With fall approaching, there are many activities that Oakland University students love to do to ring in the season, from watching the leaves change colors — to cider mill season being in full swing.

Established in 1863, Yates Cider Mill, located in Rochester Hills, was named one of America’s best cider mills by NBC News. Actress Miranda Cosgrove, most known from the Nickelodeon TV show “iCarly” visited the mill in 2021, stating in an Instagram post that the cider mill “did not disappoint.” 

Sophomore Christopher Castillo’s favorite fall activity is visiting the famed cider mill and enjoys indulging in their cider and donuts. He also enjoys walking numerous trails at the mills.

“Walking on that trail is one of those favorite memories of mine,” Castillo said.

Sophomore Carina Kiessling adds that visiting haunted houses is an exciting fall activity. According to Michigan Haunted Houses, there are 35 active haunted houses in the state for the 2022 fall season. 

“[I remember] my friends and I going to a haunted house and one of them got really scared. I’m not really scared of haunted houses — so it was just really fun,” Kiessling said.

For OU students that prefer to stay in during the fall season, like freshman Erin Pendygraft, watching Halloween movies is a fun and relaxing autumn activity.

“It’s my favorite because it’s just a [comforting] thing I’ve been doing since I was little,” Pendygraft said.

Pendygraft fondly remembers the times she would watch Halloween movies as a child. Her favorite memory involves watching the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“When me and my little sibling were younger we’d [watch] it all the time,” she said.

On the other end of the movie spectrum, freshman Kemontay Jefferson loves to watch scary movies because of the adrenaline rush they provide.

“One year when I was younger, me and my brother and my sister were watching “Boogeyman” and my mom made me go to the basement and get some clothes out [of] the dryer,” Jefferson said. “They locked me in the basement and I screamed for my life.”

While Pendygraft and Jefferson’s favorite fall activities involve staying indoors, graduate student Chris Rother enjoys looking at the scenery fall has to offer while hiking.

“I enjoy hiking,” Rother said. “There’s some pretty nice trails around the Rochester area [and] nice parks.”

Aside from the Rochester area, Rother enjoys hiking in other parts of Michigan. According to Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Michigan offers 4,020 miles of hiking trails. 

“[I’ve done] some backpacking and [saw] some pretty spectacular scenery,” Rother said.

When OU students are not doing their favorite fall activities, they simply enjoy the beauty the season has to offer.

“I think fall is definitely my favorite season, all the pretty colors. I’m from the [Upper Peninsula] so just a bunch of pretty fall leaves [would] fall,” Pendygraft said.

As the seasons change from summer to fall, from tank tops to sweater weather — there are plenty of activities OU students can do to enjoy autumn in Michigan.

For more fall activities, click here. For OU specific fall activities, click here.