Two hundred years ago, when the first overland immigrants from Mexico passed through this area under the leadership of Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, they saw a fertile valley, well watered by springs and even a small river that ran into San Jacinto Lake. Now, the river has been diverted and several of the springs have disappeared. The Regional Indian Museum, located in the park, offers a look into the lives of the native peoples who lived in the area before the Spanish habitation.

The museum offers tours and exhibits.

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park contains oak woodlands, grass-covered hills, and tule marsh. One of the largest groups of people in prehistoric California, the Southeastern Pomo, knew this land as home. Today, descendants of those people still live nearby. Anderson Marsh's archaeological sites hold clues to the lives of the Pomo. Some sites are over 10,000 years old, making them among the oldest in California. Visitors can also explore the past at the historic Anderson Ranch, with its 19th-century structures.

The parks offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Historic Jamestowne is the site of the first permanent English settlement in America. Visitors begin their visit at the Visitor Center with exhibits and an immersion theater experience. They can then tour the Archaearium, which tells the story of James Fort through archaeology; share the moment of discovery with archaeologists and witness archaeology-in-action at the 1607 James Fort excavation; tour the reconstructed 17th-century Jamestown Memorial Church and original 17th-century church tower; take a walking tour with a park ranger through the New Towne area along the scenic James River; "meet" a 17th-century personality; and watch costumed glassblowers at the Glasshouse. A driving tour explores the lush natural setting where exhibits explain how the settlers harnessed that wilderness for their needs.

The site offers exhibits, tours, living history demonstrations and events, and educational and recreational events and programs.

Coffin House chronicles the evolution of domestic life in rural New England over three centuries. The 1678 structure, which contains the family's furnishings, began as a simple dwelling built in the post-medieval style. Tristam Coffin and his family lived, cooked and slept in two or possibly three rooms; their possessions were few. About 1700, the house was more than doubled in size to provide living space for a married son and his family. As the family grew, partitions were added and lean-tos built so that different generations could continue to live together under one roof. In 1785, two Coffin brothers legally divided the structure into two separate dwellings, each with its own kitchen and living spaces. With rooms from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Coffin House depicts the impact of an expanding economy and new concepts, such as the notion of privacy, on architecture and modes of living.

The house offers tours and educational programs.

"The earliest evidence of humans along Turnagain Arm is at Beluga Point, which prehistoric hunters used as a view point to search for Beluga whales and sheep. The first white explorers arrived in 1778 aboard Captain Cook's ships, Discovery and Resolution. Cook sailed up Cook Inlet hoping to find the Northwest Passage, but had to "turn again", leading him to name the water body River Turnagain. In the late 19th century, miners and trappers began traveling into interior Alaska from Whittier and Seward along old trails that soon became established routes with roadhouses. In 1895 prospectors crossed from the south side of Turnagain Arm to the north and searched for gold from Girdwood to Rainbow Creek.

In 1903, the Alaska Central Railway began building a railroad from Seward to Fairbanks, but the company soon went bankrupt. The U.S. Government bought the railroad in 1915 and improved the trail along the arm to handle the horse and wagon traffic needed for railroad construction. The trail was also used to deliver mail between Anchorage and Seward. IN 1917 telegraph lines were laid along the Turnagain "road" and by 1918 the railroad extended from Seward to Anchorage, with flag stops at Bird Creek, Indian, Rainbow and Potter. Remnants of construction camps remain along the trail, but are barely discernible. Part of the original trail was covered by the highway which was completed in 1950 and paved in 1954."

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park nestles in a little valley 2,400 feet above sea level with open meadows and large valley oaks that once provided the native Americans of this area with an ample supply of acorns. The park was created in 1968 and preserves a great outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes—the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America. The Museum has been designed to reflect the architecture of the traditional roundhouse. Exhibited in this two-story museum are outstanding examples of the technology and crafts of the Miwok and other Sierra Nevada native American groups.

The park offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Petit Jean features CCC/Rustic Style architecture that endures as a legacy to the craftsmanship and conservation achievements of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park includes three National Historic Districts and contains more than 80 buildings, trails, and bridges. The most prominent architectural structure, Mather Lodge, stretches along the bluff of scenic Cedar Creek Canyon. The bluffs, waterfalls, and vistas of Petit Jean Mountain inspired the creation of Arkansas's first state park, and along with it Arkansas's state park system.

The site offers occasional recreational and educational events.

Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park, site of the 1782 American Revolution Battle of Blue Licks, preserves the history of the site. At the Pioneer Museum, located in the park, visitors can learn about the area's history from prehistoric times to the days of the pioneers.

The park offers exhibits, historical trails and nature trails, programs and tours for school groups of all grade levels (fees starting at $3 per student), tent camping for school groups ($2 per person), and other recreational and educational events.

The Salmon Ruins and Heritage Park seeks to preserve and share the history and prehistoric record of the Four Corners. Particular emphasis is given to San Juan County, New Mexico. The park operates a research library with more than 5,000 volumes pertaining to Southwest history and archaeology. Sights include an 11th-century Chacoan greathouse; a 19th-century homestead; and a replica tipi, pithouse, hogan, and sweatlodge.

The site offers exhibits, guided group tours of the Salmon Ruins, school tours, outreach virtual tour presentations, and research library access. Reservations are recommended for group and school tours.

The Pictograph, Middle, and Ghost cave complex was home to generations of prehistoric hunters. Over 30,000 artifacts have been identified from the park. A short paved trail allows visitors to view the rock paintings, known as pictographs, that are still visible in Pictograph Cave, the largest of the three. Interpretive signs tell the story of Montana's first professional archaeological studies and excavations.

A second website for the site can be found here.

The site offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.