We Ranked 10 Connecticut Apple Cider Donut Spots And Here’S Who Made The Cut

Fall has plenty of warning signs, but the smell of apple cider donuts might be the hardest one to ignore. Suddenly, taking a long drive for something covered in cinnamon feels completely reasonable.

Every stop has its own personality. One donut might be soft and cakey, while another wins you over the second you get it warm.

So how do you decide which one deserves the top spot?

That required a little comparing, and nobody should complain about research that involves this much fried dough.

Apple cider donut season gives Connecticut a delicious excuse to turn ordinary fall weekends into very serious bakery missions.

We looked beyond simple popularity and focused on the experience that makes each stop memorable. A famous name does not automatically guarantee the donut you will still be thinking about later.

Ranking them was the difficult part. Eating our way through the contenders sounds considerably easier.

1. B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill, Mystic

Steam still powers the action. Yes, really.

When apple season arrives, this historic mill comes alive with machinery that has helped turn fresh fruit into cider for generations.

B.F. Clyde’s traces its cider-making history to 1881 and is recognized as the oldest continuously operating steam-powered cider mill in the United States.

Its historic equipment includes machinery installed in 1898, now designated a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.

Fall weekends bring pressing demonstrations, giving visitors a close look at the old-fashioned process. The mill usually operates seasonally from September into late fall, with exact dates changing each year.

Fresh cider donuts are another major reason people make the trip. They are baked on-site and joined by seasonal treats such as pies, turnovers, pumpkin bread, jams, honey, and maple products.

Earlier visits can be especially useful on busy autumn weekends. The mill welcomes visitors at 129 North Stonington Road in Mystic.

Its white Victorian exterior, decorative trim, and cupola make the building almost as memorable as the cider-making equipment inside.

Multiple generations of the Clyde family remain involved in keeping the tradition going.

Outdoor tables provide space to enjoy a warm donut, while leashed pets are welcome on the grounds but must remain outside the buildings.

2. March Farm, Bethlehem

Something a little different is happening in Litchfield County. March Farm, a fourth-generation operation running since 1915, has put its fried cider donuts on pause while facilities are adjusted, and filled the gap with Apple Cider Sugar Shakers instead.

Bite-size and baked with real apple chunks inside, they get rolled in butter and coated with cinnamon sugar. You can order them plain or piled onto a sundae with vanilla ice cream, caramel, and maple cinnamon spice, which is a genuinely good excuse to visit.

Everything in the bakery is made fresh daily, including breads, brownies, cookies, fruit pies, muffins, pastries, and scones. The Farm Store and Bakery at 160 Munger Lane in Bethlehem opens daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the May through December season.

Fall Fun Hilltop Dayz brings pick-your-own fruit, a Hayloft Playscape, an animal yard, hiking trails, sunflower and corn mazes, wagon rides, bounce houses, and live music on weekends.

Entry to the farm is free, though pick-your-own, the corn maze, and hayrides carry fees. Parking near the store costs nothing, with a paid option closer to the hilltop.

Only service animals are allowed on the property.

3. Blue Jay Orchards, Bethel

Fall gets delicious fast here. Start with a warm cider donut. Then decide how many extras are coming home.

Fresh apple cider donuts are baked on-site whenever the farm market is open, making them an easy treat before or after exploring the orchard. The bakery counter adds fruit pies, pastries, cookies, loaf cakes, and other seasonal sweets to the temptation.

Market shelves bring even more local flavor into the mix. Fresh cider, apples, fruit butters, maple syrup, and honey are among the products shoppers can pick up.

The honey has an especially nice connection to the property, coming from bees that help pollinate the orchard’s apple trees.

Apple picking adds another reason to visit on fall weekends. A pumpkin patch generally joins the fun around mid-September, while weekend wagon rides give families another way to explore the property.

The orchard has been part of Bethel since 1935 and has grown to more than 120 acres. Blue Jay Orchards welcomes seasonal visitors at 125 Plumtrees Road in Bethel.

Picnic areas provide space to relax with those fresh bakery treats, and parking is free.

