How to Plan a Trip to Area 51

If you are planning a trip to Area 51, you should probably reconsider your plans. Since it is technically a U.S. Air Force base, you can't actually get in to Area 51. This location is where spy and bomber planes are tested and where people claim to have seen strange lights and oddly shaped aircraft. To even get close to Area 51, you have to take a long trip on a deserted Nevada road; but its mysterious reputation makes the trip worthwhile to some people. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Map
• Car
• Hiking boots

Plan A Trip To Area 51

1. Research Area 51 at websites such as Altered Dimensions and Road Trip to Area 51 to find out its history, what the trip is like, and whether you really want to go there (see Resources below).
2. Drive or book a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada.
3. Buy a map and plan out your route before you start the drive to Area 51. You will take highway 375 (nicknamed "Extraterrestrial Highway"), a gravel road, around Groom Lake. The two main viewing points are the "black mailbox" (now white) along a deserted stretch of highway 375, and Tikaboo Peak.
4. Begin the drive to Area 51. Be on the lookout for guards in Jeeps.
5. Head to Rachel, Nevada, the town nearest to Area 51. Plan to start early in the morning, as you are in for a 2 hour drive each way.
6. Go to the inn at Rachel to talk to locals about area 51 lore, who may have visited there and what, if anything, they have seen or found.
7. Watch out for the poles that mark the perimeter around Area 51. There is no visible line marking out the area, so be careful not to wander in accidentally.
8. Head for your viewing point. You might carry binoculars, but there is a risk that they will be confiscated. Cameras are prohibited, although that does not always stop people from carrying them.
9. Start back before dark. This part of the desert gets pitch black at night and there are no emergency services nearby.

Tips & Warnings

• The nearest town to Area 51 is called Rachel, but if you are coming from a distance you will probably want to make Las Vegas, the nearest big town (about 120 miles away), your base.
• Some accounts people have written about a trip they took to Area 51 mention a dilapidated trailer called the Area 51 Research Center. Others say that the center is now closed.
• If you visit Tikaboo Peak, you will need hiking boots.
• Area 51 is restricted by the US military. Guards in Jeeps will prevent you from entering, or if you do, they will fine you quite a large sum of money.
• At one time, Area 51 was visible from its perimeter, but the government has annexed to nearby land, making viewing much more difficult.