5 days by RV from Las Vegas: the Extraterrestrial Highway, Tonopah and the Rhyolite ghost town

Two hours north of the Strip, the last town with a gas station falls behind you and the road climbs into an empty basin. A green highway sign says Extraterrestrial Highway. Somewhere beyond the mountains to the south lies the most famous military base nobody is allowed to see. You will not see it either. What you will see is open range, cattle on the asphalt, an alien-themed motel with a bar and, on a clear night, a sky full of stars.

This is a five-day RV loop from Las Vegas through central Nevada: the Extraterrestrial Highway (NV-375) to Rachel, the old silver town of Tonopah, the Goldfield car forest and the Rhyolite ghost town, with an optional detour into Death Valley. It's a different trip from our national-park loop: fewer famous views, more roadside stories. We tell the UFO and ghost stories the way the places themselves tell them, and we label them: we never claim that aliens, ghosts or curses are real. Every price, opening hour and RV rule below comes from the operator or a public agency, with the date we checked it. Anything we estimated is marked [A].

When to go

1. JanToughTonopah lows 22 °F
2. FebToughfreezing nights
3. MarGoodcold nights
4. AprBestmild
5. MayBestwarm
6. JunGoodVegas 99 °F
7. JulToughVegas 104 °F
8. AugToughVegas 103 °F
9. SepGoodhot early
10. OctBestmild days
11. NovGoodcold nights
12. DecToughTonopah lows 20 °F

Our rating [A], based on NOAA 1991–2020 normals: Las Vegas averages highs of 104.5 °F in July; Tonopah averages lows of 20–22 °F in December and January [E26]. In freezing weather, the Little A'Le'Inn asks you to fill your tank and then unhook the water hose, or pay for frozen equipment [E7]. Spring and autumn are easiest. Little A'Le'Inn's restaurant, bar and shop are currently closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so plan your Rachel night for Thursday to Monday if you want dinner there [E6].

Route map

The 5 days at a glance

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Distances and drive times are our estimates for an RV at legal speeds without stops, from a road router and cross-checked with the Little A'Le'Inn's own table (Las Vegas → Rachel 150 miles, Rachel → Tonopah 110 miles) [E8][A]. Add 20–30% for photo stops.

Before you go: checklist

1. Book the Little A'Le'Inn RV site for night 2. Pull-through sites with 50, 30 and 20 amp power and water, from $30 a night plus taxes and fees, up to six people (eight with a $5 per person surcharge) [E7]. Book online; same-day online bookings aren't possible and the inn does not take phone reservations [E6]. If you'll arrive after closing time, call ahead [E6]. Refunds keep a 10% fee, and there are none within 2 days of arrival [E6].
2. Pick a Tonopah RV park for night 3. Tonopah Station has 20 full-hookup sites (30/50 amp, water, sewer) but takes no reservations: first come, first served [E15]. Tonopah RV, on the north edge of town, has 90 ft pull-through sites with 50 amp power, showers and laundry [E16].
3. Book two Las Vegas RV park nights (nights 1 and 4) with full hookups near your depot [A].
4. Plan your tanks. Leave Las Vegas with empty grey and black tanks and a full fresh-water tank: Rachel has no dump station [E7]. We found no confirmed public dump station between Las Vegas and Tonopah, so plan to empty in Tonopah at your RV park [A].
5. Plan your fuel. Fill up in Alamo or Ash Springs. The next pump is the Alien Cowpoke in Rachel, 52 miles on [E4], and its outdoor card readers are unreliable before 9 am and after 5 pm; the ET Highway site advises filling up in Alamo or Tonopah [E3]. Bring cash as a backup [A].
6. Download offline maps and write down the route. Mobile coverage is spotty, and in Rachel there's signal only on Verizon or AT&T [E8].
7. Check your rental contract for unpaved roads. None of the stops needs one, but the car forest and the Tonopah stargazing park are reached on dirt roads [E13][E18]; see the RV table.
8. Bring plenty of water and food. Seven Magic Mountains has no restrooms or shade [E24]; between Ash Springs and Tonopah services are few [E4].

RV access, stop by stop

RV ok paved, parking for a typical campervan or Class C up to ~30 ft [A] · Caution possible, with a catch · No RV leave the RV and walk, or skip

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Not sure your rig fits? Our RV size guide explains length, height and what "unpaved" means in a rental contract.

Where you sleep: hookups and dump stations

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Tonopah RV says water may be off in winter; reviewers report the hose posts wrapped against frost, with a fill point instead [A — from reviews on the park's site, not an official statement] [E16]. Dispersed camping is legal on much BLM land, but a first-time fly-in renter should stick to the parks above; see our plan B guide for the rules.

