Erwin Orchards

Our place to go every fall, specially for the apple season. We don’t care driving over 40 miles to get there because the moment you arrive there, it is worth!
We like to arrive earlier if possible the first hours in the morning, otherwise the busier it gets, the longer you will wait.
Their donuts and apple cider are just heaven!

I’ll fall on my sword and say this is partly my fault for going on a gorgeous fall day– should have expected it to be MAD PACKED.
Here’s my big knock against this place though– they have tried to make money off of EVERYTHING. Besides hay stacks in the middle and a few pieces of farm equipment, they tried to make this more like a carnival– you even have to rent the tricycles on the little path they got.
I’m already planning on dropping money for cider and donuts (which I didn’t bother because the line was ridiculous), I feel like this place tries to hang you upside down and shake you down.
We ended up leaving after about 15 minutes, and caught some local festival in South Lyon. Perhaps on a successive visit, I’d have a different opinion, but short of going here for a kid’s bday party, I doubt we’ll come back.

We had a blast with my boyfriend, two stepdaughters, and his niece. They range in age from 5 – 16 and everyone had a good time! We started off with cider and donuts, then we all got a face painting (or at least a stencil on the arm) for fun. We didn’t pick apples or pumpkins since the girls had already done that at Kensington, but we did do the corn maze and had a great time. You have to circle the items that you see on the posts as you walk through, and the lady explaining everything was super nice.
There are inflatables for the kids, a shorter hay maze for them to climb, and other activities too that make it friendly for all ages.

Until I find better donuts somewhere else, this place gets a 5-​star. Yeah, it’s an apple orchard. Yeah, their little kid play area consists of a bunch of hay bales and a little bike track, and that’s it. Oh, and a little goat petting zoo of sorts. But who cares, they have the best donuts. Good cider, too, but donuts! I’d like to try their apple pie some time, and I’m sure I will. But I look forward to every late-​fall because of this place. There are other more quaint cider mills (e.g. Three Cedars) but not only is this super close to our house, but… it’s all about the donuts.

This place is a little run down but you will find some of the best cider and donuts I’ve ever had. Pricing is very good and the facility is what you would expect from an outdoor cider mill. Is not it is not as quick as the cider mill in Northville but still a wonderful place to visit and enjoy very good cider.

Solid orchard with lots to do. We normally go late summer and pick apples and raspberries. Then go again in fall for some more apples, cider and donuts. They always keep the line moving pretty fast even when packed. Tasty cider and donuts with a fair price.
Fun stuff for kids like the hay climbing, little trikes to ride, goats and eat donuts of course.
Its laughable that people complain that its busy on a Saturday on busiest weekends of the year. Try or weekday or stop crying.

I had a blast here yesterday! I went with a girlfriend, her 1.5 year old and my 6 month old. We went pumpkin picking and for cider and donuts.
The place seems pretty organized with the tractor rides out to the pumpkin patch and apple orchards. We had a blast venturing out and picking our pumpkins. The only thing I wish is that they had wagons. It seems almost impossible to buy good sized pumpkins while trailing your little one in tow. Wagons at the pumpkin patch and then wagons when you get off the tractor ride. Bringing two smallish pumpkins to pay and then to the car was almost impossible for me while carrying my baby.
The goats are friendly at the front and you can feed them for 25 cents, it was fun!

Erwin has gone downhill as South Lyon population has increased. Yes their donuts and cider are the best, bar none. Are they worth 30 – 40 minute lines, with swarming bees and no shade (because the lines extend outside)? No.
Cash only, with an ATM on site. Everything is overpriced, so you’ll need more than $ 20.
Hay bales, bike track and goats to feed all entertain younger kids. Occasionally on weekend days they’ll have overpriced bounce houses available as well.
Overall, stop early in the morning (they open at 6 or 7) to grab some donuts and cider and skip the busy weekend days, because it’s not worth your time.

They get three stars because the apple cider donuts were amazing and because my daughter loves the goats. Everything else was a disappointment. Not to mention the bees were directly where you walk in, as well as all around the picnic tables, so you had to worry about being stung.

