Things to Do in Marana

Across Disruptive Paintball’s six battlefields, teams splatter blotches of color across 18 acres of dry desert landscape. Amidst the shrubs and sparse trees, they slink behind giant wooden spools and up stairs into watchtowers, where they pick off opponents belly crawling up dirt mounds. Players can also post up inside a dilapidated helicopter and various forts or challenge their aim and reflexes on the small speedball court furnished with large inflatable obstacles. Because the center's varied and exciting arena attracts players of virtually every age and skill level—from seven-year-old girls and boys to elderly grandparents—staff members divide participants by skill level to ensure every player has a safe and fun experience. Disruptive Paintball also hosts airsoft nights, a game similar to paintball that uses soft pellets in place of paintballs.

Since he took his first flight more than 25 years ago, Arizona Balloon Safaris' CEO and FAA–certified pilot, Randy Long, has lifted more than 20,000 passengers into the sky—including celebrities such as Shakira. Though Mr. Long has flown hot air balloons across both states and parallel dimensions, he calls the Sonoran Desert his home base. As the sun paints an orange glow across the desert's rocky bluffs at dawn, Mr. Long and his passengers ascend up to 3,000 feet into the air. From here, the pilot points out the desert's plants and wildlife, such as coyotes, roadrunners, and jackrabbits. He ends each flight the same way; back on the ground, he pours his passengers some champagne, congratulates them on earning their wings, and starts thinking about the next day's adventure.

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.

Three baseball cages and three softball cages housed in the indoor Batters Box facility hurl their best stuff into the strike zone so that baseball players can polish their cuts. Various settings enable all levels to improve, serving slower pitches to younger and less-experienced players and transforming into hecklers so experienced players can master their game faces. Batter’s Box also employs a couple of decorated instructors in Jerry Hairston Sr., a 14-year major leaguer and father to two current pros, and Autumn Champion, a former standout at the University of Arizona and current record holder for the fourth-highest softball batting average in the nation.