Day by day

Day 1 — Land in Las Vegas, pick up the RV, Atomic Museum

Fly into LAS and do the RV walk-through slowly: photos of every scratch, tank levels, generator and A/C test. Do one big grocery and water run: after Las Vegas, shops are small and far apart [A].

Sleep: Las Vegas RV park with full hookups. Fill fresh water, empty both tanks before you leave in the morning [A].

Day 2 — Las Vegas → Extraterrestrial Highway → Rachel (~155 mi)

Take I-15 north to exit 64, then US-93 north for about 90 miles through Alamo and Ash Springs [E8]. Fill the tank here [E3][E4]. Travel Nevada suggests the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge near Alamo for a stretch-your-legs stop with water birds [E4].

North of Ash Springs, at the junction where NV-375 begins, stop at ET Fresh Jerky: jerky, snacks, alien murals and, as the ET Highway site notes, famously clean restrooms [E3]. A little further, at the start of NV-375, the Alien Research Center is the one with the giant silver alien statue outside [E4][E5]. Despite the name, it's a souvenir shop, not a research facility, as the ET Highway site itself says [E3]. The green Extraterrestrial Highway sign is nearby [E4]; pull fully off the road for photos [A].

Then about 40 miles of NV-375 over Hancock Summit and Coyote Summit to Rachel [E8]. This is open range with no fence; the inn's own site urges drivers to stay under 45 mph, because dark cows stand on the pavement at night and collisions are frequent [E6]. Plan to arrive well before sunset [A].

Rachel is tiny. The Little A'Le'Inn is a bar, restaurant, motel and gift shop that calls itself the original Area 51 restaurant [E6]; the ET Highway site says it inspired the film Paul and displays gifts from the Independence Day and Galaxy Quest crews [E3]. Order a burger and listen to the stories. Free Wi-Fi works around the restaurant only [E8]. On a clear, moonless night, walk away from the lights and look up [A].

Sleep: Little A'Le'Inn pull-through RV site (power and water, no dump) [E7]. Motel rooms cost $100 for two [E8].

Day 3 — Rachel → Warm Springs → Tonopah (~110 mi)

Continue north-west on NV-375 to its end at Warm Springs, then west on US-6 to Tonopah [E8]. There's nothing in between, so leave Rachel with enough fuel, water and food [E4][A].

Tonopah, the "Queen of the Silver Camps" as Travel Nevada calls it [E4], still looks the part. Start at the Tonopah Historic Mining Park, on the original mine sites: more than 100 acres of headframes and buildings, a free visitor centre and film, and the Burro Tunnel, where you walk underground and look down a 500 ft stope from a steel cage [E12]. The self-guided walk costs $5 for adults, $3 for seniors over 60, children 8–17 and Nevadans; guided Polaris tours need a reservation [E12]. Around the corner, the Mizpah Hotel (1907) on Main Street has a celebrated ghost story, the "Lady in Red" [E14][E4]. That story is a legend; the building and the bar are real.

After dark: Tonopah is known for its night sky. The town's Clair Blackburn Memorial Stargazing Park has concrete telescope pads, benches and tables, is free and open 24 hours, and has no water, restrooms or electricity [E13]. The last part is a dirt road with dirt parking, and the town warns not to follow Google Maps, so take the town's directions and check the road in daylight first [E13][A]. The town runs free star parties from May to September, weather permitting [E13]. The claim you'll read everywhere, "7,000 stars visible", is the town's own figure [E13]; what you see depends on the moon and the weather.

Sleep: Tonopah Station (first come, full hookups) or Tonopah RV (pull-through, 50 amp) [E15][E16]. Empty your tanks here.

Day 4 — Tonopah → Goldfield → Rhyolite → Las Vegas (~230 mi)

Drive 27 miles south on US-95 to Goldfield, a half-empty gold-rush town [A]. Slow down to the posted speed in town [A]. On the south edge is the International Car Forest of the Last Church: more than 40 cars, vans, trucks and buses, painted, stacked or driven nose-first into the ground [E17]. It's free, open around the clock, best in daylight, with a visitor log and a portable restroom at the entrance [E17]. The organisers say it is "in a state of transition" [E18]. The artists ask visitors not to spray-paint or damage the cars [E17]. Crystal Avenue, the way in, is a dirt road, so leave the RV on pavement and walk [E18][A].

