Hello!

My boyfriend and I are looking for a longer backpacking loop (preferably a loop because we're only taking one car) to do in late March. I'm thinking Arizona or Utah because I imagine many places in the mountains still have snow in late March. Our first choice is the Grand Canyon and we applied for a backpacking permit but we may or may not get it. Any other ideas? I've heard Superstition Wilderness in AZ is good but I know know nothing about that. We live in Southern California and prefer to keep the drive to less than 9 hours.

Thanks!

Superstition Wilderness is great in March... though it may rain. I'm from LA and did two nights there in March '14. The south-East side of the park is wetter (that is where I went). The west side is more desert. That is where you will find Miner's Needle. A famous rock formation your are supposed to be able to use to find the Lost Dutchman's mine.

Here are the Trails: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tonto/specialplaces/?cid=fsbdev3_018739


And here is an overview map: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5163340.pdf

A nice lollypop hike is from Reavis Trailhead down the 109. Then take 110 to the 112 and back to the 109 back to Reavis. It's a tough 2 night/ 3 days. If you like a casual pace, 3 nights would be nice. You could extend it to 4 nights by taking the excursion to Reavis Falls (not an official trail but I hear it is well marked). If you like longer days or have a faster pace, you could extend the loop with trails #117, 118, 212, and/or 213.

I had planned the lollipop from the opposite side (starting and ending at Roger's Trough (the opposite side of trail 109)). We ended up getting stuck in a thunderstorm at Reavis Ranch and hiked out the way we came in. Angel Basin is somewhere I would really like to get back to. I definitely recommend not missing Angel Basin

+1 on the Superstitions, though it's been a long time since I've been there. Nothing pops into mind for me that doesn't require lots and lots of water or is too short for what you want to do. . Death Valley, Anza -Borrega, Joshua Tree, Oak Creek Canyon came to mind, but not good fits. Nov 1st for March GC permits, or you won't get what you want on the corridor trails. If you can handle some route finding and some exposure and scrambling , you could try something off the Boucher or Tanner trails that don't require camping in designated sites. Not for the faint of heart, though. Hermit and Grandview is as hard as I'll tackle at this point. Hope you have a great trip.

well, you can't go wrong with the Grand Canyon, March sounds great. But if the weather keeps up the way it has been, you could go for the Ventana Wilderness in Big Sur. Not the Sykes hotspring route, way too over-used. I'd go for Vicente Flat trail from the coast, looping up over Cone Peak. The trail use to be too overgrown to be able to do the full loop, but volunteers have fixed it. Check the Ventana Wilderness Alliance website for recent trail condition updates. Or you could do the trail in the Ventana that goes from Botcher's Gap to Pat Spring and Double Cone. That is a wonderful winter or spring hike, weather permitting.
Another possibility, there are some low elevation backpacking trails in Sequoia Nat'l Park, low enough to do in spring. I've never done them and have no practical advice, but they might do the trick.

This is supposed to be a big year for wildflower bloom in Death Valley, (late March might be too late?) and probably generally in the desert southwest.

http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_dv.html
Here's a decent synopsis of what's going on, flowerwise.
I love desert blooms.