Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
ToursBy boat, by bike or on foot, with a local guide
Escape roomsOne hour, one lock and your crew
Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your dates
Metro Detroit Macomb County Village
Apple farms, cider and a country fair that's come every August since the 1870s
01 / Why it matters
Armada sits in the farm country of northern Macomb County and has a real small-village feel. Elijah Burke founded it in 1833 as Burke's Corners along an old Indian trail that became Armada Ridge Road, linking Romeo and Port Huron; for a while it was called Honeoye, after the settlers' New York hometown.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was a busy little town with a stagecoach stop, an opera house, hotels and its own cornet band. After an 1899 fire, Main Street was rebuilt with permanent buildings, and in 1915 the library went up with 8,000 dollars from Andrew Carnegie plus the townspeople's own labor.
These days Armada is all about apples and the fair. The Blake family has grown apples here since 1946, Blake's Orchard & Cider Mill draws fall crowds with u-pick apples, a corn maze and haunted attractions, and Blake's Hard Cider, founded in 2013, became a national brand. In 2019 Reader's Digest readers voted Armada the Nicest Place in Michigan.
02 / Known for
The Armada Fair, a country fair with livestock sales, motorsports, carnival rides and a parade, held every August since the 1870s.
The Blake family's apple farms since 1946, and Blake's Hard Cider, founded in 2013.
The 1915 Carnegie library, which residents helped build with 128 loads of gravel, and which is still a working library.
Voted the Nicest Place in Michigan in a 2019 Reader's Digest poll.
The Macomb Orchard Trail runs right past the village, a good place to rest on a long ride.
03 / What’s on
Oct 2, 2026, 5:00 PMFreeBlake's Big Apple · Blake's Big Apple in Armada throws a moonlit fall market on two Fridays, October 2 and October 16, starting at 5 p.m., with spooky-themed vendors, handmade goods, treats, live music and bonfires. It's free, you just need to RSVP.
Oct 2, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 3, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 4, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 9, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 10, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 11, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 16, 2026, 5:00 PMFreeBlake's Big Apple · Blake's Big Apple in Armada throws a moonlit fall market on two Fridays, October 2 and October 16, starting at 5 p.m., with spooky-themed vendors, handmade goods, treats, live music and bonfires. It's free, you just need to RSVP.
Oct 16, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 17, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 18, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
Oct 23, 2026, 6:00 PMBlake's Big Apple · From October 2 through November 1, Blake's Big Apple in Armada goes full spooky every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night with zombie paintball, a haunted hayride, a 3-story haunted barn and the family-friendly Spookyland. Fridays and Saturdays run 6–11 p.m., Sundays 6–10 p.m., with tickets starting at $17.95.
04 / What to do
On Armada Center Road: u-pick fruit, cider and treats from the cider mill, corn mazes, a petting farm and fall haunted attractions; in 2026, Honeycrisp u-pick ran September 5 to 27.
Official site ↗The village's big August fair on Fair Street; the next one runs August 16 to 22, 2027.
Official site ↗The paved rail trail passes right by Armada; ride it past orchards and farms.
Official site ↗05 / History
John Proctor makes the first recorded land purchase in what becomes Armada Township.
Settlers split from Ray Township and Armada Township is formed.
Elijah Burke founds Burke's Corners, today's village.
The village incorporates and officially becomes Armada.
A fire destroys the wooden buildings on Main Street, which are rebuilt in more permanent form.
The Armada Free Public Library is built with Carnegie money.
06 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Armada village).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.5 percent.
