Little A'Le'Inn
9631 Old Mill St
Rachel, NV
A cafe, bar, and motel in the middle of nowhere, gleefully cashing in on the mystery over the ridge at Area 51.
The Little A'Le'Inn is the beating heart of Rachel, a speck of a town on the highway Nevada officially christened the Extraterrestrial Highway. Part cafe, part bar, part motel, and entirely committed to the alien theme, it has spent decades welcoming UFO enthusiasts, curious road-trippers, and the occasional celebrity to the empty high desert near the world's most famous secret base.
There is not much else out here, and that is the point. The inn serves burgers and cold drinks under a ceiling of alien kitsch, rents a handful of simple rooms, and sits beneath some of the darkest, starriest skies in the country, all a mountain ridge away from the classified airfield that made the area legendary.
What Guests Love
- The full-on UFO theme, from the sign to the alien memorabilia everywhere
- A hot meal and a cold drink in the middle of one of Nevada's emptiest highways
- Swapping Area 51 stories with fellow travelers and locals
- The astonishing dark skies overhead once the sun goes down
Worth Knowing
- Rachel has no gas station, so fill your tank before the long drive out here
- Cell service is essentially nonexistent along the Extraterrestrial Highway
- The nearby military land is strictly off-limits and heavily monitored; do not test the boundary
- It is a genuinely remote outpost, so bring water and patience for the distances
Details
Rachel, NV
Learn about Little A'Le'Inn
The highway and the mystery
State Route 375 runs for miles across the empty basins of central Nevada, and in 1996 the state officially named it the Extraterrestrial Highway, leaning into the region's reputation. That reputation comes from Area 51, a secretive United States military installation on the dry bed of Groom Lake beyond the mountains, long used to test classified aircraft and long the subject of UFO speculation.
The government said little about the base for decades, which only fed the mystery. Rachel, the closest settlement, became a gathering point for people drawn by the lore, and the Little A'Le'Inn grew into the town's landmark, offering food, drink, a bed, and a friendly place to trade theories.
Inside the inn
The Little A'Le'Inn embraces its role with cheerful abandon. The walls and ceiling are crowded with alien figures, UFO photos, patches, and memorabilia left by visitors from all over the world, and the menu leans on hearty road-trip fare. A tow truck out front famously dangles a flying saucer, a favorite photo stop.
The lodging is simple and few in number, the kind of basic desert rooms that suit an outpost this remote. What people remember is not luxury but the experience: eating a burger under a swarm of plastic aliens, hundreds of miles from anywhere, with the sense that something strange might be happening just over the hills.
The desert and the sky
For all the alien theming, the real wonder here is the landscape. This is classic Great Basin country, wide sagebrush valleys ringed by bare mountains, home to pronghorn, jackrabbits, coyotes, and soaring raptors. The land is dry, the distances vast, and the silence almost total once the highway is empty.
Because there are no cities for a great distance, the night sky over Rachel is spectacular, the Milky Way arching bright from horizon to horizon. Many visitors time their arrival for evening just to see the stars. The remoteness that makes the region feel eerie also makes it beautiful, and it is a reminder to come prepared, with a full tank and supplies, before heading out.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Sands Motel of Boulder City
Honorable Mention809 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV
126 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near Rachel
Extraterrestrial Highway
The road itself
State Route 375, a long, lonely, officially alien-themed drive across central Nevada's empty basins and ranges.
Area 51 outer boundary
Over the mountains south
The edge of the secretive military land, marked by warning signs and cameras; the base itself is strictly off-limits.
Tonopah
About 100 miles west
A historic mining town with a mining park, the Clown Motel, and some of the darkest night skies in the country.