mikewint
Captain
Area 51 Viewer's Guide, 8/9/95
Freedom Ridge and White Sides are new closed!
As of April 10, 1995, the popular near-in viewpoints overlooking the Groom Lake base were closed to the public. You can no longer see the base from any legal vantage point west of Highway 375. The old hiking trail to Freedom Ridge, described in previous versions of this Viewer's Guide, now crosses the border without any posted warning signs. Do not attempt this trail. The Groom Lake base can still be seen from a more distant mountaintop to the west, Tikaboo Peak, described in this guide. The hike is challenging, however, and is not for everyone. Other important advice .... Do not cross the border. Many visitors have driven past the signs that clearly say "Restricted Area" or "No Trespassing." If you cross the border, you will be arrested! The usual fine is $600, with no leniency given for ignorance. The border is marked by clear signs wherever a road crosses it, but often no fence or gate.
Elsewhere in the desert, the border is usually marked only by orange posts spaced about every 200 feet. Do not pass them! Do not hike near the border after dark because the orange posts become impossible to sec. As long as you stay outside the border, you have a right to travel and camp anywhere on adjoining public lands. All "Restricted Area" signs in this vicinity are correctly placed. None can be ignored. Do not drive on rougher roads than your car can handle. Many naive visitors driving standard cars have found themselves stranded on rugged dirt roads that arc passable only by four wheel drive vehicles. Maintained (bladed) dirt roads are generally safe for all vehicles, but stay off unmaintained (" two track") roads unless you are certain your vehicle is up to it. The danger is getting stuck in sand or hung-up on rocks. If you drive on any dirt road, you should bring all the water, warm clothing and other supplies you may need to hike back to the pavement should you break down. Be prepared for desert extremes. Tills area, at an elevation of 5000 feet can be bitterly cold in the winter and at night, and high winds are common. Many people come here thinking deserts are always hot and have been ill-prepared for the elements. If you choose to leave the maintained roads, remember that this is a remote area with little hope of rescue should you get into trouble away from the paved highway. In the summer, sunburn is a danger, and running out of water on a hike can be deadly. (You need at least one quart for every hour or mile on a hike.)
Will I encounter security personnel in the area?
If you leave the paved road and approach the Restricted Zone west of Highway 375, it is likely you will be closely watched by military security patrols. The boundaries near Groom Lake are patrolled by two-man teams in four wheel drive vehicles. Look for a white Jeep Cherokee with a light bar on top bearing two male occupants wearing camouflage fatigues. These are anonymous, well-armed chaps-known to watchers as the "Cammo Dudes"-who will admit only to working for a "civilian entity." Early Black Mailbox folklore said that they work for the Wackenhut Corporation under military contract, but more reliable evidence indicates they are a mixture of military officers and civilian employees of another government contractor, EG&G.
These guards appear to have no sustainable legal authority outside the Restricted Zone, but they also have no responsibility to please the public and are accountable for their actions only to the military. The military, in turn, does not acknowledge that they exist. Although as evasive as field mice under relaxed circumstances, you would not want to get on their bad side. These guards have the guns, brawn and anonymity to do what they want, and there aren't many witnesses out here to say that you were right and they were wrong.
You have nothing to worry about if you remain in the vicinity of the paved highway, but as you approach the Restricted Zone on dirt roads, the security people tend to become increasingly edgy, and they may try to bluff you into leaving if they think you are naive. As they see it, you are "challenging their borders," even if you do not actually cross. If they feel you are doing something illegal, they will call the County Sheriff. They used to call the Sheriff whenever a visitor was near the border, but now the Sheriffs deputies visit only rarely, usually when someone has actually crossed the border. Although you have a full legal right to travel on the public lands bordering the Zone, you should also be careful about obeying the law, because a lot of eyes will be watching, and any breach might be sufficient excuse for the Sheriff to be called. It is our advice that visitors should not carry guns, because this would only provide further excuse for conflict. If you have one in your car, it is probably best to lock it in the trunk. The guns of the security force will always be bigger than yours, and having a weapon in your possession just gives them an excuse to shoot.
What will happen if I intrude into the Restricted Zone.
Don't do it. You should not be fooled by the absence of fences along many parts of the border. Intruding into the Restricted Zone is a serious offense and should not be taken lightly. If you violate the zone, you are leaving civilian territory and surrendering your usual citizen protections. To put it bluntly, they can kill you. The signs at the border say, "Use of Deadly Force Authorized," and even if it have never been exercised, the emotional tone is clear. Don't get any kooky ideas about conducting Greenpeace-style commando raids or storming the border en masse to overwhelm security and "smash open the wall of UFO secrecy." These installations are equipped with overwhelming firepower, and stopping an invasion is exactly what it is there for. It is also important to remember that the Restricted Zone is not shown accurately on some older maps. The border is usually marked by "Restricted Area" signs wherever it intersects a navigable dirt road and by orange posts every 50 feet in the desert, but there is often no fence or gate. Ignorance is not a legal defense for driving past the signs, and even to drive up to the guard house 1/2 mile inside the border will result in your immediate arrest. Short of being shot, the maximum theoretical penalty for intrusion is one year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine, although a misdemeanor fine of $600 is the norm.
