Nevada State Route 375
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| Basic data | |
| Overall length: | 98.414 mi / 158.382 km |
| Starting point: |
 US 93 north of Ash Springs
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| End point: |
 US 6 near Warm Springs
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| Counties: |
Lincoln Nye |
| Important city: | Rachel |
The Nevada State Route 375 , better known as the Extraterrestrial Highway (official name since 1996), Highway 375 or ET Highway for short , is a federal highway in the counties of Lincoln and Nye in southern Nevada in the southwestern United States . It runs between Warm Springs , where it turns off US Highway 6 , and Crystal Springs , where it turns into US Highway 93 via a short detour onto Nevada State Route 318 , and is 158 kilometers (98.4 miles) long. The only and equally famous place along the street is Rachel , where many of the few people passing through make a short stop at Little A'Le'Inn , a bar decorated with UFO devotional objects.
The proximity to Area 51
The road became world famous because it runs along the Nellis Range and is the main feeder to the long-kept secret, but also world-famous military base Area 51 , according to its popular name . Coming from the south, shortly after the Hancock Summit, a dust track turns west through the Tikaboo Valley, which is often also referred to as Black Mailbox Road, because at the junction the only clue within miles was the black mailbox of farmer Steve Medlin, who runs a farm in the Tikaboo Valley. The actual base is 20 miles away, hidden from view, behind a chain of hills on the horizon.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Tikaboo Valley was briefly the destination of UFO enthusiasts and curious people who drove out into the desert on Wednesday nights to observe test flights over the Groom Lake base. Now and then, even in the early hours of the morning, they saw strange plays of light with wildly dancing points of light in the sky, which often performed seemingly impossible flight maneuvers. When, instead of a few insiders, busloads full of people finally set off, the test flights ended abruptly. But the legend of the UFOs in Area 51 was further nourished and attracted more and more visitors from all over the world, which finally led to Nevada State Route 375 being ordered on April 18, 1996, just in time for the upcoming film release of Independence Day by then Governor Bob Miller was renamed Extraterrestrial Highway and signposted accordingly. The fact that the maximum speed was newly specified as Warp 7 contributed to the general hype about the road and the base. However, the Nevada speed limit of 70 mph officially applies on the federal highway.
