People interested in history can tour the local Yuma Territorial Prison, where prisoners were kept in harsh stone and iron to serve their sentences. The Territorial Prison also hosts an annual Halloween party, with candy collection in the spooky prison. The Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park is mostly a park, but with a preserved army quartermaster depot facility, so you can see how rough it was a hundred years ago and more.

The Yuma Proving Ground Heritage Center focuses on the history of the Yuma Proving Grounds, the location of Patton's units' training in 1942 prior to deployment in North Africa, and site of extensive equipment testing. Visitors can see a wide array of exhibits, from an authentic '54 Post Commanders Office, to gear from the '21st Century Soldier." There are also exhibits on equipment and munitions that have been tested at the YPG. Finding this location can be a challenge; it is on post, about 30 minutes north of Yuma, turn at the two guns onto Imperial Dam Road; this requires entry into Army grounds, be prepared with proper ID.

The Castle Dome Mines Museum showcases a major Arizona mine, Castle Dome, once the source of thousands of tons of lead (much of which went to military ammunition), tons of silver and copper, and pounds of gold; the site is a preserved ghost town and mine, and a slice of Old West history.

The Museum of History in Granite and Center of the World Pyramid in Felicity CA is a tourist trap, but it's an interesting one, with hours of historical reading on several subjects carved into granite, a pyramid at the supposed center of the world, and a huge sundial shaped like the arm of Adam from the Sistine Chapel. The site is open Thanksgiving to Easter. This site is on I-8, about half an hour west of Yuma, and worth a stop.

The Painted Rock Petroglyph Site is over an hour east, off I-8, but is worth a stop if travelling through; the petroglyphs are some of the best preserved markings of the ancient native people of Arizona.