I’ve been to several orchards throughout southeast michigan and none compare to Erwins. From the wagon ride, to the best cider and donuts on earth, there is just no choice comparison and everybody and their moma know about it, that’s why its always crowded. The lines are ridiculous but no one seems to let it bother them. I have actually met some nice people in line and have held quite a few conversations, which made the time past faster. The donuts are always fresh. The cider taste like a liquid apples. Well worth the wait. They have lots of activities to keep the kids busy so while one adult wait in line, the other one can take the kids to enjoy the festivities.

I absolutely love picking apples at Erwin every year. The prices are somewhat reasonable and the apples are delicious.
If I were a parent I’d be all over this place. I highly suggest people get their early as it is a complete cluster yuuuup if you don’t get there when it opens. The cider doughnuts are great and they have decent prices on local products.
Hopefully you aren’t allergic to bees! I haven’t been stung but they are everywhere (as this is to be expected at an orchard)

The kid’s area is free. They have tricycles and a hay bale maze that the older kids play king of the hill on.
They have U pick apples and pumpkins. The orchard is huge and beautiful. Plenty of parking.
I’m currently burping up heartburn from their doughnuts. They have plain, cinnamon sugar, pumpkin glaze and sprinkle. The grease left a strange film in my mouth.
The cider is $ 8.75 for a gallon of cider ($ 1.75 more than the pricer ciders in Armeda) and their half gallon was $ 5. The apples were also a bit high in price.

This place was great! It was not overly crowded like some cider mills are on a Saturday afternoon. We went apple picking and bagged some pretty nice apples. We did not realize though that the tractor takes you to more types of apples once you get past the pumpkin patches.
We were pretty disappointed that this place only accepts cash/​check. I would have been more prepared coming with cash if I knew ahead of time.
The cider and donuts were spectacular. They are worth the extra calories! ;-)
I will be coming back again for sure!

I absolutely always have a great time at this Apple Orchard. Not too expensive, and yes there can be long lines so either be patient or arrive when they open. I give Erwin 10 out of 10 stars.
Please note… leave your dogs at home. this is not a dog park. Please take into consideration there are family’s who have small children or perhaps adults who may be scared or allergic to dogs?

Apples & Pumpkins & Wagon Ride: The U-​pick apple and pumpkin patch experience is frustrating. The line for the wagon ride to the pumpkin patch (acres away, not walkable) is horrendously long. The apple picking wagon is the same one so you’re all in line together. It is not a hayride, just a tractor pulling a few wagons with benches. If you just want a wagon ride, you also stand in the same line and pay $ 2 per person. If you plan on picking apples, first you must wait in the line to buy a bag for $ 12 that you can fill with apples. If you want to pick some apples without the wait for the wagon, you still have to buy a bag but you can get some Jonagolds near the wagon line. The wagon ride experience is thirty-​five minutes long including the ride back. You can ride the wagon free if you go to the pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin (which is weighed and charged by the pound). Tip: someone in your party wait for the apple bag while others wait in the wagon line and then meet up before the wagon comes.
Bouncy houses and 3D Attraction: First check the schedule because the bouncy houses are not up every day. When you arrive, buy the tickets ($ 20 for $ 24). The attractions range from 1 – 2 tickets per person. There’s an inflated slide, bouncy house, bouncy farm, and a bouncy obstacle course. All fun. They don’t enforce glasses off but I strongly recommend you leave them with a friend. There’s also a 3D attraction which is like a walk-​through in a barnhouse of a honeybee and apple garden painted with 3D paint. They provide 3D glasses and it’s cute. Think of it as a cheerful version of a haunted house, about making honey and planting apples. It’s $ 2 if you don’t buy tickets.
Free Attractions: tricycle ride on paved path lined with tires and through tire «tunnels.» The main problem with this one is that there’s not a set direction so kids are constantly bumping into each other head-​on. There should be arrows indicating direction. But this is a fun one for 3+ providing they can ride a trike. Also there’s a haystack maze that kids jump around on and can walk through. There’s a petting zoo as well with dwarf goats.
Corn maze: go past the apple bag line and up the hill past the wagon line and then to the right into the corn field. It’s $ 5 per person but you get a cup of code and a donut at the end. That’s far better than waiting in the cider/​donut line.
Cider & Donuts: another crazy long line. They have half gallon and gallon of cider. It’s pretty good actually and not cheap. The donuts are apple spice, apple spice with cinnamon sugar, pumpkin glaze, and pumpkin with sprinkles. They’re available as singles, half dozen, or dozen. These I would be glad to live without. They also have frozen apple pies you can take home to bake for $ 14.95. I bought one to try so I’ll post later how it tastes. Also they have various hot dogs and jams and jellies.
Other: Parking is free. Bring tons of cash as it’s cash only.
Next time we’ll return only for the bouncy houses and free stuff. I’d also like to check out their raspberry u-​pick.

