The Coolest Hidden Gem in Indiana is Underground
Just south of Bloomington, a hidden world awaits beneath the surface, where darkness hosts unique creatures and the longest navigable underground river in the country.
In Southern Indiana, there is a small town called Bedford. Bedford has a little less than 14,000 people and one of the craziest cave systems in the world. I have spent nearly half of my life in Indiana. In fact, at one point, I lived just half an hour from Bedford and had no idea that this incredible place existed.
That incredible place is called Bluespring Caverns. Bluespring Caverns is home to the largest navigable underground river in the United States, called the Myst'ry River, according to Wikipedia.
The cave contains 21 miles (34 km) of surveyed passages and is most notable for having the longest known subterranean river in the United States, with approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) of navigable river.
Before we talk about the very unique things that live in these caverns, let's take a look at a couple of amazing photos of Bluespring Caverns.
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Now, let's talk about what kind of animals thrive in this dark and humid environment. You will find animals that are blind, translucent, and/or albino, according to Atlas Obscura.
In addition to bugs like crickets, beetles, and spiders, larger creatures such as salamanders, frogs, and crayfish all lurk among the flowing waters, many of them purely white or nearly invisible in their translucence. There is even an extremely rare species of blind cavefish that swims through the subterranean waters.
Bluespring Cavern and Myst'ry River Tours
- Location: 1459 Blue Springs Cavern Road, Bedford, Indiana
- Cost: Adults are $25, and kids 15 and under are $12.
- Tour Times: Tours daily through October 31st. Get more info from the Bluespring Caverns website by tapping here.
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