The Gunlock Spring Waterfall is the same feature documented on the main Gunlock Reservoir page, broken out here because it has its own logistics, its own search demand, and its own local cultural weight. Most of the year, Gunlock is a small bass reservoir twenty-five miles northwest of St. George with primitive lakeside camping and a single boat ramp. For two or three weeks somewhere between February and April — only in years when Pine Valley Mountain snowpack pushes the reservoir over capacity — the dam spills, and the slickrock benches below the spillway turn into a multi-tier waterfall.
When It Runs
The waterfall does not run every year. Low-snowpack winters produce no spillover and no waterfall — the dam gates hold the reservoir below capacity and the spillway face stays a dry concrete blank. Heavy-snowpack years like 2023 and 2024 produced sustained multi-week events with vehicles parked half a mile down the access road and Utah State Parks ticketing entry to control crowd density. The window itself is short: snowpack on the mountain has to be sufficient, snowmelt has to run hard enough to push the reservoir over the spillway, and once the reservoir drops back below capacity the waterfall stops within hours. The full event is typically over by late April even in heavy years.
What It Looks Like
The geometry is what makes the falls work as a viewing destination. The dam concrete spills onto a series of natural slickrock benches downstream, so the water cascades down five or six steps before reaching the riverbed below — a stairstep waterfall rather than a single curtain. Several of the lower pools are shallow enough for wading and swimming when the flow is moderate, deep enough to fall hard into when the flow is high. Photography is the primary use; the falls have become one of the most-photographed waterfalls in Utah during the years they run, and have been featured in St. George News, regional photography outlets, and Visit Utah promotional material.
License, Fees, Logistics
The Utah State Parks day-use fee applies on most operating days. During heavier waterfall events, the parks system has ticketed entry through reserveutah.com or its event-specific page to control vehicle counts; the schedule is announced through the state park’s social channels and the regional news outlets, usually only a few days ahead. No fishing license is required to view the falls because there is no fishing here — this is the spillway, downstream of the dam, distinct from the bass reservoir above.
The Gunlock Spring Waterfall Inside the 435
The Gunlock waterfall is the most fashion-conscious water event in the 435 — when it runs, it produces a brief, intense, regional-tourism rush; when it does not run, almost nobody visits Gunlock for the year. It is one of three named waterfalls locals reference (Toquerville Falls is perennial and small; Cascade Falls on the Markagunt is a geologic curiosity; Gunlock is the big seasonal show). The drive out passes Santa Clara, Ivins, and the Shivwits Reservation, with Veyo Pies the standard post-falls stop on the loop home.