Things to Do in Marana

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.

Golden Pin Lanes hosts healthy competition atop 48 sparkling new composite lanes and features an advanced scoring system, which keeps track of points scored, player order, and the winner's fingerprints. Late at night, staffers flip on strobe lights and turn up dance tunes before heading back to the bar to pour happy-hour drinks and serve pizza and popcorn. Within the 50,000-square-foot entertainment citadel, a fleet of flat-screen TVs projects the latest sports games, and pool tables and video games give hands a break from all that heavy lifting.

On the Riptide slide, brave park goers grip small, yellow rafts as they descend down a nearly vertical 35-foot drop into a long alley of water. This thrilling ride is one of the Breaker Water Park's main attractions, joined by the twisting and turning Bonzai Pipeline—which propels bodies through a large jumble of pipes—and a massive wave pool filled with more than 1 million chlorinated gallons. The sprawling Breakers compound also has two food and refreshment stands and plenty of space for dining or relaxation. Sunbathers and those afflicted with wicked-witch syndrome can plant their beach towels and collect sunshine at one of many seating areas, and families with children too small for larger water slides can escort the tykes to Captain's Kidd's Surfari. A designated kids' area, the Surfari gives littler kids an oversized and waterlogged playground outfitted with wading pools, tamer slides, and elaborate sprinkler fountains.