Marana, AZ Outdoor Activities

Bandit Outfitters’ team of knowledgeable guides leads horse-topped guests through rugged desert wilderness on 90-minute tours during the invigorating daylight hours or the hazy transition of sunset. Riders board their gentle, patient steeds and meander through the National Mail stagecoach route past towering saguaro cactus as they enact accurate depictions of Old West sharpshooters in tableau vivant.

Explore the different sections of this expansive, historic park, which boasts three museums and an array of wildlife, such as the Collared Peccary and the wily Coatimundi. With unlimited park use for up to six people and free access to museums, picnic areas, and campgrounds, nature lovers will find ample opportunity for escaping the throngs of city living. Bounce into the vibrantly colored Butterfly Garden, or pay a visit to the La Posta Quemada Ranch’s two desert tortoises to ask how many licks it takes to get to the center of a stalagmite. Though not included in today's deal, visitors can venture into the Colossal Cave, a system of underground "dry" caves, with miles of subterranean passages (tours starting at $11 for adults).

Amid cacti and brush, beneath milk-white clouds, Cocoraque Trail Ranch & Pavillion's sprawling desert scenery makes it impossible to discern whether it's 1890 or the twenty-first century—and it hardly matters. Wranglers and ranch hands still work as they did more than a century ago when Señor Benito Robles homesteaded the rustic ranch. Today, Tucson native and third-generation cattle rancher Jesus Arvizu is at the helm. Under his guidance, ranch hands rise before sun up to shoe and groom horses, mend fences, and film commercials for blue jeans.

Upon arrival to the 16,000-acre ranch, visitors step into the time of cowboys and cattle. A red-dobe ranch house built in the 1890s facilitates cookouts with a mesquite-fired grill and an adjacent picnic area. Aspirant riders can team up with seasoned wranglers and ranch hands to participate in genuine cattle drives, herding livestock in their signature "V" formation. For large-scale old-timey gatherings, the ranch's open-air pavilion accommodates weddings, birthdays, and parties with a saloon-style bar, a covered eating area, a dance floor, and a bonfire pit.

In addition to her regular flight preparations, Foolish Pleasure Hot Air Balloon Rides’ co-owner Lorrie Ewer sometimes checks off a second midflight list: whether or not her passengers take each other, to have and to hold, for as long as they both shall live. As an ordained officiant, she can legally conduct marriage ceremonies beneath the teal, pink, and cerulean balloon that she and her husband, Dan, initially bought to fly for pleasure but have since turned into a thriving business.

The Ewers shuttle passengers over the area’s most scenic vistas, such as the Tucson Mountains, Avra Valley, and Saguaro National Park, many of which boast views of local wildlife. After the flight, guests eat a continental breakfast and sip champagne as Lorrie and Dan email each person a set of photos taken during the trip, plus the phone number of the cloud that stole their heart.

As the sun sinks below the Santa Rita Mountains, towering shade trees and adobe haciendas cast long shadows across Agua Linda Farm’s 63 acres. Over the years, this idyllic farm has nabbed attention from the press as well as visits from celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and John Wayne, who may have played hide-and-seek amid the rows of organic vegetables and flowers. In addition to a focus on sustainable agriculture, the farm strives to serve as a community hub. Farmsteaders Stewart and Laurel Loew host dinners, weddings, and scarecrow support groups in the adobe hacienda, and spark the imaginations of young horticulturists with family-centric spring and fall harvest festivals.

Each of the 18 fairways at Haven Golf Course presents golfers with a lush Bermuda-grass oasis in which to craft artful divots as they traverse the par-72 track. The Arthur Jack Snyder, ASGCA design leads playing groups along 6,905 yards of the Green Valley, clustering around a large elongated lake on one side and wrapping around several residential blocks on the other. Prior to embarking on their expedition, groups can warm up at the practice facility, complete with grass tees that mimic on-course lies.

Adjacent to the main championship course lies Haven's Tortuga Golf Course, a short par-3 course with holes that measure between 50 and 90 yards. This shrunken jaunt presents beginning golfers with an easy place to take up the game and more experienced golfers a place to practice air strumming their putter.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Total length of 6,905 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72 from the back tees
• Course slope of 123 from the back tees