For the past few years, Amy Eversole and the ‘Trailblazers’ have been hiking all over the Great Smoky Mountains.

Some of them have earned their 500-mile pins from the park service. Others are following closely behind. All of them have been supporting each other through life’s ups and downs.

“They’re the best women ever,” Amy Eversole said. “They’re like sisters and I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

The group tries to organize hikes together at least twice a month. “We’re all different in so many ways,” Melanie Bissell said. “But, one thing we do have in common is a hiking trail.”

It’s also a chance for them to hang out, talk and enjoy the outdoors. “It’s just such a great bond that we have together, supporting each other through everything,” Stacy Dickerson said. “Whether it’s through sad times through illness through happy times.”

“We just support each other and everything we do,” Amy Eversole said. “Sisterhood is so important at all ages. Get outside and go play in the mountains. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

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Fall is a welcomed season to many nature lovers because the cool crisp air and relatively low amount of precipitation means it’s time to take to the trails to celebrate the season.

Bob Dispenza of Allen County Parks and the Trailblazers community hiking program said fall is the optimal time of the year to enjoy the outdoors. “We being a relatively level area, we tend to get a lot of rain and snow melt in the spring, so that tends to be pretty wet, but this time of year we get the advantage of drier trails, fewer insects, and fall color. We even continue to have the summer wildflowers such as all the prairie plants like the goldenrods, asters and things like that,” Dispenza said.

To celebrate the new season and appreciate the developing foliage, The News-Sentinel decided to welcome the autumn by highlighting the region’s best hiking trails. This guide will feature the trail, distance, level of difficulty as well as feature a year-round synopsis highlighting the unique features of the park.

Experience the autumn outdoors with these five Indiana trails and parks: