Nevada’s Alien Highway Has Its Own Black Mailbox Where Visitors Leave Letters to Extraterrestrials

Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway

Area 51 might be off limits, but this 98 miles of desert road is where true believers come to play. This lonely stretch of asphalt is the closest you’ll get to X-Files territory without getting arrested.

Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway isn’t trying to be weird. It’s just is, and that’s exactly why you need to drive it.

PS.

There’s a black mailbox somewhere along the way where you can leave notes for aliens. Don’t worry about stamps.

How It Got Its Name is Hardly Surprising

People who live near the highway have been seeing strange things in the sky since the 1950s. There were so many people that reported UFOs that the Nevada Department of Transportation decided to officially rename the road in 1996.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism hoped that the name change would attract tourists to this remote part of the state, which also includes old atomic bomb test sites, secret Defense Department airstrips, and military land.

One of Nevada’s Most Remote Roads

Few cars drive this highway – an average of 200 cars each day, mostly at sunrise and sunset. You won’t find any gas stations along the entire 98-mile stretch, and the closest pump is 48 miles away in Ash Springs.

Your cell phone won’t work between mile markers 30 and 75, and if you need help, emergency services take two hours to arrive from Alamo. The empty road cuts through desert valleys, with the Quinn Canyon mountains on one side and the vast Pahranagat Valley on the other.

Of Course There’s Classified Military Activity, Too

Area 51 workers are transported to and from the facility by a fleet of unmarked planes, operating under the unofficial name ‘Janet Airlines’ from a restricted terminal at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

The use of a private airline and restricted terminal is for security reasons, ensuring that personnel and operations at Area 51 remain classified.

Ancient Tribal Sites Along the Desert Route

The Southern Paiute and Western Shoshone tribes left their mark here 4,000 years ago through rock carvings called petroglyphs. The Pahranagat Valley holds 38 old sites where tribes once camped and held ceremonies.

The Arrow Canyon is considered sacred by the Paiutes. The Moapa Band of Paiutes still resides in the area just east of the Arrow Canyon Range. The petroglyphs in the canyon were likely carved by both the modern Paiutes and their historical precursors, possibly as far back as the Desert Archaic peoples.

It Goes from from Desert to Mountain

The road climbs from 3,800 feet to 5,600 feet high, creating three different types of environments. The east side has hot desert valleys where 900-year-old Joshua trees and barrel cactus grow.

In the middle, the road winds through woodlands of pine trees, including thousand-year-old bristlecones growing from limestone rocks. The west end drops down into high desert plains covered in sagebrush, where summer temperatures can differ by 35 degrees from one end to the other.

The Uber Dark Sky is Perfect for UFO Spotting

The sky here stays truly dark because the nearest city lights are 98 miles away in Las Vegas. On clear nights, you can see more than 7,000 stars, and the view rates among the darkest in America.

Many stargazers bring telescopes to mile marker 45, where the dry air and high elevation make it perfect for viewing space. Winter nights last about 14 hours, and you can also spot satellites with just your eyes.

Volcanoes Left Amazing Formations Behind

Volcanoes shaped this area 13 million years ago, leaving behind 75 cinder cones and large lava flows in the Lunar Crater field. The Quinn Canyon mountains contain deposits of silver, turquoise, and cinnabar.

Earthquake faults created cliffs that are thousands of feet high, while deep canyons at Mount Irish cut through 20 layers of rock. These layers hold fossils from an ancient sea that once covered Nevada.

The Weather Is Just as Strange

The temperature here can change by 40 degrees in one day. Summer days reach 110°F by noon, while winter nights drop to 15°F. Summer storms between July and September can dump two inches of rain in half an hour, filling dry creek beds with six feet of water.

Spring winds blow at 60 miles per hour across open valleys, creating dust devils that reach 300 feet high.

There Are Cool Creatures on the Extraterrestrial Highway

Protected Mojave Desert tortoises come out of their burrows from March to October. Groups of up to 60 pronghorn antelope graze in valleys sheltered by mountains.

Golden eagles build nests in limestone cliffs, while kit foxes hunt for kangaroo rats near the road at dusk. The area supports 27 types of birds, including prairie falcons that can dive at 200 miles per hour to catch prey.

Get Ready to Basically Drive

After sunset, the highway becomes pitch black for 85 straight miles. Car headlights provide the only light, and animals are most active between dusk and midnight.

Military testing creates strange lights that look like floating orbs or streaking lights across the sky. If your car breaks down at night, emergency help from Alamo takes about two and a half hours to reach you.

Surprise Springs Dot The Landscape

Despite getting only a few inches of rain yearly, this area has several springs that flow all year. Crystal Springs thermal springs has a water temperature of 81°F and provides irrigation for multiple nearby ranches and farms, some of which lie over 5 miles away from the springs.

The springs along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada are scattered, natural oases in the vast desert. They attract both wildlife and travelers seeking a brief respite in the harsh, barren environment.