Biking in Gunlock State Park

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Be sure to take your bike with you when you visit Gunlock Lake State Park in southern Utah. It's a fun place to ride and explore.

The Desert Collared Lizard

This lizard is just soaking up the rays of the sun as it lays on a rock this windy spring day in early May at Gunlock State Park.

Nothin' like a Good Campfire

First Morning at Gunlock state park

Hiking along Gunlock Lake

The lake is a wonderful place to hike as there are dirt roads and paths along the eastern side of the water. It’s a pleasure to walk these trails as the entire surrounding area is quite scenic. You’ll be glad that you decided to take a camera as there is so much to see in the area. Perhaps you catch a glimpse of the white herons as we did.

The surrounding mountains are comprised of a redish orange sandstone along with igneous rock left over from the long ago days of the volcanoes. This spring as you hike you'll find variety of green colored desert plants and a scattering of blooming wildflowers due to the recent winter snows and spring rains.

While hiking make sure to take in the walk along the earthen dam on the lake’s south end. As you walk along the dam’s top you’ll be amazed as you look the the winding valley below the dam where the road trails into the distance and the various mountain bases converge to shape this valley. The overflow of the dam forms a small river that snakes back and forth as it feeds the surrounding trees and grasses.

As you gaze to the north towards the village of Gunlock you will witness the blue waters of the lake which extends for a mile. On a calm day the lake reflects like a mirror.

The Scenery is hard to beat

Gunlock Lake's waters are aquamarine while the sky is definitely sky blue with the whitest of white clouds. The redish orange sands nicely contrast the green of the desert shrubbery.
One nice thing about this area is the fact that you can see for quite a distance in many directions. It gives one a feeling of limitless boundaries and the urge to explore. As you experience these surroundings you will find mallards and white herons on the water as well as collared lizards and ground squirrels on land.  In the early morning or late evening you may even turn you head to the coyote’s call.

The Campsite

It’s a great feeling to find a spot to pull into and call home for a while in our 34' Itasca. Simply find a level spot and put the leveling jacks down and extend the pop-outs. Look out the windows and enjoy the surrounding scenery. Better yet open the door and windows and soak in the fresh air. It’ll make you want to get out and explore beautiful southern Utah.

Gunlock Lake State Park

Located in Southern Utah just 14 miles northwest of St. George is a reservoir surrounded by mountains and desert chaparral.

My wife Jackie, myself and our two cocker spaniels departed Las Vegas, NV on a Friday evening, April 30, 2010 about 4:30 and headed north on I-15. Traffic was not bad and we maintained a speed of 65 mph past Mesquite, NV and into a small section of Arizona to Littleton where we exited. At the point we converged onto highway 91 which is a two lane road leading us thru the small town  of Beaver Dam, AZ. The 91 starts out flat and gradually climbs from sparse grassland to Joshua trees and rolling hills. Apparently, there was a fire in a section of this area a few years back as one can see scorched joshua. However, the undergrowth has been renewed with fresh grasses and wildflowers. All along the sides of the roadway yellow flowers illuminate our path. By now the sun is setting along the western sky that is lined with cotton-like cumulus clouds that are bathed in the orange glow from the evening sun.
About 20 miles or so up the 91 we enter into the private lands of the Paiute Indian Reservation and the roads reaches its summit and then we descend thru gently winding bends amid a small forest of scattered pinion trees. To our surprise and delight we witness a range of redish orange sandstone mountain to the north as the sun washes its southwestern shear cliffs. The range is tall and is wide and it is contrasted with blue skies, whitish orange clouds, and a mix of desert green shrubbery. One immediately senses the reasons why the Paiutes chose to inhabit this area.

Shortly upon leaving the Paiute reservation the 91 bends to the east towards the towns of Ivins, Santa Clara, and finally leads into St. George. However, since we are heading to the state park we need to take a road north for 6 miles. It’s fortunate for us as we are arriving tonight as there are decorations along the roadway and also a sign indicating that this road will be closed on Saturday to northbound traffic from 8:00 am til 5:30 pm due to the St. George ironman triatholon taking place along this route.

Pulling into the state park we view the blue waters of the mile long lake and come to the realization that the park only has a few trucks and campers on the north end. We have RVed here 6 years back and so we chose to set down the jacks of our rig on the southern end of the park overlooking a cove to our south. Once the jacks our down we now extend our living room / kitchen area and we also pop out the bedroom.
It’s been a comfortable 2 hour drive from Las Vegas and now it is time to feed our two cockers spaniels. Then my wife, Jackie and myself can enjoy the fried chicken and potato salad that we prepared before leaving home. All we have to do is mix a dinner salad, pop a beer open, and pour a glass of wine and we are ready to enjoy the evening at Gunlock Lake State Park.