Only certified service animals are permitted on the property.

With apples to pick and warm donuts waiting nearby, this is an easy place to spend a crisp fall afternoon.

4. Silverman’s Farm, Easton

Cider donuts and buffalo in the same visit? That combination is why families keep coming back to Silverman’s Farm in Easton, going strong since the early 1920s.

The donuts are made fresh daily using the farm’s own cider, which is pressed from fresh-picked apples with no added sugar. Because the apple blend shifts as the harvest moves along, the cider tastes slightly different from one month to the next, and the donuts follow along.

Inside the country market you’ll find as many as 16 kinds of pie baked on site, from apple and peach to pumpkin and berry combinations, plus cookies, preserves, jams, jellies, local honey, maple syrup, farm produce, and country-style gifts.

Unlike most orchards on this list, the farm at 451 Sport Hill Road stays open year-round, seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A five-acre animal farm holds emus, buffalo, goats, and alpacas, and admission there costs a small fee. Hayrides through the orchard also carry a modest charge, while the farm itself and pumpkin picking are free to enter.

Pick-your-own runs from late June into October and is cash only, though the retail shop takes major credit and debit cards.

5. Rogers Orchards – Shuttle Meadow Farm Store, Southington

Eight generations is a long time to perfect a donut recipe. Rogers Orchards traces its roots to 1807 and ranks as the largest apple grower in state, and the cider donuts sold at the Shuttle Meadow Farm Store are available all year, not just during leaf season.

They’re baked fresh each day with cider pressed from the orchard’s own fruit, following recipes refined by family members over generations.

Weekend visitors get a bonus: Apple Fritter Donuts appear Fridays through Sundays.

The bakery also turns out 10-inch fruit pies, apple sour cream coffee cakes, cookies, scones, and apple dumplings, much of it made with apples, peaches, nectarines, and pears grown across the farm’s 275 acres.

You’ll spot corn, summer squash, and tomatoes in season too.

The store at 336 Long Bottom Road in Southington keeps daily hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pick-your-own apples run Fridays through Sundays from Labor Day weekend into late October, weather permitting, with staff pointing visitors toward whichever of the 20-plus varieties is ripe.

No reservations needed. Long View Ciderhouse, a sister operation, runs a shop next door. Dogs are not permitted in the orchards.

6. Beardsley’s Cider Mill & Orchard, Shelton

Follow the bakery smell. It leads somewhere good. Fresh cider donuts are among the fall treats waiting inside this longtime Shelton orchard.

Apple cider is pressed directly on the property using a modern system designed for careful sanitation. Rather than relying on heat pasteurization, ultraviolet light is used to treat the cider while preserving its fresh apple character.

Untreated cider is also offered at designated times for customers making cider at home.

The bakery gives visitors plenty of reasons to linger. Apple pies come in crumb-top and double-crust versions, while seasonal selections can include pumpkin, pecan, peach, and mixed berry.

Scones, fruit breads, cookies, and other sweets add even more choices to the display.

Weekend apple picking typically begins in September, with different varieties ripening as the season progresses. Shorter trees and low-hanging branches can make reaching the fruit easier for younger pickers.

The same property has been farmed by the Beardsley family since 1849.

Beardsley’s Cider Mill & Orchard welcomes visitors at 278 Leavenworth Road in Shelton’s White Hills area.

Its farm market season generally continues through Christmas Eve. Parking is free, while pick-your-own purchases require cash.

Between the orchard and bakery, it is remarkably easy to arrive for apples and leave carrying a pie and cider donuts too.

7. Lyman Orchards Apple Barrel Farm Market, Middlefield

Donuts all year? Even better.

Autumn may bring the biggest crowds, but the bakery ovens keep working long after apple-picking season ends. Cinnamon-sugar, glazed, and plain cider donuts are baked daily, with donut holes offering another easy treat.

The Apple Barrel Farm Market welcomes shoppers at 32 Reeds Gap Road in Middlefield.

The bakery counter goes far beyond donuts. More than 20 pie varieties rotate through the selection, including Hi-Top Apple, Apple Crumb, and Caramel Apple Walnut.

