Getting there
● Take Interstate 10 West toward Phoenix about 55 miles to Interstate 8 West, and drive about 177 miles to the Giss Parkway exit, which will take you to Downtown Yuma and the Yuma Convention & Visitors Center, 377 S. Main St. The Giss exit will also funnel you to Prison Hill Road, where you can catch the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park.
Breaking up that drive
● Visit the Painted Rocks Petroglyphs Site along the way, about 100 miles this side of Yuma. Exit I-8 to Painted Rock Dam Road. Travel north 10.7 miles to Rocky Point Road. The site is a half-mile west on Rocky Point Road. There is a $4 fee to camp at the site. For more information, call 1-623-580-5500.
Some attractions
● Yuma River Tours - Provides an opportunity to see the large numbers of migratory birds that call the Colorado River home November through March. Tours vary in length from three to seven hours and depart from Fisher's Landing, 32 miles northeast of Yuma. For more information, check out www.yumariver tours.com or call 1-928-783-4400.
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l Imperial Date Gardens - Just across the Colorado River in California is an abundance of dates and date products, from shakes to butter. The date farm is about 20 minutes out of town and while you will pass many date farms along the way, the Imperial Date Gardens is one of the leading producers of Medjool dates. Take Fourth Avenue out of town to Arizona 24, take a right and follow the signs to the farm. For more information, call 1-760-572-0277.
● Yuma Territorial Prison State Park - Set aside at least two hours to see the penitentiary that housed Arizona's prisoners between 1876 and 1909. Admission is $4 for ages 14 and older and free for younger children. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 1-928-783-4771.
General information
● To contact the visitor center, call 1-928-783-0071 or 1-800-293-0071 or go to www.visityuma.com online.
Fast facts about Yuma
105,000
Year-round population
90,000
Winter visitor population
339
Average number of sunny days a year
Less than 3 inches
Annual rainfall
