Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Arizona → Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park

Location: Yuma, Southwest Arizona

Time Required: 2-3 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Admission is $8 for adults; Open daily from 9am – 5pm from October 1 – May 31, closed Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 1 – September 30. For more information, visit the park website here.

What’s Nearby?: Castle Dome Mine Museum & Ghost Town, Painted Rock Petroglyph Site

Has anyone seen 3:10 to Yuma (either the 1957 or the 2007 versions)? This is the place Dan Evans was trying to take Ben Wade: the prison that held the Southwest’s most notorious criminals (3,069 of them, including 29 women) for 33 years. You can enter the cells where the inmates lived and lie down on their rather uncomfortable bunks, or venture into the dark cell (their version of solitary confinement). In the museum you can read about the lives and crimes of the prisoners who ended up here, and take your own mugshot. Less grisly options include climbing to the top of the guard tower for views of the river front, or walking the nature trail to the water (one branch of the trail will also take you to the prison cemetery).

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Arizona → Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park