Please talk me into buying a tiny patch of Utah sagebrush...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/30/AR2006013001608_pf.html

http://www.onlineutah.com/lucinpics1.shtml

We don't really have a thread for Utah travel advice, but...:

If you had four/five days, where would you stay and sightsee in this great state? I have been to SLC briefly but have never really ventured much beyond that.

Looking at Bryce Canyon, for starters.

when are you going?

Visited Zion & Bryce Canyon last autumn. It was my first time in the desert southwest- it was awesome. If you go to Bryce make sure and spend some time hiking below the rim. It's spectacular.

Bryce, Zion: incredible, can get crowded. n.b. Bryce is 9,000 feet so spring and fall can be much cooler than you think. a good one if you're here in the summer, though it is still warm. Zion Canyon gets very hot in the summer.
Arches: a little overrated imo, can get crowded.
Canyonlands: incredible, less crowded, needles district is spectacular for day hikes.
Capitol Reef: incredible, much less crowded, really opens up if you have a sturdy car that you don't mind taking on graded dirt roads
Grand Staircase-Escalante: incredible, massive, lower calf creek is a must
San Rafael Reef is great, very close to slc, a different beast because it's blm / state park, tends to attract locals with ohvs if you're into local scenery. little wild horse canyon is a blast.

most of these places can get dangerously hot in high summer. elevation is the biggest factor. late summer / early fall is usually when you have to worry about thunderstorms and flash flooding.

personally if i had 4/5 days and i was not in high summer i would do a tour from bryce on one side to moab and canyonlands on the other with grand staircase and capitol reef in the middle. maybe zion but it can get really crowded, it is definitely a must-see but it almost needs two or more days, idk. good tourist-friendly places to stay: torrey, boulder, moab.

i should say that if you aren't into a lot of driving, you could stay 4/5 days in or near any of these places and not come close to exhausting them.

Agree with matt about how capital reef and canyonlands are better bets than arches in terms of tourists, but I love arches (I've never been during tourist season tho). Bryce is wonderful, but it's really only at its best when it's snowing.

Going thru Bryce during a blizzard is one of my favorite memories

Utah is probably my favorite state, I have nearly died there a number of times

Bryce in snow is so intense. I shouldnt diss Arches, it's great.

Utah again!

Thanks for everyone's advice last time - we spent a few days in Zion and it was incredible, but we had to drive too quickly through Moab and I would love to go back and spend more time there.

This question is more specific - if you were going to pick a spot to stay in Utah for 5-6 days as a base (my wife would be working remotely but we'd also have some time to explore), where would you pick? Is there anywhere that is both close enough to parks but also has enough civilzation to do practical stuff like finding breakfast, working from coffee shops, sitting on a barstool, doing laundry, etc.?

Oh this would be in late June.