where to backpack March 20th? 2-3 days Southern Utah

Hi,
Myself and a friend are planning a backpacking trip in Southern Utah March 20th. We will likely do a 2 or 3 day trip, maybe 8-12 miles a day depending on terrain. We are both experienced backpackers, but my friend's not up for the technical stuff.

We're hoping for some beautiful canyons, wide open desert, and maybe some slots. Remoteness is a plus. A loop would be great, but not essential. I have an AWD Mazda tribute so some easy 4WD roads should be ok.

Does anyone have suggestions of trails/routes? Links to trail info, or trail names would be great so I can get some detailed research started.

*Alternative: I'm also slightly considering an easy 2-3 day river trip. Some rapids are ok, but my friend is only used to Missouri's float streams so it needs to be easy. Somewhere with primitive camping allowed most places along the river?

Thanks in advance!

What region in S. Utah?

I'm open, anywhere that's warmer (lower elevation likely). My first thoughts are Canyonlands, Escalante, Goblin Valley, San rafael swell, Capitol reef, etc. I would be open to others though. I'm in SLC, so anywhere in So Utah is close enough.

remoteness, lots of loop potential, few other people? escalante would be my choice.

I was thinking Escalante would be a good choice! Though I have no idea where to even start, it's such a huge area. Any trail/area recommendations?

My wife and I have always gone down south over my birthday, March 21st... and the past few years it always seems to be on the colder side. Last year was the warmer trip though.. Only one night with frost in the tent. We went down to Hole in the Rock road and hiked Zebra and Tunnel Slot last year, then drove to the end of Hole in the Rock road and hiked down to the lake. We were sick of the washboard road after a couple days though, but it sure was nice to get out... This year I am planning a week later hoping it is a bit warmer.