Nicknamed “Stone City” because it holds some of the largest and most famous limestone quarries in the country, Bedford (pop. 13,768) is a busy, industrial-looking city, the largest on the Indiana stretch of US-50. The quarries that earned Bedford’s reputation are still in use, producing the durable stone that has clad many high-profile structures, including the Empire State Building. Though you can see the limestone in situ at many road cuts along US-50, perhaps the most prominent examples in Bedford are the monuments and gravestones in the cemeteries lining the highway through town.
Bedford’s main hard-rock attraction is Bluesprings Caverns (daily May–Oct. only; $10; 812/279-9471), five miles west of downtown on US-50, where you can descend into a cave and take an hour-long boat tour along the largest underground river in the United States.