Another 67 miles south brings you to Beatty [A]. Turn west on NV-374. After about 4 miles is Rhyolite, a gold-boom town that is now ruins managed by the Bureau of Land Management: the Cook Bank Building (the photo at the top of this page) and a house built from glass bottles [E19]. Day use only, no camping [E19]. At the turn-off, the Goldwell Open Air Museum shows large outdoor sculptures, the best known of them shrouded, ghost-like figures [A]; it's open 24/7 with a free self-guided brochure, and its visitor centre is open Monday–Saturday 10 am–4 pm, often closing by 2 pm in summer [E20].

From Beatty, US-95 runs about 120 miles back to Las Vegas [A]. Refuel in Beatty and arrive before the evening traffic [A].

Sleep: Las Vegas RV park near your depot [A]. Dump and fill for the return.

Day 5 — Seven Magic Mountains, return the RV

Ugo Rondinone's seven towers of brightly painted boulders stand south of the city on Las Vegas Boulevard: from I-15 take exit 25 (Sloan Road), then about 7 miles south [E24]. The best light is early [A]. Park in the paved lot and take the walking path; don't climb on the stones, bring water, and watch for snakes [E24]. There are no restrooms (the nearest are in Jean, about 5 miles away) and no overnight camping [E24]. Visitor photos are for private, non-commercial use only [E24].

Then return the RV: dump, refuel to the level in your contract, sweep out and return on time [A]. Leave at least 3 hours between the RV return and your flight [A]. Flight in the evening? The Atomic Museum is an easy taxi ride for the afternoon [A].

Fact or folklore?

Every claim on this route, sorted. "Tourism marketing" means the claim comes from the business or tourism office itself; it may be true, but nobody independent has checked it.

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What we left out, and why

• The Black Mailbox. Many guides still list it. It was stolen in June 2024 [E3], so there's nothing to stop for.
• Any road to the Area 51 boundary. It's a closed military area and trespassers are prosecuted [E4]. Boundary roads are unpaved, which most RV contracts don't allow anyway [A].
• Nevada National Security Site tours. Public tours are cancelled through 2026 for budget reasons; future tours depend on funding [E2].
• An Area 51 exhibition at the Atomic Museum. It isn't on the museum's current exhibit list [E1].
• Lunar Crater (about 35 miles off US-6) [E4]. The access is unpaved and we couldn't confirm it for rental RVs [A].

Alternatives: 4 days, Death Valley

Buffer day: if you can, add one spare day, ideally on the first night near the airport or right after the longest drive. It absorbs a late flight, a slow pickup, a closed road or bad weather without cancelling a booked campground. Our classic loops show where it fits.

• Only 4 days? Skip the first Las Vegas night, but only if your depot hands over the RV by late morning, so you reach NV-375 in daylight [A]. Do the Atomic Museum on the last afternoon instead.
• Add Death Valley (+1–2 days). From Rhyolite, NV-374 continues into the park [E19]. Entry is $30 per private vehicle for 7 days, for every visitor including non-US residents [E21]. Furnace Creek Campground takes reservations from October 15 to April 15, 2 days to 6 months ahead, often fully booked; only 18 sites have full hookups, and there are dump stations at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells and Mesquite Spring [E22]. On 2026-10-25 the Beatty Cutoff and the Scotty's Castle road were closed, and Titus Canyon Road is closed until May 2027 [E23]. Don't plan it from June to September: our best-time guide explains the heat.
• Combine with the big parks? Add this loop before or after our 10-day Zion, Bryce & Grand Canyon loop, with one Las Vegas night in between [A].
• Reverse direction? Travel Nevada suggests Tonopah first, then NV-375 [E4]. That works, but then you reach Rachel from the north on day 3; check its Tuesday–Wednesday closure [E6].

What it costs

Verified prices on this loop (checked 2026-10-28): Little A'Le'Inn RV site from $30 a night plus taxes and fees [E7]; Atomic Museum $29 per adult [E1]; Tonopah Mining Park $5 per adult [E12]; car forest, Rhyolite, Goldwell, the stargazing park and Seven Magic Mountains are free [E17][E19][E20][E13][E24]. Death Valley adds $30 per vehicle [E21]. Tonopah's RV parks don't publish prices online, and Las Vegas parks vary; budget for them as you would elsewhere [A].

The big items are the RV and fuel. At about 540 miles, a Class C that does 8–10 miles per gallon burns roughly 55–70 gallons [A]. Put your own dates, vehicle and fuel price into the trip cost calculator (choose 5 days and about 540 miles).

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