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The Extraterrestrial Highway

Typical vista along the Extraterrestrial Highway
Typical vista along the Extraterrestrial Highway
UFO sculpture in Rachel along the Extraterrestrial Highway

You've heard about it. You may have dreamed about it. Now you can drive it: 98 miles of "out-of-this-world" roadway through some of the emptiest countryside in Nevada. Rachel is the only town along the way, and with the long, slow descent to the valley bottom from both directions, you'll be seeing it long before you get there (if you have really good eyes, of course). But you can check out the Little A'Le'Inn (with its exterior wall screaming "Earthlings Welcome!") in Rachel and pick up your intergalactic souvenirs... maybe even have an Alien burger...

Part of what makes the Extraterrestrial Highway exciting is the proximity of Groom Lake, the fabled/famed "Area 51" of UFO renown. There's a sign warning of alien encounters over the next 51 miles, and another claiming the speed limit is "Warp 7." You can drive this paved road in a couple hours, or take a couple days. There's a number of old mines and ghost towns spread out along the route and you'll pass close to the Mt. Irish Wilderness and Archaeological Area (wild and woolly countryside with many pictographs and petroglyphs). Just north of Rachel is the Worthington Mountains, Grant Range and Quinn Canyon Wilderness Areas.

The Extraterrestrial Highway begins at the junction of SR 375 and US 93 in Crystal Springs and ends at the junction of SR 375 and US 6 at Warm Springs.

Welcome to Rachel sign, with population stats
Welcome to Rachel, with population demographics
Extraterrestrial Highway area mapMount irish WildernessWorthington Mountains WildernessQuinn Canyon WildernessGrant Range Wilderness
Extraterrestrial Highway area map
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Photos courtesy of Mark D. Wasson, © 2003, via Byways.org
Area map courtesy of National Geographic Topo!
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