ROAD 11
EXTRATERRESTRIAL HIGHWAY
Nevada's loneliest road. 98 miles of empty highway and something in the sky.
NV-375. State Route 375. The Extraterrestrial Highway. 98 miles of two-lane asphalt through the Nevada desert between Crystal Springs and Warm Springs, passing through Rachel — population approximately 50 — and running parallel to the restricted boundary of what the US Air Force calls the Nevada Test and Training Range and what everyone else calls Area 51. There is nothing out here. And everything.
HISTORY +
Nevada Route 375 was designated the Extraterrestrial Highway in 1996 by the Nevada Legislature, acknowledging what had been the road's de facto identity since the early 1980s when UFO sightings near the restricted Groom Lake facility (Area 51) began attracting researchers, enthusiasts, and media attention. The road itself is straightforward desert highway — built to connect remote ranches and mining claims. Its fame is entirely borrowed from what lies 10-30 miles to the east, behind the restricted boundary.
CULTURE +
The Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel is the social center of an experience that has no other center. The bar and restaurant has operated since 1988, serving the small population of Rachel plus the growing stream of visitors who drive the highway specifically to visit it. The ET Highway sign near the Crystal Springs end is the most photographed sign in Nevada. The "black mailbox" — actually a white one replaced by a new black one by the owner to cope with the volume of visitors — marked the informal meeting point where researchers gathered to watch the restricted airspace. The owner, Steve Medlin, eventually replaced it with a proper locked one, but the informal coordinates remain.
FAMOUS VOICES +
"I worked on recovered extraterrestrial craft at a facility called S-4, adjacent to Area 51. What I saw there changed my understanding of everything."
— Bob Lazar, Physicist, whistleblower
Knapp's 1989 reporting on Bob Lazar brought Area 51 to national attention and created the mainstream fascination that transformed NV-375 into the ET Highway.
— George Knapp, KLAS-TV investigative journalist
His films about Lazar and UAP phenomena have renewed international attention to the Area 51 corridor and this highway.
— Jeremy Corbell, Documentary filmmaker
"People come from every country in the world. Japan, Germany, Brazil. They all want to see the same sky."
— Pat Travis, Owner, Little A'Le'Inn
MOVIES, MUSIC & BOOKS +
MOVIES & TV
🎬 Paul 2011, Pegg/Frost
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost drive the ET Highway meeting an actual alien named Paul. The most accurate representation of what the road feels like to non-locals.
🎬 Independence Day 1996, Emmerich
Area 51 is central to the plot. The highway and its environs are referenced throughout.
🎬 The X-Files: Fight the Future 1998
The Nevada desert and restricted facilities that define this road's mythology.
🎬 Alien Highway (Discovery Channel) Multiple episodes
Investigative series using the ET Highway as its central location
SOUNDTRACK
🎵 Space Oddity — David Bowie 1969 — The correct soundtrack for 98 miles of empty desert under a sky that may contain things you cannot explain.
🎵 Fly Me to the Moon — Frank Sinatra 1964 — The version that makes the desert ironic and romantic simultaneously.
🎵 Rocket Man — Elton John 1972 — This is the Nevada desert at night.
🎵 Starman — David Bowie 1972 — The appropriate anthem for the black mailbox coordinates.
ESSENTIAL READING
📚 Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base — Annie Jacobsen 2011 — The most thoroughly researched public account of what actually happens at Groom Lake
📚 The Hunt for the Skinwalker — Colm Kelleher & George Knapp 2005 — The adjacent Skinwalker Ranch phenomena documented by the journalist who broke the Area 51 story
CLIMATE & BEST TIME +
Spring and fall are optimal. Summer brings extreme heat — 105°F days are common July and August. Winter nights drop well below freezing. The best ET Highway experience is spring (March-May) or fall (September-October) for moderate temperatures and maximum stargazing clarity. Go in the morning if you want to see the sky workers commuting to the base on the restricted access road.
EAT +
Little A'Le'Inn
$$
📍 Rachel, NV
The only food for 50 miles. Burgers, sandwiches, and the Alien Burger. The experience is the point as much as the food.
BOOK →
Bring your own
📍 Entire highway
The ET Highway has exactly one food option. Pack a cooler. The desert is not forgiving about unpreparedness.
