About 1.5 miles southeast of Rachel a dirt road intersects with the Highway, leading roughly west. If you follow that road for a good 10 miles, you get to the North Gate of Area 51, also known as the Rachel Back Gate. Unlike the Groom Lake Road border, here you get to see a real guard shack, a gate and a fence marking the perimeter. There is actually an old fence a few hundred yards before the boundary, but it is ok to pass it and drive right up to the black and white gate.
WARNING: A similar setup can be found at Cedar Gate, a little further north. There, however, it is NOT OK to drive past the first fence.

There are several small buildings, warning signs similar to the ones on Groom Lake Road, and a double gate with a chain link fence marking the border. Usually at least one guard is inside the guard shack, and a security vehicle is parked behind the building. The ground is level here for several miles, so there is no need for patrol cars sitting on a lookout hill like by Groom Lake Road. However, there are several tall poles with with floodlights and various cameras around the guard shack. The cameras can be monitored from inside the guard shack, as well as from a central security station in a different location.

Life as a cammo at the Back Gate is good. There is a barbecue behind the building, and a large satellite dish next to it. On several occasions we caught the guard watching TV (they seem to like old Western movies). The only downside is having to use a port-a-potty when nature calls. There is no septic system or running water, and power is provided by a generator inside one of the buildings.

In October 2000 the Gate was upgraded to new security standards. A new Guard Shack, about 30 yards behind the old white Guard Shack, was added. A new fence was set up and the old barrier was replaced by a black-and-white double gate with red lights, similar to the one at the hidden guard shack on Groom Lake Road. The area between the gates is enclosed by a chain-link fence. Apparently the idea is to have a lock gate for increased security. When a vehicle checks in, they are boxed in between the gates while the guard checks their paperwork. This way they are no longer directly exposed to public view during check-in, and also a potential intruder would be "trapped" between the gates.

The three main buildings have black building numbers: 997, 998 and 999. The old white Guard Shack is still there, but it looks completely abandoned and does not have a number. There are several Russian radar sites and various support buildings southwest of the guardhouse, about 0.3-0.8 miles inside the perimeter. See the link below for more information. One of the buildings near the radar sites has the building number 980, and likely the other buildings in that vicinity also have numbers in the high 900's that are not visible from outside the perimeter.

It is interesting to note that the road leading to the gate from Highway 375 is a dirt road. However, from the Gurad Shack on into Area 51 it is paved.

Update April 2006: A new remote-controlled camera was added in late 2005 or early 2006. (see photos below)

Update 8/21/2010: The Area 51 Back Gate Road has been partially paved. The pavement extends for 2.2 miles from the Guard Shack to the intersection with a road leading north and eventually back to Hwy 375. The pavement continues up that road for another 0.8 miles and then ends. There is no indication for plans to extend the pavement past that point.

Update 1/07/2011: A large new Guard Shack is currently being built at the Rachel Back Gate to Area 51. The building is about five times the size of the current guard shack, which was built in October 2000. It is located between the current guard shack and the original pre-2000 guard shack. After the paving of part of the Back Gate road last August (see below), this is the second major upgrade to the Back Gate in six months.

Update 04/02/2019: In late March or early April of 2019 the road just inside the backgate was secured with several rows of hedgehog-style barriers.

Update 05/27/2020: Construction is underway at the back gate for a new, much larger and more secure check point.

Update 10/31/2021: The new check point is complete. A new building now obstructs the view of the PRV-11 radar site.

Update 11/30/2021: Most of the privacy screen is gone. Our new high-re panoramas show the brand new check point and the radar sites inside the perimeter "in profile".

