Can you recommend a national park for March?
 

We would like to plan a trip to a national park or other scenic natural area for mid March next year(not the Smokey Mountains, Acadia, Rocky Mts.). Any suggestions on what parks would be a good bet for hiking during that time of year?

At that time of the year, Big Bend in Texas is about your best bet. The Rockies are snowbound still.

The Smokies can be quite chilly that time of year and nothing is leafed out.

Calsbad is underground, so the time of year there does not matter.

The desert parks and national monuments of Arizona are attractive.

And, March is the good time for Death Valley. April might be a little better. But July is impossible, unless you thrive on excessive heat.

The Everglades are good year round, if you like swamps and alligators.

Mid-March would be a great time to visit National Parks in Southern Utah. Weather's mild and not as much moisture as many other parts of the country. Also, a wide variety of sights in close proximity...Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park...all within 3-5 hours drive! Zion & Bryce are our favorites. Both spectacular & very different.

Agree with the above 100%25. Spring is the prime time for southern Utah Natl Parks and each is fabulous in it's own way. Bryce is at 8,000 ft. elevation and will probably still have snow. But it's even more beautiful with the snow on the redrocks. Hiking might be limited there due to icy trail conditions. Note that the desert still gets cold at night in the spring, so motels/hotels might be better than camping. Also, take your insect repellant because some spots (Capitol Reef) might have "no see ums" and they give a nasty bite!
Do go, it's the absolute best you'll ever see.

Can you suggest where someone who wants to visit the southern Utah parks described above should stay? For a one week trip, would it be better to have a base and make day trips, or would it be better to travel around and sleep different places each night?

I just wanted to echo a vote for Arizona--the Grand Canyon or Sedona would be lovely--we will go to Sedona in March (although it rained this year--hopefully no El Nino next year) The cactus bloom the end of March. Also consider southern California--Death Valley is good, Joshua Tree near Palm Springs. All of these get too hot in summer. Utah is gorgeous but I prefer it in May/June. At any rate, have fun.

You can probably do Zion and Bryce from one base, but you would want to move north for Arches and Canyonlands. I agree with these recommendations. I've been in Zion in February when it started snowing. I've been in Arches and Canyonlands in August when it was over 100 degrees. Both times were great. We just had to accommodate the time of our activities to the weather. Personally, I liked Canyonlands.

Jerry: Get a good and detailed map of Utah. I don't know where you live, but western distances, and therefore drive times, are great. This is especially true on the small, windy, 2 lane highways once you get off the interstates. Also, photo ops and interesting sites tend to make your trips longer. You can see most all of Arches in a day, including some short hikes. One you MUST do is the Firey Furnace, ranger-led hike. Check the times, they only do it twice a day and you must go with the ranger. It's really fantastic. Bryce is good for one day, two if you like to hike. Zion is also good for one or two days, depending on how much you want to hike. Zion has some awesome hikes, but you need to be in good shape for most of them. Time of year (summer can be upwards of 100 degrees in Zion) will dictate how much hiking you want to do. I lived and explored in Utah for many years and have lots of great places and details to share if you would like to e mail me. the Natl Parks are what everyone sees, the rest is just as fantastic and relatively few ever see it. Have fun and take LOTS of film and a polarizing filter.

Will there be much snow in Utah in March?

Parrot: It depends where you are going. If you can tell me where, I be glad to let you know what to expect. I live to ski, so I definitely know snow.