It’s that exciting time of year again! As the fall season unfolds and the crisp air settles in, there’s nothing quite like a visit to the cider mills. With so many great cider mill choices, it can be hard to choose one, so I narrowed it down to only a few. After researching, it seems that some of the best local cider mills are Franklin Cider Mill, Rochester Cider Mill, and Yates Cider Mill. In this article, I will analyze the distance, parking availability, prices, taste of both the donuts and the cider, and the atmosphere. While each cider mill has many great attributes, only one can come out on top.
Franklin Cider Mill – Franklin, MI
Location/Accessibility
First off, we have Franklin Cider Mill. This cider mill is about 21 minutes away, which isn’t a very far drive from Berkley, but there is a lot of traffic as you get closer and closer to the cider mill. Once you get there, parking spots are very limited so it’s difficult to find parking in the lot. Since it is so popular, the cider mill was very busy and the lines were long. It took a while to get to the front, but once I did, I took a good look at the menu.
Menu/Prices
It was $1.95 per donut, $1.95 for donut dust, a quart of cider was $6.95, and an apple sipper was $4.95.
Donuts
The plain donut had a little more of a doughy taste but it had good flavor. I would give this plain donut a 6/10 because while it had a good amount of sweetness and good flavor, the texture wasn’t my favorite. One shortcoming is that they don’t have any other flavors of donuts besides plain. However, they do sell donut dust which is a mix of cinnamon and sugar in a little bag. You can dump some of this dust into your bag of donuts and shake it around to create your own cinnamon sugar donut. The donut with the donut dust was a lot better than the plain donut because it had more flavor.The donut dust gets a 7/10 because it had the perfect amount of sweetness and good flavor, but it still didn’t have the best texture.
Cider
Their cold cider is refreshing but it does have a little bit of a tangy taste. I give this cider a 6/10.
Atmosphere
Moving away from the menu, there aren’t too many things to explore at Franklin. Although they have many places to shop and browse, their space is limited so they don’t have many other things to do. There weren’t many places to sit and when you did find a seat, you would get disturbed by several bees. I would rate the atmosphere a 6/10.
Final Rating
Overall, by considering all of the ratings, I give Franklin Cider Mill a final rating of 6/10.
Rochester Cider Mill – Rochester, MI
Location/Accessibility
Next, we have Rochester Cider Mill. It is about a 40 minute drive from here, there wasn’t bad traffic on the way there, and it wasn’t too busy. Since there weren’t many people, a lot of parking spots were available. It was very quiet and mellow there.
Menu/Prices
Inside the store, the menu showed that one donut was $1.25, one quart of cider was $4, and one cup of cold cider was $1.50.
Donuts
Their plain donut wasn’t that fluffy or soft and there wasn’t much flavor. It was bland and had a weird aftertaste which is why I would give this donut a 4/10. Their cinnamon sugar donut was a lot better than the plain donut because it was more fluffy and didn’t have a bad aftertaste. I would give this donut a 6/10 because it had a better texture and some more flavor.
Cider
Their cider was a little sweeter than usual but still good and refreshing. I would give this cider a 7/10.
Atmosphere
This cider mill is on the smaller side so there isn’t as much to do but they did have a little petting zoo which was fun! There were many places to sit, but the swarm of bees made it hard to enjoy my treats. However, once I got away from the bees, I was able to enjoy my treats in a quiet setting. I would rate this atmosphere a 6/10.
Final Rating
Overall, by considering all of the ratings, I give Rochester Cider Mill a 6/10.

Yates Cider Mill – Rochester Hills, MI
Location/Accessibility
Finally, we have Yates Cider Mill. It is about a 33 minute drive from here, there was a lot of traffic on the way, and they didn’t have much parking available. Once we got there, we noticed right away how busy it was and how long the lines were. However, the lines moved pretty quickly, and in no time we were able to order.
Menu/Prices
Their menu displayed that it was $2.50 for a two-pack of donuts, an apple sipper was $4, and a quart of cider was $6.50.
Donuts
Their plain donut was very good because it had great flavor and it had a nice, sweet texture. I would give this donut an 8.5/10. Their cinnamon sugar donut was very good because it had a very soft texture and it wasn’t too sweet. There was the perfect amount of cinnamon sugar on top. I would give this donut a 9/10.
Cider
Their cider was very refreshing and had a great taste. I give the cider a 9/10.
Atmosphere
Not only were their donuts and cider good, but they also had many things to do there. They had some little places to shop, a petting zoo, and nature walks. Although there were many bees there, the cider mill is very spread out so it wasn’t too much of a hassle to get away from the bees and find a new seat. I would rate the atmosphere an 8/10.
Final Rating
Overall, by considering all of the ratings, I give Yates Cider Mill a 9/10.

The Winner
The final question is, which Cider Mill won the battle? When analyzing the criteria, I noticed that Franklin Cider Mill was definitely the shortest drive but Rochester Cider Mill had more parking available. While the prices were very similar between all three cider mills, Franklin Cider Mill was a little more expensive. While all of the donuts and cider tasted good in their own way, I liked the donuts and cider from Yates Cider Mill. Finally, since Yates Cider Mill had the most things to do and was more spread out, it got the highest rating for atmosphere. All in all, Yates came out on top! Although it is a little farther away, I think it’s worth the drive because their donuts and cider are very good, they have lots of places to sit, they have many places to shop, and lots of fun things to do! Next time you’re debating between Cider Mills, go with the best option: Yates Cider Mill.