Forget Area 51—Travel the ET Highway

If you’ve ever pondered whether we’re alone in this vast galaxy, you have lots of friends. In fact, a recent Facebook page is inviting the extraterrestrial-curious to convene Sept. 20 at the Area 51 Alien Center in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, about 90 miles from Las Vegas. Whether a joke or a real event, more than one million have responded as interested in being there. Of course, converging on the highly classified Air Force facility might not be a great plan. It’s called trespassing. However, you don’t have to put aside your curiosity completely. Instead, travel a route designed to capture the intrigue and curiosity that surrounds aliens, flying saucers and other mysteries that lie in distinct unearthly worlds. Take a journey on the ET Highway!

Ever since the E.T. Adventure ride closed at Universal Studios Hollywood, I’ve felt a void. That is, until I discovered the ET Highway in Nevada. The state, known for the infamous Area 51, is no stranger to extraterrestrial activity exploration, and, now, E.T. followers can travel a route designed to capture the intrigue and curiosity that surrounds aliens, flying saucers and other mysteries that lie in distinct unearthly worlds.

Extraterrestrials, welcome to Nevada! Or should we say, welcome back? Since your last visit to Area 51, the state has missed you! In fact, you could say the entire country has missed you, which is why the Defense Department spent $22 million on a program to find out if aliens do exist.

To help curious “earthlings” navigate the state’s extraterrestrial oddities, Travel Nevada has developed a southern Nevada loop itinerary specifically for extraterrestrial “visitors.” For an outer-this-world” road trip, follow the ET map as it travels from Las Vegas to the ET Highway and on to Tonopah and the Pahrump Loop. Want to set the mood for your trip? Watch these top alien movies  on Netflix before you leave home.

3-Day Extraterrestrial Itinerary

Day 1: Las Vegas/Valley of Fire State Park

If you only have one solar day on Earth, Las Vegas is a great way to see it all, from the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris Las Vegas to the Egyptian pyramid at the Luxor Las Vegas. Travel back in time to Arthurian England — the human way, as opposed to actually time traveling — with a visit to the Tournament of Kings dinner and show experience at the Excalibur. Homesick for Mars? Valley of Fire State Park, a mere 49 miles/8.3353e-12 light years to the east, offers the beautiful red sandstone landscapes of home. So realistic, scenes from 1994’s “Star Trek: Generations” and 1990’s “Total Recall” were filmed here.

Day 2: Extraterrestrial Highway to Tonopah

Things may have changed since your last visit to Area 51. Mainly, Nevada state Route 375 was named the Extraterrestrial Highway in 1996. Heading out from Las Vegas, take Interstate 15 east and U.S. 93 north to where it intersects with the eastern end of the ET Highway at Crystal Springs (about 108 miles, or just teleport yourself there). Stock up on road trip snacks at E.T. Fresh Jerky, take a selfie at the ET Highway sign and shop for souvenirs at the Alien Research Center.

Heading west on the ET Highway, you’ll notice a few dirt roads to the south heading to Area 51. If your curiosity gets to you, you can drive down a bit to take a peek — but observe all posted signs. Area 51 is within the Nevada Test and Training Range and is not open to the public.

Continue west to the Little A’Le’Inn restaurant and gift shop in Rachel for a bite to eat before heading on to Tonopah. The former silver mining town also has a beautifully restored Victorian-era hotel known as the Mizpah. While in town, be sure to check out the Tonopah Historic Mining Park and the Central Nevada Museum. Fill up on barbecue and sample local suds at the Tonopah Brewing Co. — the cleverly named Half-life Hefeweizen testifies to our ingrained human interest in radioactivity. Before heading to bed, check out the night skies. Tonopah, population 2,440 (2010 Census data), is a small community with little light pollution, providing a great vantage point to view the galaxy up close.

Day 3: Tonopah to Pahrump and back to Las Vegas

Head south on U.S. 95 to Goldfield, another former silver mining town from the early 20th century. On the south end of this community, to the east of the highway, is the International Car Forest of the Last Church art installation. Paintings on half-buried cars, buses and other vehicles dot the landscape here in a sort of Stonehenge-like construction, only without references to the summer and winter solstices, or any other astrological or mathematical concepts. A great place for a selfie

Continue on to Beatty for a quick bite to eat at the Happy Burro Chili & Beer or KC’s Outpost. From here, it’s a quick 6- mile trip on Nevada state Route 374 to see the ghost town of Rhyolite and the adjacent Goldwell Open Air Museum. Then it’s back to Beatty and south on U.S. 95 to Pahrump.

Pahrump, you will remember, is where Martians land in the 1996 film “Mars Attacks!” It also is the home of radio talk show host Art Bell, known for his interest in extraterrestrial species. Here, you can enjoy a Jetpack America adventure at Lake Spring Mountain inside the Spring Mountain Motor Resort & Country Club, swing the clubs at Mountain Falls Golf Course or the Lakeview Executive Golf Course, and then toast your other-worldly discoveries with the vintages at the Pahrump Valley Winery and Sanders Family Winery before your return to Las Vegas.

Photos courtesy of Visit Nevada