Franklin Cider Mill

Cha — cha changes — this place has chged big time over the years — and become snooty !

This was my very first trip to a cider mill, so I really don’t have anything to compare it to, however, this place was absolutely wonderful. The cider was delicious and refreshing. The apple donuts here are light and fluffy and extremely tasty, you can really eat so many of them. I can’t wait to come back and visit.

The Franklin Cider Mill is a Top 10 Michigan Bucket List. Standing in the chill of fall, scarfing down warm, greasy donuts with a side of apple cider stirs a feeling of warm, fuzzy nostalgia.
The Franklin Cider Mill provides a family fun experience beyond the other regional Cider Mills, offering face painting, a look at the water mill, and overfed ducks looking for a handout. There are also a couple stalls selling apples, canned goods including Michigan maple syrup and honey, and a variety of novelty items. Hot dogs are sold outside the main store to round out your meal.
The main structure houses the machinery, pressing the apple cider and creating a perfume of appley goodness that fills the shop. You can find apple pies, other baked goods, and of course, the piece de resistance: Donuts and cider. There are two types of cider, classic and honeycrisp. I tried the two flavors side-​by-​side, and preferred the honeycrisp, but I encourage you to do the same and try both, since it was fun to taste the tremendous difference.
Remember, the Franklin Cider Mill is cash only. $ 20.10 bought me a cup of hot cider, one of classic cold, a half-​gallon of honeycrisp cider, and six donuts.

Twenty dollars will get you a gallon of cider and one dozen donuts. Plus a dime in change!

I seriously don’t get how so many people give the business a lower rating based on the yellowjackets. That’s nature, folks. That’s got nothing to do with the business itself. Yellowjackets are attracted to sweet things. Franklin Cider Mill sells sweet things. If they stopped selling their sweet cider and fresh donuts, the yellowjackets would recede. Is that what you want? Quit your whining and suck it up. Or go on a cold day.
Parking is not great but the location is not set up for great parking. If you want quaint, you deal with the less-​quaint-​like details of the business. If you want better parking, go to another mill with better parking but inferior cider. You can get around this by parking elsewhere and enjoying the walk.
It’s expensive… but you’re also supporting a local business. If you want cheap, inferior donuts, go to the grocery store.
Thanks Franklin. We love you… yellowjackets and all.

Delicious hot cider, fresh donuts, roasted corn and almonds! Everything was so yummy, we took our friends from out of town for a visit and we all had a great time. $ 1 Duck food = old donuts, great for the kiddos (both big and small). We just checked out Three Cedars cider mill today and the cider and donuts were definitely better at Franklin’s. Coming back for sure!
Tip: they have multiple doors with multiple lines for quick customer service, don’t get stuck in the long line at the end filled with confused patrons!

Get here early if you want to avoid a SNAFU. Their parking lot is set at a terrible intersection so expect that the locals may get a little feisty while you’re trying to make your entrance at that STOP sign. That aside, the cider mill itself is quaint I’m sure the store is too but it was so busy that the line wrapped the inside and then out the door so we didn’t bother with purchasing anything from inside. We did buy some beautiful Honeycrisps from their tent though. It’s a fun little excursion for a cool weekend day, but again, come early or plan on standing in a few lines.

I don’t get all the hype around this place. My sister and I were in the area so I suggested we stop by Franklin as we’ve never been. Boy, big mistake! Driving up the road I could see it was craaaaaazzzyyy packed. We get in line assuming that’s where we were supposed to be (this place is definitely unorganized) only to be surrounded by 16 year old girls being exceptionally annoying. We had to deal with this for 45 min! I waited 45 min in line for 2 pints of cider (good cider) and a dozen donuts. Donuts were exceptionally mediocre. Although warm, they only have plain donuts? What the what? Donuts were too dense and lacked flavor. I spent $ 20 on measly servings of cider and tasteless donuts. Not worth my time.

Sharing time with my best Friend Winston Htwe M.D. having a cold glass of the best Apple Cider in the World and a warm donut made at the wonderful Cider Mill. It is a must to take a gallon or two home with a homemade Apple pie and a few pumpkins for decorating around my home in Bloomfield Hills. Thanks for being here I look forward to making my visit every year and bringing friends to share all of your wonderful products.
James Staley
A fan of yours for years

Before I get in to this review, know that I’ve been to Franklin many times, not just today. So this is my overall rating based on all my experiences there.
Today: yes, I knew it would be crazy crowded, because it’s a nice fall day with decent temps. I got to the cider mill and it took me about 5 – 10 minutes to get a parking spot. There isn’t a ton of parking in general; they now have «one way only» signs so that’s helpful, if people would READ them.
PRO’S:
.the cider is delicious. Donuts are tasty but if I could only choose one, I’d do the cider.
.There’s a lot to choose from, in the main building they have pies and other deliciousness. You can buy candied almonds outside too and produce
.it’s very old and you can see the mill part (fun for kids).
CONS:
.they seriously need to expand their parking lot. It literally took me like 15 – 20 minutes just to GET OUT of the lot today. Next time I’d maybe park at another Franklin Rd business, if they allow it, and walk.
.THE BEES. I was just doing takeout today but whenever I’ve hung around /​sat on one of their benches there to eat/​drink, the bees have always been a major annoyance.
.it’s pricey. 2 (smallish but not mini) donuts and a PINT of cider cost me about $ 6.50.
I think next time I’ll go back to Yates for my fix but this was on my way to the Novi area today (Troy to Novi). I’m definitely not coming back on a weekend, it was way too crowded for me. Tip if you go, though: there’s a small area «downstairs» from the main area that only sells donuts/​cider, and the line was much shorter than the lines for the main building; by the time I left, though, it had gotten long.
(they also had a cider slushie that sounded awesome, for about $ 3.50. But that’ll have to be for another day.)