Fresh breads, muffins, cinnamon buns, and other pastries add plenty of temptation, while the deli prepares breakfast and lunch options.

Lyman Orchards traces its history to 1741 and has grown into a sprawling destination covering roughly 1,100 acres. Pick-your-own fruit runs from summer through fall, with more than 100 varieties available across the growing season.

Autumn brings even more activity around the farm. The annual corn maze opens near the market, while seasonal attractions can include wagon rides and family activities.

Special events add entertainment on selected dates throughout fall.

Three golf courses also occupy the property, making this much more than an orchard stop.

The Apple Barrel currently opens daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only service animals are permitted.

Come for one cider donut, and that bakery counter may quickly change the plan.

8. Averill Farm, Washington Depot

Ten generations. That’s how far back the farming goes at Averill Farm, which has been worked by the same family since 1746 and sits on a hilltop at 250 Calhoun Street in Washington Depot.

The view alone would justify the drive, with the Litchfield Hills rolling out in every direction, but the cider donuts are what regulars talk about first. They’re made in house alongside other baked goods, and the store smells like it.

Shelves hold the farm’s own fresh-pressed cider, plenty of apples, seasonal squash and pumpkins, local honey, maple syrup, jams, and jellies. Local ice cream turns up sometimes too.

Picking is the main event from late August through October, covering both apples and pears across a wide range of varieties that rotate as the weeks pass. Carts are provided, which helps when your bag gets heavy.

The atmosphere leans rustic and unfussy, with the focus squarely on the orchard rather than added attractions, though weekend events with live music show up regularly during the season.

The store generally opens daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., running late August through Thanksgiving. On-site parking is available, payment options include cash, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, and only service animals are permitted.

9. Lapsley Orchards, Pomfret Center

Drive into Connecticut’s Quiet Corner and the pace changes immediately. Lapsley Orchards has been family-run for more than 90 years, and its farm stand at 403 Orchard Hill Road in Pomfret Center keeps things refreshingly straightforward: good fruit, honest baking, and a view of the fields.

The cider donuts draw steady praise from visitors who make the trip specifically for them, and they anchor a bakery case that also holds pies, muffins, cookies, and rotating seasonal treats.

Produce is a real strength here. Twenty apple varieties grow on the property alongside peaches, pears, plums, and a long list of vegetables, and the farm presses its own sweet cider.

Local honey and maple syrup sit nearby.

Pick-your-own covers apples, peaches, and pumpkins, giving families a hands-on reason to stay longer than a quick shopping trip. Hayrides around the farm are a favorite once fall settles in.

Nothing about the place feels overproduced, and that’s the appeal. It reads as a working orchard first and a destination second.

The season typically starts in mid-August and continues through Thanksgiving, with the stand generally open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking is on site, and credit cards are accepted.

10. Buell’s Orchard, Eastford

Some fall stops keep things simple. That works beautifully here.

Fresh cider donuts, orchard views, and rows of fruit provide plenty of reasons to slow down for a while.

Five generations of the same family have worked this Eastford property since 1889, and farming remains at the center of the experience. The market fills with produce grown on the property as the seasons change, including apples, peaches, pears, plums, and pumpkins.

Once apple season arrives, fresh cider donuts become especially tempting. They share the market with cider pressed from the orchard’s own apples, plus pies, muffins, honey, maple syrup, jams, and other locally produced goods.

Picking opportunities change throughout the growing season. Visitors can harvest peaches, apples, and pumpkins when available, while tractor rides offered during peak periods provide another way to see the surrounding farmland.

Buell’s Orchard grows around 20 apple varieties, giving autumn visitors plenty to choose from as different types ripen.

The farm welcomes shoppers and pickers at 108 Crystal Pond Road in Eastford.

Its season typically stretches from early summer into December, with hours changing as the year progresses.

On-site parking is available, and credit cards are accepted.

For a relaxed autumn outing built around fresh fruit and warm cider donuts, this family farm keeps the formula pleasantly uncomplicated.