The Best Ways to Explore Michigan this Fall: 10 Must-Do Autumn Activities
Ah, fall in Michigan. It’s easily the most magical season of the year, and by “season,” we mean that precise 48-hour window between summer heatwaves and a surprise November blizzard. If you blink, you’ll miss it. If you sneeze, the leaves are already off the trees and you’re shoveling your driveway.
Because autumn in the Great Lakes State moves faster than the left lane on I-75, you can’t afford to waste a single afternoon. To help you squeeze every drop of pumpkin-spiced joy out of this season, we’ve rounded up the top 15 can’t-miss autumn activities across Michigan before winter officially crashes the party. Whether you’re ready to buy, sell, or simply explore more of the community you love, Gilson Home Group has got you covered!
Here’s what we’re up to this fall:
1. Take a Fall Color Road Trip
Michigan might be at its best when you don't have anywhere to be.
Pick a destination, turn off the interstate and take the scenic route. The Upper Peninsula typically changes first, followed by northern Michigan and eventually southern Michigan, so there’s usually somewhere in the state putting on a show throughout the season. Pure Michigan maintains a real-time fall color map that can help you decide where to go.
A few routes worth building a weekend around:
M-22 and the Leelanau Peninsula
Start around Manistee or Traverse City and follow the Lake Michigan shoreline through places like Glen Arbor, Leland and Northport. You get forest, dunes, small towns, orchards and Lake Michigan views in one trip.
Tunnel of Trees
The stretch of M-119 between Harbor Springs and Cross Village is one of Michigan's classic fall drives, with a narrow road winding beneath a canopy of trees and occasional glimpses of Lake Michigan.
West Michigan
If you want to make a full day of it, Pure Michigan highlights a 185-mile fall color loop connecting Manistee, Cadillac and Ludington.
And remember: the best fall drive isn't necessarily the fastest one.
#2: Spend a Morning at the Cider Mill
There are very few Michigan experiences more universally understood than standing outside on a chilly October morning with a bag of warm doughnuts in one hand and cider in the other.
Around Metro Detroit, we have plenty of options.
Franklin Cider Mill has been a fall destination for generations. Dexter Cider Mill dates to 1886. Head farther out, and you'll find orchards offering everything from apple picking and hayrides to corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and hard cider.
Go early on a Saturday or Sunday if you can. Better yet, go on a weekday and enjoy your cider without spending 45 minutes looking for somewhere to park.
#3: Pick Your Own Apples
Michigan is one of those places where apple picking isn't just something we pretend is fun for the photos. Bringing home a bag of Honeycrisps you've picked yourself really is better.
Orchards throughout the Lower Peninsula offer U-pick apples from late summer well into fall, depending on the variety.
Make a day out of it: pick apples, get cider and doughnuts, let the kids run around and then figure out what you're going to do with 25 pounds of apples when you get home.
Apple pie is the obvious answer.
#4: Hike Through the Fall Colors
You can enjoy Michigan's fall colors through a windshield, but they're even better when they surround you.
The Michigan DNR maintains more than 4,000 miles of state-designated hiking trails, among thousands of miles of biking trails and routes through state parks and state forests.
A few great hiking destinations include:
Sugarloaf Mountain near Marquette
Maybury State Park in Northville
Even a neighborhood walk feels different once Michigan hits peak color.
#5: See Tahquamenon Falls Surrounded by Fall Foliage
If you've never seen Tahquamenon Falls in October, put it on the Michigan list.
Tahquamenon Falls State Park covers nearly 50,000 acres of largely undeveloped woodland, so in autumn the waterfalls sit inside an enormous landscape of red, orange, and yellow.
It's a long drive from Metro Detroit, which is exactly why it works best as part of a U.P. weekend.
Pair it with Whitefish Point, Grand Marais or Pictured Rocks and you've got one of the best fall road trips in the Midwest.
#6: Plan a Northern Michigan Wine Weekend
You don't have to wait for summer to visit Michigan wine country.
In fact, fall might be the perfect time.
Both the Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula combine wineries with rolling hills, farms, orchards and views of Grand Traverse Bay. Spend the day working your way between tasting rooms, then head back into Traverse City for dinner.
Southwest Michigan is another great option, particularly around the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail.Just designate a driver.
7: Find a Pumpkin Patch or Corn Maze
Kids make this one easy.
Head to a farm, take the wagon ride, find the pumpkin that is somehow three times larger than the one you intended to buy, walk through a corn maze and spend the ride home picking hay out of the car.
Metro Detroit has no shortage of farms and orchards offering pumpkin patches, corn mazes, petting farms and other fall activities.
This is one Michigan tradition that earns the annual repeat.
#8: Spend a Fall Saturday in Ann Arbor
There are football towns, and then there's Ann Arbor in the fall.
Even if you don't have tickets to a Michigan game, downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods are worth experiencing on a football Saturday. Walk through campus, grab lunch, visit the farmers market or find somewhere to watch the game.
Want the quieter version? Go on a Sunday morning after a home game.
Same town. A completely different experience.
9: Explore Michigan's State Parks
Fall is a great time to revisit parks you usually associate with summer.
Michigan has 103 state parks, and many offer hiking, camping, cabins and scenic trails long after beach season winds down.
Try Ludington State Park, Wilderness State Park near Mackinaw City, Hartwick Pines near Grayling or one of the many parks closer to Metro Detroit.
Pack a thermos, bring an extra layer and stay until the sun starts going down.
Photo Credit: Tom’s Notebook
10: Take One Last Trip to the Great Lakes
Don't put away the Lake Michigan trips just because the swimming season is over.
Fall beaches are quieter, moodier and often more beautiful than they are in July. Walk the beach in Grand Haven, watch the sunset in Ludington, climb the dunes near Empire or simply pull off the road somewhere along the coast.
Bring a sweatshirt. Probably two.
In Conclusion
Fall in Michigan Is Short. Take Advantage of It.
One of the best parts about living in Michigan is that the seasons actually change what there is to do.
Fall isn't simply summer with a jacket.
For a few weeks, cider mills reopen, football takes over Saturdays, northern Michigan changes color, bonfires become comfortable again, and an ordinary drive down a tree-lined road can be reason enough to leave the house.
So pick a weekend. Go somewhere you've never been. Or revisit the Michigan fall tradition your family does every year.
Winter will be here soon enough.