I went to Franklin Cider Mill on an crisp early autumn afternoon.
My first thought was: «Wow, this cider mill has a lot of fat ducks, I’m going to mention this in my Unilocal review. This is great.»
My second thought was: «BEES!»
This is a common mistake.
I quickly realized they were yellow jackets, which are arguably far more terrifying than bees. They’re technically wasps. Anyways, they were everywhere, which was obnoxious.
The cider is good — probably my second-​favorite cider I’ve had in Michigan. The donuts are better. They are some of the most perfect donuts I’ve had in my life. Eat all of them and you’ll achieve nirvana. There are many apple-​y things you can buy, and I was so tempted to purchase more, but the donuts and cider alone made for a great, filling treat. One of my favorite places to go in the fall.

As Homer Simpson says, «Mmmm Dooonutsss».
Nothing like a hot fresh plain (only kind) greasy bag donut on a cool fall day with a sip of the best honey crisp cider. When I eat my donuts they have to be chocolate frosted or filled with something gooey but damn these are good. Throw in a bag of honey crisp apples and some caramel and other great Michigan made stuff and it’s a fun afternoon on a fall Saturday (after football).
I like how small and quaint this cider mill is as well as quick in and out if you choose. Remember to watch out for the bees as there are plenty.

Tourist trap hell. Crowded, overpriced, hectic parking, swarming yellowjackets & not really very friendly staff. I have no idea why people herd here every year to stand in line for greasy donuts and to feed fat ducks from a dirty parking lot. This place CASH ONLY too– I gues the 3000% markup on cider & donuts sold to the hordes of gullible rubes who line up out the door is not enough to keep the lites on without rocking the cash-​only tax dodge. But, oh, of course they have an ATM available for a fee…
A sad & cold hearted cash grab preying upon Michigander’s sense of tradition & nostalgia. AVOID.

Without a doubt the best cider and doughnuts within easy driving distance of Detroit. I’ve come here at least once every season since I can remember. Yes, lines can be long and the cider is not cheap, but for a special treat it is totally worth it.
Pro tip: if you buy too many doughnuts, they can be revived in the oven the next morning for a greasy and delightful breakfast.

Whether I recommend this place to you depends on what’s more important to you – donuts or cider. The donuts are very boring. They’re small little dense cake donuts without much spice and without any sugar. There’s only one kind offered, take it or leave it (I’d leave it if I were you). The cider, on the other hand, makes up for the donuts. It is some of the best I’ve had, especially the honey crisp cider. In case it’s important to you, their cider is not pasteurized. It’s a good option if you live nearby and don’t want to venture too far for your donut and cider fix.

Phenomenal cider, honestly my favorite of the cider mills in the area (Blake’s and Big Red). Their doughnuts are terrible in my opinion. I know everyone has their favorite cider mill doughnut and become loyal defendants of it so with that said, this one was not what I like. They only had one type when I was there. It was a cinnamon batter, no powder sugar or cinnamon sugar coating. They tasted plain and greasy. After my first bite I didn’t want anymore however, since I purchased a dozen in my excitement, I decided to tough it out. They aren’t so bad if you dip them in the cider. The bees were really bad too. Downside to any cider mill so I don’t hold that against them. I’ll come back for the cider but, will skip the doughnuts for sure.

What a cute place in a cute city.
It’s tiny but effective!
Lots of delicious homemade offerings, a babbling brook, and a charming atmosphere.
Made me feel like I left the city and stepped back in time.
The parking is atrocious and crowded, but brave it and you won’t be disappointed.

There’s a lot to love about this place. Great tasting cider, amazing donuts, pretty quick lines, and a viewing window that lets you see the cider press in action! We loved that they had cider slushies in addition to the regular hot cider, and also loved that they had a variety of freshly baked apple bread and apple pies.
Here’s why I rated it as a three star. Despite the lovely river running through the small property, and the tables everywhere… you couldn’t use any of that. Most folks (including us) were spending most of their energy running away from the yellow jackets that are EVERYWHERE! Just walking to the line we heard no less than 10 groups of people freak out about all the bees. Not a good experience.
Also, be aware that this is one of the pricier cider mills in the area. 12 donuts, half a gallon of cider and two small slushies cost almost $ 25.

Ooh honeycrisp apple cider and warm donuts, I likey! The cider here is so wonderful and sweet, it’s like liquid candy. And those donuts! So simple and so heavenly. I can see what people are saying re: donuts, that they’re almost TOO simple and plain. HOWEVER, the warmth and crisp of the donut and the sweet aftertaste surprised me and made me a fan for life.
This place is like a circus on the weekends: live music stand, warm nuts roasting (yes!!!), fruit stands and aggro drivers in the parking lot. The parking situation and the wait makes this place a little intense for a Sunday afternoon. It’s a little spendy at about $ 15 for a half gallon of the honey crisp cider and half a dozen donuts, but it doesn’t feel like robbery.

The last few years I’ve made it a point to try out as many cider mills in the area as I can each season but the only one I make it a point to return to year after year is Franklin.
It’s no frills – no bouncy castles, no petting farms, no crazy photo ops, etc. That’s not to say that it’s boring. No, there’s an awesome market outside selling apple products, local foods, etc. A pretty great pumpkin and apple selection. Some tents outside selling cinnamon almonds, But at its heart, its focus is simple – awesome cider and doughnuts in a beautiful surrounding. And for me, that’s what I love. It’s beautiful on a fall day and just quaint and serene. It can get a little crowded on the weekends but not overwhelmingly so (I’m looking at you, Yates). It just gives me a good feeling.
Grabbing a sack of doughnuts and a hot cider, sitting on a stone by the brook feeding the ducks? My idea of a perfect autumn day.