When you come to St George from out of town you will often find yourself asking the question, what are some things to do when I’m there? Where should I go, and what do I not want to go home without experiencing? Well you may not be aware or not but there are three lakes all within 30 minutes of St George that are sure to offer a great experience. Each of them have their own positives and negatives, so in that light I’ll go through each of them to give you a better understanding of what to expect.
First Off Sand Hollow
Sand Hollow is the most popular and the newest lake to join southern Utah. And as far as scenery go it is hard to match, especially when you’re out on the south shore looking north towards the Pine Valley mountains. The contrast from the blue waters, to the red rocks that surround the lake, to those monstrous peaks above is just amazing.
The Lake itself offers by far the most in amenities as well. With RV camping spots, canoe and paddle board rentals, primitive camping areas, beaches, cliff jumping and much more. In fact adjacent to the lake is the sand dune area that people from all over bring their quads and bikes to, and when you get up on top of those dunes looking out over the reservoir, you’ll be stunned at the beauty you’ll find.
There are a couple of negatives to Sand Hollow that you need to be aware of. They do have the occasional “swimmers itch” outbreak, but they are good to tell you when it’s a bigger problem. Also it is often much more crowded, so if you’re looking for glassy water without having to fight boats then Quail Lake or Gunlocks going to be a better bet.
Quail Lake
Quail is very close to Sand Hollow, in fact you’ll have to pass it on your way to Sand Hollow. Quails a much older lake that has been around for a long time, and has some of the best wakeboarding and waterskiing in southern Utah. It doesn’t get anywhere near the traffic that Sand Hollow does so if it’s great water you seek, this is where you’ll want to be.
They do have a bunch of pavilions set up, and camping spots both primitive and RV as well. The scenery isn’t quite as beautiful as its newest sibling Sand Hollow, but it is a beautiful lake nonetheless.
Gunlock
Often overlooked due to the bigger and easier accessible lakes of Quail and Sand Hollow, Gunlock offers a different kind of experience that is a treasure in its own right. Gunlock is located west of St George, and is a little smaller than Quail Lake, but is still plenty large enough to go fishing or wakeboarding on.
The surrounding red mountains and views of the area make it a uniquely beautiful lake, especially if you’re out on the water right when the suns going down. There’s a few minutes right before the sun goes down where the mountains to your east light up bright red and orange, and it’s a site to see!
This past year Gunlock was unfortunately a victim of our recent drought and was too low to launch boats on, so before you head that way make certain you check in to see if you can get your boat on it.
And that’s it, that’s the low down on the three main lakes that St George has to offer.
