Tonopah & the Extraterrestrial Highway

Why Central Nevada

This is the Nevada of the imagination: roads that vanish over the horizon, faded boomtowns, a government base that officially doesn't exist, and night skies so dark the Milky Way casts shadows. Tourists rarely come here; the people who do are rewarded with the state's most cinematic landscapes and a genuine sense of discovery. If you have 2–3 days beyond Vegas, this is where to spend them.

Tonopah first: a silver-mining survivor

Tonopah boomed around 1900 when a prospector's burro wandered off and led him to rich silver outcrops. Today it's a friendly, half-forgotten town of 2,200 that has become an unlikely creative hub for stargazers and history lovers.

• Tonopah Historic Mining Park — 72 acres of original mine workings you can walk and explore on your own; almost entirely free (small suggested donation) and quietly spectacular.
• Mizpah Hotel & Clown Motel — stay in the haunted 1907 Mizpah or spend a night surrounded by a thousand clowns at the legendary Clown Motel next door (yes, it's real, and yes, it's booked months ahead by curious travelers).
• Central Nevada Museum — mining, ranching and the Tonopah Test Range's atomic history in one tidy local museum.
• Stargazing — Tonopah sits in a dark-sky belt with near-zero light pollution; the Mining Park's quiet reaches make an easy viewpoint.

The Extraterrestrial Highway (NV-375)

State Route 375 runs 98 miles between Crystal Springs and Warm Springs, skirting the vast Nellis Air Force Range and a certain famous installation near Groom Lake. There's a big alien-themed sign at each end and almost nothing in between — which is the point.

• Rachel — the only real settlement on the highway: a few houses, the Little A'Le'Inn cafe (alien burgers, UFO souvenirs) and fuel. It's also the classic base for night-sky watching along the highway.
• The gates — you can legally drive close to the range boundary near mile markers 24–27 and see the famous "restricted" signs and, on clear days, distant antenna farm. Photography of the base itself is restricted — use common sense.
• Drive conditions — two lanes, excellent pavement, 70 mph speed limit and stunning open views. In summer the heat is intense; in winter, bring chains for possible mountain stretches. There is NO cell service for most of the route.
• ET Highway Days — a quirky annual festival in late summer in Rachel and Alamo; check current dates.

Ghost towns & side roads

• Belmont — one of Nevada's best intact ghost towns: stone buildings, a crumbling mill and the Historic Belmont Courthouse; reachable on graded dirt in good weather.
• Rhyolite — near the park's edge on the way to Death Valley; the famous Bottle House and a ghost railroad depot (a quick detour off NV-374).
• Goldfield — a 1900s boomtown with the historic Goldfield Hotel (another famous "haunted" stay) and the international Ghost Town & Blues Festival each summer.
• Manhattan & Round Mountain — living mining towns with character; the round-the-mountain dirt circuit to Belmont is a classic adventure.

When to go & logistics

March–May and September–November are perfect: warm days, cool crystal nights, big skies. Summer days are 95–105°F with equally dark, gorgeous nights. Winter can bring snow closures on US-6/US-95 — check conditions; Tonopah sits at 6,000 feet.

• Fuel: top up in Tonopah before the ET Highway loop; Rachel's pump is the only one along NV-375 and hours can be erratic.
• Water & food: pack your own meals and several liters per person; there are long stretches with no services.
• Maps: download offline maps before leaving Vegas or Tonopah.
• Night driving: stunning but dangerous for wildlife — mule deer and cattle roam the roads after dark. Slow down.

Sample 2-day Central Nevada loop from Las Vegas

• Day 1

  Las Vegas → Rhyolite → Goldfield → Tonopah (4.5 hrs)

  Drive north via Beatty and Rhyolite's ghost ruins; lunch in Goldfield's living history; arrive Tonopah for the Mining Park and a dark-sky evening.

• Day 2

  Tonopah → Extraterrestrial Highway → Rachel → Vegas (via NV-375 to I-15)

  Spend the morning on the alien highway, lunch at the Little A'Le'Inn, and continue the loop down to Crystal Springs and back to Vegas by evening.