel of apples and it really didn't take that long. Even with our 2-year-old running up and down the rows of apple trees (he called them hallways) we were still done in about 15 minutes.

Use the Michigan U-Pick online search directory here to find a list of Cider Mills, Farmers' Markets, and U-Pick farms in Michigan.

Here is a list of Corn Mazes in Michigan that I have compiled through a lot of searching. If you know of any others feel free to leave the details in the comments section for this post.

Uncle John's Cider Mill 8614 North US 127 St. John's MI 48879

Talladay Farms 6270 Judd Rd Milan, Michigan 48160

Corn Fun Family Farm, LLC 9391 Lindsey Lane Casco. MI 48064

Amazing Acres Corn Maze & Pumpkin Farm 18430 U.S. 12 Edwardsburg, MI 49112

Benjamin Farms 3770 Noble Rd. Williamston, Michigan 48895

Crots Corn Maze 4800 W. Temperance Rd. Ottawa Lake, MI 49267

Farmer Charlie's Maze Adventure's 6421 N. Stony Creek Rd. Monroe, MI

Depner Farms Corn Maze 5945 Griggs Rd. Caseville, MI

Carpenter’s Dairy Farm 64015 M-43 Bangor, MI 49013

Ripley's Haunted Acres 9580 Carlisle Hwy. Vermontville, Michigan

Westview Orchards 65075 Van Dyke Rd Washington, MI, 48095

A-mazing Acres 18430 U.S. 12 East Edwardsburg, Michigan

Barbott Farms 7155 Cleveland Stevensville, MI 49127

Farmer J's Corn Maze 16405 Pherdun Rd. Dundee, Michigan 48131

Country Corn Maze 450 N. Vernon Rd Corunna, Michigan 48817

Heritage Gardens 7363 School Road Melvin, Michigan 48454

Crane Orchards U-Pick 6054 124th ave Fennville,Michigan 49408

Wick's Apple House 52281 Indian Lake Rd Dowagiac, MI 49047