Blake’s Orchard, founded in 1946, is cozy and welcoming and offers a variety of activities to meet nearly anybody’s interests. With four locations, Blake Farms South Lyon is the closest to Ann Arbor, located at 61475 Silver Lake Rd.
Activities include apple picking with a “U-pick” system where visitors ride a tractor to the variety of apple trees around the farm. Other fruits and vegetables are available, including pumpkins, squash and raspberries. The Farm Store and Bakery are another highlight, with options ranging from traditional apple cider to Mexican-style street corn.
Blake’s Big Apple in Armanda, MI offers a much larger variety of activities. This location is roughly an hour and a half drive from Ann Arbor. Options Include a funland with over 25 family activities, including live animals and a playground for younger visitors.
Blake’s Big Apple also offers haunted attractions, all of which are promised to “Haunt your Dreams”. Attractions include a haunted hayride, where brave visitors travel through the darkness filled with creatures lurking in the shadows, eerie sounds and unexpected thrills. Other haunted attractions include zombie paintball, and a three story haunted barn, also known as Spookyland. All haunted attractions occur after dark to up the spooky elements. These are available Friday, Saturday and Sunday until October 27.
We got the chance to try multiple of the food options available at Blake’s South Lyon location. The donuts and soft pretzels were the highlight, with fresh and soft dough. The Blake’s Apple Cider was also delicious and refreshing, with a crisp taste that was not overly sweet. The Farm Store offered a variety of caramel apples, with toppings such as sprinkles and nuts. These were also very good, with the smooth caramel and toppings adding the perfect flare in flavor and texture. Other options for food were food trucks, including a hot dog and Italian truck, and the corn wagon, with Blake’s traditional sweet corn and Mexican-style street corn. Hard cider was also available for those 21 or older.
The “U-pick” was a super fun experience. There were many apple types to choose from, including Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Empire. We appreciated being able to try each type and simply throw one to the ground once we had enough. Bags of different sizes were for sale to fill with your personal favorite type. We enjoyed the apples being extremely fresh and great for eating by themselves or incorporating in baked goods or other fall recipes.
Overall, Blakes Orchard was a fun and festive experience. We recommend going this season to experience the fall magic for yourself!