Related links:

• Area 51 North Gate, including nearby Radar Sites - Google Earth plug-in
• The Guard Shack on Groom Lake Road - The main entrance to Area 51
• Station 700 between Area 51 and the NTS - Exclusive photos of the third gate into Area 51, deep inside the rstricted area
• The old Area 51 North Gate - The old guard shack, prior to October 2000
• Radar Sites near the North Gate - Soviet radar sites inside the perimeter, near the Rachel Back Gate
• White Unmarked Flatbed Truck - Sometimes you can see white unmarked trucks transporting heavy equipment in and out of the North Gate
• Correction to USGS maps of the North Gate Area - The USGS maps of the North Gate area are incorrect

This photo shows the new chain link gate at the Area 51 Back Gate. The gate rolls to the left to open. The horn that was installead earlier in 2022 is mounted to the pole on the left. Photo by Phil E. with friendly permission. [08/09/2022]

Aerial panorama of the new Back Gate checkpoint. The road to the right goes to Hwy 375, the road to the left goes to Area 51. The new Russian S-125 "Low Blow" and the P-37 "Bar Lock" radar sites are visible in the background. [12/18/2021]

Profile view of the new Back Gate checkpoint. The fence and the old guard shack are on the right, the new security check point is on the left. Most of the privacy screens are gone. [11/30/2021]   Wider angle panorama, including the Russian radar sites inside the perimeter. The new S-125 "Low Blow" radar site is near the center, the new communications relay site is on the far left. [11/30/2021]

The new check point at the Back Gate appears to be complete. Most of the area is now surrounded by privacy screens. [10/30/2021]   Super hi-res panorama of the new check point. The new building (see below) and the radar sites can be seen on the right. [10/30/2021]   A large new building was constructed at the site of the PRV-11 radar. It is mostly concealed behind a new berm and it now obstructs the view of the radar system. Photo taken by an anonymous source. [10/30/2021]

The main guard house at the new check point on Jan 5, 2021.

Two panoramas of the new check point under construction on Jan 5, 2021. The old guard shack is just out of frame on the right. In the background you can see some of the Russian radar sites.

New construction just inside the fence line for a much larger checkpoint at the back gate. The existing gate is near the bottom of the photo. Aerial photo from May 24, 2020, with friendly permission by Gabriel Zeifman. Image editing by "The Skunk".

In late March of 2019 the road just inside the back gate was secured against intruders with removable hedgehog-style barriers. Photo taken 04/02/2019.

The new guard shack, still under construction on January 9, 2011

You think you can sneak in? Think again... Big brother is watching. The image in the upper left corner has been enhanced to show the actual camera inside the housing.	This "bore brush" at the top of the camera pole is an ALS-1000 lightning conductor, manufacturerd by "Lightning Prevention Systems". Photo by Chuck Clark.

		Update April 2006: This new remote-controlled camera was added in late 2005 or early 2006. The guard shack does not appear to be manned all the time any more. At least not on weekends. Instead, this new camera tracks curious visitors. Be sure to walk along the fence line and watch it follow your every move... In the closeup below the camera is pointed right at you. Click in the photo for an even closer look...

The object on the left is sitting a few hundred yards northwest of the guard shack inside the perimeter. It was set up here on 7/21/1999. The photo above shows a contractor setting it up. A similar device can be seen only a few feet inside the north fence of Nellis AFB, at the north end of the runways. Update 2/12/2003: It turns out that this device is really not the sneaky stuff you would expect at Area 51. It is a TSS-440 Lightning Monitoring system, made by Global Atmospherics and according to their web site used on many airports. Then again, it could also be a cleverly disguised docking port for the mothership... ;-)

This shot from the south shows the new security zone between the gates. The new Guard Shack (building 999) is on the left, and the abandoned old shack on the right. A new chain-link fence and two gates frame the road between them. Both gates are operated from controls outside the new shack, visible in this photo as a gray box to the left of the door. The garage-type building between the two guard shacks is building 997. Several good-sized electrical cables can be seen leading inside, and it probably houses the generator that provides power for the Guard Shack. Also visible are the poles that carry flood lights and various security cameras pointed in different directions. A close-up of the new Guard Shack. It looks like a standard sheet metal structure, about the same size as the old shack. Judging from the white portable toilets outside it still does not feature a bathroom. The formerly clear windows have been tinted, but sometimes you can see a person move inside. A security vehicle is usually parked behind it. The pole with the cameras and the antenna is clearly visible. On its top is a lightning conductor. The small dish on the shed to the right (building 998) points to the relay station on Bald Mountain.

The new North Gate in April 2001. Notice the new chain-link fence with double gates and the new poles with more lights and cameras. The old abandoned Guard Shack is visible in the foreground, and behind it the new Guard Shack. The area between the two gates is the new security zone for checking in vehicles. Photos by Andre Dall'au.