You can sleep inside a nuclear missile silo in Roswell — alien invasion optional

You can sleep inside a nuclear missile silo in Roswell — alien invasion optional. 1

The listing title calls it a "True Cold War Relic." That's underselling it. What Gary Baker — known to guests as "Siloman" — has converted into an Airbnb outside Roswell, New Mexico, is a decommissioned Atlas F ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) complex: 186 feet deep, two 45-ton blast doors, an intact 44-foot diameter concrete cylinder that once cradled an 82-foot missile armed with a 4-megaton warhead. For context, that warhead was roughly 300 times the yield of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. 2

The silo is rated 4.99★ across 603 reviews and sits in Airbnb's "OMG!" category. 1 Price runs $545–$1,000 per night depending on season. 34

Before you click: yes, we covered a different Cold War missile silo last month — the Atlas Ad Astra in Wilson, Kansas. That was a different property, different host, different state. This one is in Roswell, New Mexico, which means you're sleeping in a nuclear bunker in the town made globally infamous by a UFO crash in 1947. Jessica, a guest from Houston, put it plainly: "If you go to the Roswell UFO Museum, you'll even catch they mention the silo(s) on their timeline." 1 Cold War dread and alien kitsch, stacked vertically 186 feet underground.

The private apartment sits in the upper level of the former Launch Control Center — about 1,250 square feet, 4 guests maximum, 2 single beds plus 4 air mattresses, 1 bathroom. No windows, because you're underground. The amenities list includes a fully stocked kitchen, Wi-Fi, cellular service, a 52" TV with Netflix, a washer/dryer, and pets are welcome. 1

What makes this different from a quirky hotel room in a converted building is the tour — included in the price, no optional upsell. Gary walks guests through the site's full history: design, construction, operation, and decommissioning. He owns two silo sites in the Roswell area (Site 4, which is the Airbnb, and the adjacent raw Site 10), has worked on around 40 silo projects over his career, and comes from a family that built missile bases across three generations. 2 His cousin Raúl Bernal, who lives on the lower level with Gary and his wife Eva, summed it up: "Gary doesn't have blood; he has rocket fuel." 2

After the tour, you're free to roam. Wander back into the silo on your own. Flip on the lights. Stare down 186 feet of concrete cylinder that was built to survive a one-megaton nuclear hit within a mile and still launch its missile. 2 The place keeps one of the largest private collections of first-generation ICBM photographs in the country, alongside bookshelves of missile operating manuals and Cold War military history. 1

Journalist Mark Wallace, writing for Alta Journal after spending the night at Site 4, described the drive into town: "You can't swing a dead extraterrestrial around here without hitting a reminder of the UFO that supposedly crashed nearby in 1947." 2 Green alien streetlights, alien-branded diners, the International UFO Museum on Main Street — Roswell leans hard into its 1947 moment. That the town also had 12 Atlas F missile silos built in the surrounding desert during the early 1960s is a layer most visitors don't know about.

Each of those silos cost roughly $22 million to build in 1960s dollars, took about two and a half years to construct, and was operational for only two years before the Atlas F program was cancelled. 5 Gary bought two of them for approximately $55,000 each in the late 1990s. 2 Comparable sites now list for over $500,000, and a Titan missile complex in Washington State went on the market at $11.5 million. 2

The silo was not hiding; it was visible and well known to locals. But the combination of alien mythology, deep desert remoteness, and a host with genuine encyclopedic knowledge of Cold War missile history produces a stay that doesn't have a clear analogue anywhere else. Matador Network named it one of the 9 coolest bunker Airbnbs in North America, noting the Roswell UFO connection specifically. 4 TimeOut ranked it #5 on their list of the most unique Airbnbs in the US for 2025. 6

Phil, a British guest who stayed in May 2026, wrote: "Impossible not to give five stars and how to rate value for money is also impossible. Being British staying in a nuclear missile silo is beyond the value of money, it was the most unique place I ever stayed. The free roam around the site is amazing and no matter how many times I entered the silo and turned on the lights it always took my breath away." 1

Margaret, who stayed in late May 2026, described it as "truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience" and called the history lesson during her stay "fascinating." 1 Brian, in a June 2026 review, zeroed in on Gary himself: "You can tell Gary is passionate with what he does. Seems to really know the history of this place and the Cold War era. He's an encyclopedia of knowledge and very enthusiastic." 1

The earliest reviews, from 2021, set the tone that's held ever since. One guest on record via the Sacramento Bee: "Don't think, just book. Yes, Roswell is a small town; but it does have some truly unique experiences. The crown jewel being Gary and his missile silo. What an incredible experience. The space is indescribable; it's unlike anything I've ever seen." 5

Gary himself is pretty clear about who this stay is for. In an interview with local TV station KOAT, he said: "If you're just simply looking for a night stay because you're passing through, this would not be the facility for you. This is truly an experience. What we mean by that is you are totally immersed in what it was like to operate one of these 60-plus years ago." 7

The property went quietly viral in December 2021 when aerospace engineering professor Chris Combs (47,000 followers on X) tweeted about it:

That tweet sparked the wave of travel media coverage that followed — Alta Journal, Matador Network, TimeOut, KOAT. The property now sits at 603 reviews with a 4.99★ average and, according to HostCamp's February 2026 analysis based on AirDNA data, pulls roughly $107,000 in annual gross revenue at a 55% occupancy rate. (AirDNA is a third-party short-term rental analytics firm; the $107K figure is an estimate, not a disclosed figure from Gary Baker.) 3

When Gary first floated the idea on Reddit in 2019 — asking the r/AirBnB community what they thought about exploring an underground military base — one skeptic asked whether guests would need a constant supply of pumped-in breathable air and warned about "constant water leaks." The listing now scores a 5.0 on accuracy. 8

Mark Wallace, the Alta Journal reporter who spent the night in the silo, described lying in the converted quarters with the weight of all that concrete above him and writing: "I can't help feeling like I'm sleeping in the barrel of a gun." 2 That line sat with me. This was a machine built to end cities, now it's a place where a British tourist wanders around alone in the dark at 2 a.m. flipping lights on and off because he can't stop being amazed.

Book it: True Cold War Relic Atlas F Missile Silo / Bunker — Airbnb