Southern Arizona
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Southern Arizona - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Colorado River State Historic Park
On the other side of the river from Fort Yuma, the Civil War–period quartermaster depot resupplied army posts to the north and east and served as a distribution point for steamboat freight headed overland to Arizona forts. The 1853 home of riverboat captain G. A. Johnson is the depot's earliest building and the centerpiece of this park. The residence also served as a weather bureau and home for customs agents, among other functions, and the self-guided tour through the house provides a complete history. Also on display are antique surreys and more "modern" modes of transportation like a 1931 Model A Ford pickup. You can visit a re-creation of the Commanding Officer's Quarters, complete with period furnishings. The Yuma Visitor Center and a pie shop are also here.
201 N. 4th Ave., Yuma, Arizona, 85365, USA928-783–0071Sight Details
Rate Includes: $6, Closed Mon. June–Sept., Nov.–Apr., daily 9–4:30; May–Oct., Tues.–Sun. 9–4:30 -
2. Sanguinetti House Museum
This adobe-style museum, run by the Arizona Historical Society, was built around 1870 by merchant E. F. Sanguinetti; it exhibits artifacts from Yuma's territorial days and details the military presence in the area. If you're dining at the Garden Café this makes for an interesting stop, but it's not worth a visit on its own, especially if you plan on visiting the more popular Colorado River State Historic Park.
240 S. Madison Ave., Yuma, Arizona, 85364, USA928-782–1841Sight Details
Rate Includes: $7, Closed June–Sept. Closed Sun., Tues.–Sat. 10–4 -
3. Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park
The most notorious tourist sight in town is now an Arizona state historic park, but it was built for the most part by the convicts who were incarcerated here from 1876 until 1909, when the prison outgrew its location. The hilly site on the Colorado River, chosen for security purposes, precluded further expansion. Visitors gazing today at the tiny cells that held six inmates each, often in 115°F heat, are likely to be appalled, but the prison—dubbed "the Country Club of the Colorado" by locals—was considered a model of enlightenment by turn-of-the-20th-century standards: in an era when beatings were common, the only punishments meted out here were solitary confinement and assignment to a dark cell. The complex housed a hospital as well as Yuma's only public library, where the 25¢ that visitors paid for a prison tour financed the acquisition of new books. The 3,069 prisoners who served time at what was then the territory's only prison included men and women from 21 different countries. They came from all social classes and were sent up for everything from armed robbery and murder to polygamy. R. L. McDonald, incarcerated for forgery, had been the superintendent of the Phoenix public school system. Chosen as the prison bookkeeper, he absconded with $130 of the inmates' money when he was released. The mess hall opened as a museum in 1940, and the entire prison complex was designated a state historic park in 1961.
220 N. Prison Hill Rd., Yuma, Arizona, 85365, USA928-783–4771Sight Details
Rate Includes: $8, Closed Tues. and Wed. June–Sept., Oct.–May, daily 9–5; June–Sept., Thurs.–Mon. 9–5 -
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