In 1996, the State of Nevada officially designated State Route 375 as the Extraterrestrial Highway. The two-lane pavement spans the desert between Crystal Springs, Alamo, and Tonopah, crossing through Lincoln County.
Smack in the middle sits Rachel. It is the only settlement in Sand Springs Valley, located roughly 150 miles north of Las Vegas with a population of circa 54 to 70 people.
From Tempiute Village to Sand Springs
An alfalfa farmer first developed the community during the 1970s under the name Tempiute Village. Settlers soon arrived when a nearby mine opened, swelling the settlement to a few hundred residents. The town adopted the name Sand Springs before changing a third time.
When the first baby arrived in town, residents named the community Rachel in her honor. That initial boom was brief. By 1980, the local mine shut down, and the population dropped sharply.
What kept the tiny outpost alive was its neighbor to the south. Area 51 was founded in 1955 as a testing site for the U-2 spy plane on the Nevada Test and Training Range. For decades, the site hosted tests for experimental aircraft including the Archangel-12, the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, and the SR-71 Blackbird.
The Lazar Claims and the Roadside Meeting Place
Skies over the Sand Springs Valley produced repeated reports of high-speed aircraft and unusual maneuvers. Because prototype testing was classified, observers assumed unfamiliar military hardware came from another planet. In 1989, Bob Lazar claimed he worked on reverse-engineering alien spacecraft at Area 51, bringing national media attention and reporters like Larry King.
Lazar brought tour groups out along Route 375 to watch night skies near a cattle rancher's mailbox on Mail Box Road. The rancher, Steve Medlin, ran cattle in the Tikaboo Valley and did not believe in extraterrestrials. After recurring mail theft and vandalism, Medlin moved his box off the highway, and visitors replaced it with the Black Mailbox.
The Black Mailbox became a drop spot along State Route 375 where travelers stash messages, notes, trinkets, and cans of beer.
In 1989, a local business opened in Rachel as Joe and Pat's Bar and Grill. By 1991, as UFO hunters kept gathering along the corridor, the owners rebranded it as the Little A'Le'Inn.
Hollywood Arrives and the Highway Gets Named
In 1996, Twentieth Century Fox filmed scenes in Rachel for the movie Independence Day. A time-capsule monument for the film still stands outside the Little A'Le'Inn.
State tourism officials and local boosters used the movie release to petition the state. The Nevada Department of Transportation formally designated the route the Extraterrestrial Highway. A metal highway sign went up, cementing Rachel as a roadside destination. A tow truck holding a mock flying saucer from a crane was installed in front of the inn.
The real base stayed entirely restricted. The U.S. government did not officially acknowledge Area 51 until 2013. The perimeter is marked with orange posts and monitored by armed guards, with the closest public viewing point more than 15 miles away. Much like the remote routes featured in our Nevada stories and the unpaved expanses along The Black Rock Desert playa near Gerlach, this open country is defined by empty space and strict boundaries.
The 2019 Internet Raid and Desert Isolation
Social media revived interest in September 2019 when an online event titled "They Can't Stop All of Us" proposed storming Area 51. More than 2 million people RSVP'd online. On the day of the gathering, fewer than 200 people arrived in Rachel, and no one breached the military perimeter.
The isolation remains real. State Route 375 sees light traffic, often under 200 cars per day. Much like the desolate highway described in How Highway 50 Became the Loneliest Road in America, travelers can drive dozens of miles without seeing another vehicle.
Summer high temperatures average 92° F with lows of 54° F. Spring averages 68° F by day and 34° F at night. Fall drops from 72° F to 35° F, and winter plunges to an average low of 18° F with daytime highs of 48° F.
Visiting Rachel Today
Rachel sits 255 miles in a straight line southeast of Reno. Drivers coming from Northern Nevada head south toward Tonopah, then branch east on State Route 375 across the high desert, monitoring our Road conditions and cameras before setting out. Travelers planning an excursion should also review Reno to Las Vegas Drive via US-95 to gauge fuel points across the central valleys.
Services remain sparse. Fuel is sold at the Alien Cowpoke Gas & General Store in Rachel, with the next gas stops located 45 to 52 miles east in Alamo and Ash Springs, or 110 miles west in Tonopah. Cell reception is spotty to nonexistent.
The Little A'Le'Inn operates daily from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with the kitchen closing at 7:00 PM. It serves Alien Burgers, Alien Amber Ales brewed in Roswell, New Mexico, and alienfruit pie. Souvenir t-shirts and UFO photo displays fill the dining room, while the bar ceiling carries pinned dollar bills.
Overnight lodging at the inn includes five portable units with two to three rooms each. Prices range from $85 for a twin bed to $300 for a seven-person unit, along with $25 RV spaces and tent camping. Rooms include a TV, a VCR, and access to a complimentary alien movie library on VHS.
