Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Life > Experiences

How Michigan Autumns Differ from Virginia

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MSU chapter.

As a junior at Michigan State University, I have experienced almost three full fall seasons in Michigan. With the weather turning cooler and the leaves turning vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange, autumn is easily my favorite season. 

Being from a different region in the country, coming to Michigan was an enormous change, and it took a while for me to adjust to being so far away from home at first. However, one thing remained the same: my excitement for fall to arrive.

Although fall festivities and celebrations exist at home, I quickly learned that Michigan had so much more to offer. 

Here are the differences regarding autumn celebrations and traditions that I’ve noticed since living in Michigan for the past three autumns.

The leaves in Michigan are so much more vibrant and lively. 

The fallen leaves here in Michigan are so gorgeous to look at and walk through. Of course, there are the classic colored leaves back home, but something about the leaves here is just so striking and attention-grabbing.

Michigan offers so many cider mills to visit and enjoy.

Before I came to MSU, I had no idea what cider mills were, and I didn’t know about the popular activity of visiting them, having a cup of cider, and enjoying cider donuts. Cider mills just don’t really exist in my hometown, so the whole idea was foreign to me. However, I absolutely love this fall activity! I’ve been to a cider mill every fall that I’ve been in Michigan, and it’s such a fun experience that I never really knew about before coming to MSU.

There are so many places offering classic fall activities, like haunted hayrides, corn mazes, and more.

In my hometown, there is really only one farm that everyone would go to for activities like haunted hayrides, corn mazes, and haunted forests. But in Michigan, there are several farms scattered throughout the state that offer these festivities. The only problem I have now is choosing which ones to go to! Even near campus, there’s a handful of farms to choose from. This aspect is one of my favorites. I love haunted hayrides, but going on the same ride at the same place in my hometown can get a bit repetitive after several years.

There are so many farmer’s markets!

I absolutely adore going to farmer’s markets during any season with my friends and my mom back home. Going to farmer’s markets in the fall just hits differently. When I was in high school, I used to always go with my mom on Sunday mornings to these farmer’s markets to purchase fresh produce and fruit. However, the markets were always a long drive away and sometimes were inconvenient to go to. But here, there are so many farmer’s markets all around the state, and even several right outside campus. I’ve already been to a bunch, and I have no plans of stopping anytime soon!

Overall, there are plenty of pros and cons to living so far away from home, and especially in another state. But, one thing is for sure: no place does fall like Michigan!

Amy Cho

MSU '26

Amy Cho is a member of Her Campus at MSU. She is a chapter member who monthly articles and publishes them for her audience. Cho is a junior at Michigan State University majoring in Communication with a concentration in Mediated Communication and Journalism with a minor in Broadcast Journalism. She has previously written multiple articles for her high school's newspaper and has appeared on the school news channel. In her free time, Cho enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching cheesy movies with her boyfriend, and tackling various arts-and-crafts projects.