According to the BBC, Yuma, AZ is the sunniest place in the world, surpassing even the Sahara Desert.

The sunniest place on Earth is also one of the most fun places to play in Arizona. You will discover Yuma has incredible people, one of a kind events, craftsmanship, culture, entertainment, indoor amusements, shopping, extraordinary climate and everything else you have to make it home. We are the quickest developing city in the United States and are very proud of Yuma and all it has to offer.

Yuma’s history is as wild as the Old West – as the famed Yuma Territorial Prison will attest – with a tip of the cowboy hat to mines, railroads, and steamboats. Families will love seeing exotic animals at a breeding farm; watching or racing at a dirt and clay speedway; sipping local date shakes; and attending festivals all year long. Between the huge desert just outside of the city with dunes that reach 300 feet, and its close proximity to the mighty Colorado River, reclaimed wetlands, and historic ghost mining towns, Yuma, AZ, has something for everyone. 

Wondering what are the best places to visit in Yuma?  Here are some of the finest destinations in this gorgeous sunny place.

Only remnants remain of this historic prison built in 1875, where you can see photographs of some of the prisoners who served time here over its 33 years of operation and get a feel for frontier justice.

After the jail was shut for congestion in 1907, it was utilized by the Yuma Union High School from 1910 to 1914 amid the Great Depression as a sanctuary for the homeless. Today, the jail is overseen by the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, serving as a museum that recounts the narrative of this intriguing piece of Wild West history. 

Builtin 1875, the jail facilitated 3,069 detainees during its time, among them were 29 women. Surrounded by the desert and the Colorado River, the odds of escape were thin. While no one was ever executed here, 111 detainees died while serving their time.

What was in 1878 a flourishing mining town bigger than Yuma, is today a ghost town and a historical center displaying the lifestyle of a mining town. Situated in the Castle Dome Mountains, this ghost town acknowledges the pioneers who came to make their fortune from silver and copper. This town looks frozen in time, it's difficult to believe that guests are not going to return at any given time.

Guests can see unique structures, such as mills, a unique boiler, the stamp mill, a lift, the promenades, the boardwalks, the five cantinas, and others more. This remnant of an outskirts town serves as a bit of history to respect a place where just the tough could survive.

Around ten miles outside Yuma is a rich desert garden, with 8,000 date palms moving through the gentle wind, looking almost like a mirage in the hot desert sun. It really is an oasis, uncovered from desert by the hands of Nels and Martha Rogers in 1990. Today, they have one of the biggest date cultivates in the region, with a 3,000-square-foot store encompassed by 130 acres of land of Medjool date palms.

All palms in the United States today originated trees. Martha's Gardens is a popular place to stop for a date shake or for a tour through their lovely abandon desert spring.

Located on the high ground overlooking the Colorado River, the Yuma Quartermaster Depot provide lifelines to the military posts in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas and New Mexico from 1864 to 1883. The U.S. Army's supply centers kept a six-month supply of food, apparel, ammo and other goods for the soldiers stationed in the forts. 

The products were first delivered by sea vessels to the Gulf of California. From there, they were loaded onto waterway steamboats and sent up the Colorado River to Yuma, and from there shipped upriver or overland, by the 20-mule wagon teams - a piece of Western legend.

Located in Building 2 on the Colonel George Howard Cantonment area within YPG. This is a 14,000 square foot facility that covers history from General George Patton's WWII training area known as the Desert Training Center to the present. Located in the former Post Headquarters building, they have fourteen exhibit galleries with a wide variety of information presented in many different formats. A small theater shows a 27 minute film about YPG and two of the galleries are commemorations of 9-11 and the 50th Commemoration of the War in Vietnam. There are security requirements to get on post, so stop by the visitor control center on Imperial Dam Road before coming on post. They will want to see your Drivers License, the Registration for your vehicle along with proof of insurance. If you visit on a Friday, the VSS is closes, so have the Security guard at the Howard Access Control Point check these items and issue your visitor pass. There are places to eat here as well.

The Yuma Proving Ground Heritage Center was established to pay tribute to the United States military history of Yuma Proving Ground. Starting out in 1942 as Camp Laguna, then becoming the Yuma Test Branch in 1943, and the Yuma Test Station in 1951, it is known today as the Yuma Proving Ground. For more than 70 years, this part of Arizona's Sonora Desert has seen various military activities.

The Museum showcases events ranging from 1942 to present day, with exhibitions showcasing the Desert Training Center, the Yuma Test Branch, Camp Seeley, the Yuma Test Station, and the Proving Ground. One room in the building is dedicated to the Liberation of Concentration Camps in WWII, and the role of the American Army Units that took part in it. 

The rich history and scenic beauty of Yuma Arizona bring opportunities galore to enjoy a day in the sun.

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