Freedom Ridge and White Sides are new closed!
As of April 10, 1995, the popular near-in viewpoints overlooking the Groom Lake base were closed to the public. You can no longer see the base from any legal vantage point west of Highway 375. The old hiking trail to Freedom Ridge, described in previous versions of this Viewer's Guide, now crosses the border without any posted warning signs. Do not attempt this trail. The Groom Lake base can still be seen from a more distant mountaintop to the west, Tikaboo Peak, described in this guide. The hike is challenging, however, and is not for everyone. Other important advice .... Do not cross the border. Many visitors have driven past the signs that clearly say "Restricted Area" or "No Trespassing." If you cross the border, you will be arrested! The usual fine is $600, with no leniency given for ignorance. The border is marked by clear signs wherever a road crosses it, but often no fence or gate.
Elsewhere in the desert, the border is usually marked only by orange posts spaced about every 200 feet. Do not pass them! Do not hike near the border after dark because the orange posts become impossible to sec. As long as you stay outside the border, you have a right to travel and camp anywhere on adjoining public lands. All "Restricted Area" signs in this vicinity are correctly placed. None can be ignored. Do not drive on rougher roads than your car can handle. Many naive visitors driving standard cars have found themselves stranded on rugged dirt roads that arc passable only by four wheel drive vehicles. Maintained (bladed) dirt roads are generally safe for all vehicles, but stay off unmaintained (" two track") roads unless you are certain your vehicle is up to it. The danger is getting stuck in sand or hung-up on rocks. If you drive on any dirt road, you should bring all the water, warm clothing and other supplies you may need to hike back to the pavement should you break down. Be prepared for desert extremes. Tills area, at an elevation of 5000 feet can be bitterly cold in the winter and at night, and high winds are common. Many people come here thinking deserts are always hot and have been ill-prepared for the elements. If you choose to leave the maintained roads, remember that this is a remote area with little hope of rescue should you get into trouble away from the paved highway. In the summer, sunburn is a danger, and running out of water on a hike can be deadly. (You need at least one quart for every hour or mile on a hike.)
Will I encounter security personnel in the area?
If you leave the paved road and approach the Restricted Zone west of Highway 375, it is likely you will be closely watched by military security patrols. The boundaries near Groom Lake are patrolled by two-man teams in four wheel drive vehicles. Look for a white Jeep Cherokee with a light bar on top bearing two male occupants wearing camouflage fatigues. These are anonymous, well-armed chaps-known to watchers as the "Cammo Dudes"-who will admit only to working for a "civilian entity." Early Black Mailbox folklore said that they work for the Wackenhut Corporation under military contract, but more reliable evidence indicates they are a mixture of military officers and civilian employees of another government contractor, EG&G.
These guards appear to have no sustainable legal authority outside the Restricted Zone, but they also have no responsibility to please the public and are accountable for their actions only to the military. The military, in turn, does not acknowledge that they exist. Although as evasive as field mice under relaxed circumstances, you would not want to get on their bad side. These guards have the guns, brawn and anonymity to do what they want, and there aren't many witnesses out here to say that you were right and they were wrong.
You have nothing to worry about if you remain in the vicinity of the paved highway, but as you approach the Restricted Zone on dirt roads, the security people tend to become increasingly edgy, and they may try to bluff you into leaving if they think you are naive. As they see it, you are "challenging their borders," even if you do not actually cross. If they feel you are doing something illegal, they will call the County Sheriff. They used to call the Sheriff whenever a visitor was near the border, but now the Sheriffs deputies visit only rarely, usually when someone has actually crossed the border. Although you have a full legal right to travel on the public lands bordering the Zone, you should also be careful about obeying the law, because a lot of eyes will be watching, and any breach might be sufficient excuse for the Sheriff to be called. It is our advice that visitors should not carry guns, because this would only provide further excuse for conflict. If you have one in your car, it is probably best to lock it in the trunk. The guns of the security force will always be bigger than yours, and having a weapon in your possession just gives them an excuse to shoot.
What will happen if I intrude into the Restricted Zone.
Don't do it. You should not be fooled by the absence of fences along many parts of the border. Intruding into the Restricted Zone is a serious offense and should not be taken lightly. If you violate the zone, you are leaving civilian territory and surrendering your usual citizen protections. To put it bluntly, they can kill you. The signs at the border say, "Use of Deadly Force Authorized," and even if it have never been exercised, the emotional tone is clear. Don't get any kooky ideas about conducting Greenpeace-style commando raids or storming the border en masse to overwhelm security and "smash open the wall of UFO secrecy." These installations are equipped with overwhelming firepower, and stopping an invasion is exactly what it is there for. It is also important to remember that the Restricted Zone is not shown accurately on some older maps. The border is usually marked by "Restricted Area" signs wherever it intersects a navigable dirt road and by orange posts every 50 feet in the desert, but there is often no fence or gate. Ignorance is not a legal defense for driving past the signs, and even to drive up to the guard house 1/2 mile inside the border will result in your immediate arrest. Short of being shot, the maximum theoretical penalty for intrusion is one year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine, although a misdemeanor fine of $600 is the norm.