My parents live nearby in South Lyon, so we try to come up every fall to do some apple picking at Erwin Orchards. Multiple types of apples to pick from, a tractor/​hay ride to take you around to all the different types of apples, and delicious apple cider all make a for nice outing.
I’m not sure if it was because I went later in the season this year, or because the weather was super nice, but it was ridiculously crowded when I went this year on 9÷28÷14. As in, the line to get the bags for the apples was 15 minutes long when I arrived at 10am. By the time I left at 12:30pm, the line was triple the length! I hate excessive wait times, so this was a good lesson for me… I’ll make sure to come as early as possible in the future.

After deciding to walk through the orchard as we waited for both the insanely long and inefficient lines to die down, an employee told us «You’re not allowed to walk here without a bag.» Okay, fine, bummer. We noted we were just doing it until the endless lines died down. «Well *we* want our paying customers out here.» Okay once again.
The employee then copped an attitude when I asked if she would be asking everyone else in the area, including families flat out grabbing apples off trees without any bags (all of which she walked by without word), to also leave. Though she said she would, questioning her inconsistent actions clearly upset her, as she then angrily gestured to someone in our party who was holding an apple off the ground while walking towards the barn to wait in line to pay. We explained this was what we were doing, got more attitude, and flat out said we were leaving. «Good, that’s what we want. We don’t want you. We want paying customers.» I had plenty of cash ready to drop on apples, cider, donuts AND hayrides, but I wonder if the «diversity» of our group was what put off Erwin’s, since apparently shoving apples into your pockets is okay, so long as you’re not a certain «look.»
Needless to say, my group left and I’ll personally never come back. Plymouth, Franklin, Apple Charlie’s… there is no lack of good orchards around. Go elsewhere.

Came here yesterday and it was such a beautiful day! Great breeze, great company, and delicious apples and other goodies!
Firstly, the lines are absolutely enormous! We waited in line to get the bag for apples (bushel, ½ bushel, and a peck (¼ bushel) all ranging from $ 12 – 20) they were out of honey crisp apples which broke my heart :(but they had about 7 – 9 other varieties to pick from! They are CASH ONLY!!! Which I personally think is the dumbest thing ever. Absolutely ridiculous in this day and age for them not to accept credit/​debit cards (this is why I docked a star)
They have a tractor that takes you from variety to variety of apples and brings you back to the entrance
Great cider and donuts but again the lines are soooo long. About another 20 mins in line for those but it’s worth it from how good they were. They have apple pies, honey, cider, different donuts and breads and even show you how the cider is made which is cool to watch
They have a petting zoo, and a little hay area for the kids to play in :)
Overall I would come back but it’s totally lame they don’t accept credit/​debit cards. (They do have an ATM though but again the lines are loooooong)

A certain gentleman I’m quite fond of may have a serious addiction to their cinnamon sugar donuts. I don’t know what they put in them, but I’ve never seen a single person consume that many in one sitting. (Sorry to out your donut-​eating habits, Pookie.)
The cider was good and there was no wait, despite the number of little ones scurrying about. We’ll have to return in the fall for a hay ride.
Just remember – bring your cash, as they don’t take credit cards.

Somehow during my 7 years living in South Lyon I never made it here so I was happy to hear that they rebounded from last year’s crop losses to stick around another season. It’s a great location and it’s been a South Lyon institution since forever ago.
It’s an orchard that has a little of everything complete with apple spiced and pumpkin donuts, pies and pumpkin breads, cider of course, a petting zoo (goats and sheep), a tricycle race track, a haunted barn and u-​pick apples and berries. Off hours are definitely manageable but I think the donuts are probably always warm when it’s busier. You’ll pay a premium here for pretty much everything but it’s all fresh from the source. Tractors leave pretty regularly for the orchard if you’re picking. FYI They don’t accept credit but they do have an ATM.