Grab your layers, load up the car, and venture out on these adorable fall-forward Northern Michigan adventures that will delight kids and kids at heart.
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Pick apples (and play a bit).
The best thing about U-Pick farms in Northern Michigan? Not only the gorgeous fruit, but the fact that these farms also tend to offer a little fun on the side to keep kids busy. Check out Rennie Orchards in Williamsbug (hay-bale maze), Nugent Orchards in Benzonia (donuts and wagon rides), Gallagher’s (pumpkin donuts, petting zoo) and Jacob’s Farm (corn maze, tractor rides), Traverse City. When you’ve made it home with your fall bounty, whip up this staff favorite apple cake with maple cream cheese frosting.
Get lost in a corn maze.
The Dick Family Farm in McBain (near Cadillac) is a sweetheart of a fall road trip. This centennial dairy farm hosts an annual corn maze, designed by hand and cut with mowers (check out their past designs). This year the maze is in the shape of a train, and kids will receive a ticket and a list of “stations” within the maze where they’ll get their ticket stamped. The maze is perfect for ages 5 and up and takes about 35 minutes to complete. Other fun? An apple cannon, corn “sandbox” and straw-bale mountain will delight everyone’s inner child.
While you’re in the neighborhood, visit The Sweet Shop in Cadillac and choose from 20 different kinds of caramel apples, including fan favorite Apple Pie, a caramel apple dipped in white chocolate and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Snuggle an orphaned goat.
Little Brutus was born in a thunderstorm and rejected by his natural mom, so the loving owners of Kiwidinok Farm bottle-fed him into a fine young buck. He’s a farm favorite and the unofficial mascot of this Boyne City yak and petting farm, where he loves to chase and play with visitors. The farm is home to Tibetan yaks, alpacas, lionhead bunnies, miniature horses and the attention-hogging Billie Bob the turkey. Register for a farm tour at kiwidinok.com.
Hike the colors.
Pick a walk that’s flat and friendly for little legs to manage, with colors that will take your breath away. Some favorites: Arcadia Marsh has a backdrop of woodsy color and a stroller-friendly boardwalk (don’t miss the Ketch 22 food truck parked right next to the trailhead). Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire offers a boardwalk hike that shows off golden tamaracks and scarlet maples. The 2.7-mile loop around peaceful Ransom Lake in Lake Ann is full of blushing maples and rust-colored beech leaves (and home to a curious porcupine “poop tree” right along the trail). The Allan and Virginia McCune Nature Preserve in Petoskey lets you wind gently through hardwood forests along pretty Minnehaha Creek as it travels to Crooked Lake.
Search for skeletons.
Each October, residents and businesses in Harbor Springs try to outdo each other as they create outrageous costumes and tableaux for up to 100 skeletons scattered around town. An online map at harborspringschamber.com helps visitors find them all. Top it off with a trip to Tom’s Mom’s Cookies for a sweet treat.