SLEEP +
Little A'Le'Inn
$
📍 Rachel, NV
Rooms and camping at the only establishment in Rachel. Basic but functional. The alien kitsch is comprehensive.
CHECK ROOMS →
Alamo, NV
$$
📍 Alamo, NV
30 miles south of Crystal Springs. The nearest proper motel to the highway's southern terminus.
Tonopah Station Hotel & Casino
$$
📍 Tonopah, NV
60 miles north of Warm Springs. The Clown Motel adjacent to it is... optional.
FAMOUS PLACES +
📍 ET Highway SignNear Crystal Springs, NV
The official state highway sign designating Route 375. The most photographed highway sign in Nevada. GPS: 37.2°N 115.3°W approximately.
📍 Black Mailbox locationMile 29 approximately
The coordinates where researchers and enthusiasts have gathered for decades to watch the restricted airspace. The original mailbox is gone but the location remains.
📍 Little A'Le'InnRachel, NV — Mile 48
The center of the ET Highway experience. Open since 1988. The alien décor is comprehensive.
📍 Area 51 front gate15 miles east of highway
The public front gate of the Nevada Test and Training Range. The base itself is 25+ miles further in. The gate and its warning signs are photographable from the access road.
📍 Warm Springs, NVNorthern terminus
A junction, a bar, and approximately nothing else. The end of the highway and the beginning of the next empty Nevada road.
GEAR FOR THIS ROAD +
⚠️ Affiliate links: Asphalt Pursuit earns a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
Emergency water — 1 gallon per person per dayEssential
Non-negotiable on the ET Highway. Cell service is essentially absent. Breakdown without water is a survival situation.
Garmin inReach Mini$350
Satellite communicator for emergency use in areas without cell service. The ET Highway qualifies.
BUY ON AMAZON →
Red flashlight / headlamp$30
Red light preserves night vision for watching the sky. The ET Highway at 2am under the Milky Way is the actual reason to come.
BUY ON AMAZON →
Star chart app — Sky Guide$3
The ET Highway offers the best dark sky access within 4 hours of Las Vegas. Use it.
COMMUNITY INTELLIGENCE +
""The weirdness is fun. The remoteness is serious." The two halves of this road are not equal in weight. Prepare for the serious part."
— ET Highway frequent visitor
"Go at night. The Milky Way visible from Rachel, NV with no light pollution is worth the drive from Las Vegas alone."
— Dark sky photography community
"The actual experience that stays with you isn't the alien kitsch — it's the silence. There is no silence in America like the silence on the ET Highway at 3am."
— Road trip blog, anonymous
FAQ +
Can I visit Area 51?›
No. The base is strictly off-limits. The restricted boundary is clearly marked and the consequences for crossing it are immediate and serious. The Las Vegas-based "Janet" airline operates daily unmarked flights from McCarran Airport to the base, carrying base workers. These are occasionally visible from Rachel.
Has anyone actually seen a UFO on this road?›
Documented sightings number in the hundreds. Many are explainable as test aircraft. Some are not. Bob Lazar's sightings, reported in 1989, remain the most specific and documented. The sky here is genuinely different from most places in America.
Is it worth driving for non-believers?›
Yes. The landscape is extraordinarily remote and beautiful. The stargazing is among the best accessible from any American highway. The Little A'Le'Inn is a legitimate piece of Americana. The emptiness itself has a specific quality that the nearby Las Vegas corridor makes valuable by contrast.
ABOUT EXTRATERRESTRIAL HIGHWAY +
Nevada State Route 375, designated the Extraterrestrial Highway by the Nevada Legislature in 1996, spans 98 miles through the Nevada desert between Crystal Springs (Lincoln County) and Warm Springs (Nye County). The road gained international recognition through its proximity to the Nevada Test and Training Range, known colloquially as Area 51 — a classified US Air Force installation at Groom Lake that has been the subject of declassified government documents, investigative journalism, and sustained public interest since the late 1980s. The highway passes through Rachel, Nevada (population approximately 50), home to the Little A'Le'Inn, the primary gathering point for visitors to the ET Highway corridor. International tourism to this road has grown substantially since 2019, when a viral "Storm Area 51" social media event drew approximately 2 million online participants and several thousand physical visitors to the Rachel area, demonstrating the global reach of the road's mythology.