Moving to Gunnison, Utah

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, NOAA, USGS, the Utah State Tax Commission, and Gunnison City. Prices move, so ask me for current numbers.

Gunnison is a farm town of about 3,690 people in Sanpete County. The Census counted 3,509 people in 2020 and 3,693 in 2025. It is the fourth-largest place in the county, after Ephraim, Mount Pleasant and Manti. The town covers 4.79 square miles, and City Hall sits at about 5,130 feet.

About half of that count is the state prison. The Central Utah Correctional Facility is at 255 East 300 North, and the Census counts the people housed there as Gunnison residents. Census survey data puts about 1,690 of about 3,560 people in group housing, which is about 47 percent. That leaves about 1,900 to 2,000 people living outside the prison. That is Census arithmetic, not a count.

The prison count bends many per-person numbers you will find online, so read any Gunnison statistic with it in mind. One more trap is a name. Gunnison, Colorado, is a bigger town, and it fills the search results. Check that a number is for the Utah town.

The town sits where the Sanpete and Sevier valleys meet. The streets run along a low rise above the San Pitch River bottoms, and the San Pitch meets the Sevier just west of town. The land runs from about 5,090 feet on the west edge to about 5,400 feet on the hill at the northwest corner. US-89 comes over that rise from the north. The Wasatch Plateau rises 10 or more miles east, and you reach it through Mayfield. No canyon opens into town.

US-89 is Main Street. SR-28 starts on Main Street at mile 0 and runs about 40 miles north to I-15 at Nephi. I-70 is about 20 minutes south, past Salina, and Salina itself is 18 minutes. I-15 at Nephi is about 40 miles away, just under an hour. SR-137 runs east to Mayfield. The city's own pages call Gunnison the junction of two important highways. Manti, where the Sanpete County offices are, is about 18 minutes north.

The town is named for Captain John W. Gunnison, a government explorer. Gunnison and several of his men were killed in an attack near the Sevier River on October 26, 1853. That was near Fillmore, in what is now Millard County, not at the townsite.

The town began in 1859 as two farm camps on the lower San Pitch River. One sat at Chalk Hill Point, and the other was called Kearns Camp. In 1862 Brigham Young came through. The swampy ground was called "too muddy for a hog's wallow," and he told the settlers to move to higher ground. Edward Fox surveyed the new townsite in rectangular eight-acre blocks in late 1862. The first shared job was a ditch from the river to the new town.

Some settlers died in skirmishes during the Black Hawk War. In 1867 some Sevier County settlers moved to Gunnison for good. Sugar beets came first, and turkeys and cattle followed. The telegraph arrived in 1882. The railroad more than doubled the town in the 1890s, and Gunnison became a town in 1893. A city hall and a rock school went up in 1899, and a water system and the first power plant came in 1910. The state history lists the 1899 city hall and the 1909 bank building among the older buildings.

The census count jumped as the prison grew. It rose from 1,298 in 1990 to about 2,400 in 2000, up about 84 percent. It reached 3,285 in 2010, up another 37 percent. That was the prison, not a housing boom. The prison opened in 1989 and can hold 1,800 people. About 500 staff work there, and most live across the six-county region. The economy topic has the jobs.

Sources: the Census (2020 count, 2025 estimate, 2020 to 2024 survey), USGS, the Utah History Encyclopedia entries on Gunnison and Captain Gunnison, the Utah History to Go page on Fillmore, UDOT, and Gunnison City.

Want the street level story? Gunnison on The Local has six guides to the town. My relocating to Utah guide covers the wider move.

Gunnison has four real seasons. Summer days are warm and dry, and the nights turn cool. Winter is cold, with light snow. Spring is slow, and late frosts linger. A normal year brings about 11.7 inches of rain and melted snow, and May is the wettest month.

Gunnison's own weather station closed in 1990. The numbers below are NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals from the Ephraim station, about 18 miles north and about 360 feet higher. So these are figures measured at Ephraim, not at Gunnison. Gunnison sits lower, so its days may run a touch warmer. Cold air also pools on the low ground, so its nights can be as cold or colder.

Month by month

These are the normal highs and lows for each month at the Ephraim station. Look at how far the air cools at night. Even in July, a normal night falls to about 52°F.

• JanuaryHigh 36°F, low 11°F
• FebruaryHigh 42°F, low 17°F
• MarchHigh 54°F, low 25°F
• AprilHigh 61°F, low 30°F
• MayHigh 71°F, low 37°F
• JuneHigh 83°F, low 44°F
• JulyHigh 91°F, low 52°F
• AugustHigh 89°F, low 50°F
• SeptemberHigh 79°F, low 41°F
• OctoberHigh 65°F, low 30°F
• NovemberHigh 51°F, low 20°F
• DecemberHigh 37°F, low 11°F

Source: NOAA climate normals, 1991 to 2020, EPHRAIM station (USC00422578), about 18 miles north of Gunnison.

Frost and the growing season

The last spring freeze usually comes about May 28. The first fall freeze usually comes about September 20. That leaves about 113 days in between, which is a short season. Count on frost into late May, and plant late.

About 187 nights a year drop to freezing or lower. About 14 nights a year drop to 0°F or lower. Plan on pipes and footings that handle a hard freeze.

In summer, storms build over the Wasatch Plateau east of the valley. In spring, the plateau snowpack melts into the canals. The canals run on that snowmelt, so a thin winter on the plateau matters here.

Snow, summer heat and wind have their own topics. The snow topic, the summer topic and the wind topic have the details.

The Ephraim gauge averages about 20 inches of snow a year. That is a short record, and it reads low. In the ten winters when the Ephraim record was complete, it averaged about 26 inches. Plan on more than 20 inches some winters.

Manti sits higher, at the foot of the plateau, and it gets far more snow. It averages about 53 inches. Treat any Manti figure you find online as the high side, not as Gunnison's. Most snow falls from November through March. December is the snowiest month at about 8 inches, and January brings about 4.

The Wasatch Plateau, east of the valley, holds much more snow than the town does. Storms can add time to a drive on SR-28 or US-89. Check the road report before a winter trip.

There is no ski area in Sanpete County. The skiing topic has the nearest open ones and their drive times. For the bigger picture on snow and water in Utah, read my guide on Utah water and snowpack.

Summers are warm, dry and bright. A normal July afternoon reaches about 91°F at the Ephraim station. That is a few degrees cooler than Salt Lake City. The nights bring relief. A July night usually falls to about 52°F.

Hot days are common but not constant. A normal year has about 48 days at 90°F or hotter. A day at 100°F or hotter happens about 3 or 4 times a year. June highs average about 83°F, and August highs about 89°F.

Gunnison sits lower than the station, so the days may run a touch warmer. Ask about the cooling system on any home you tour, and how well the attic is insulated.

I have no wind number for Gunnison, and I would rather say so than guess. The nearest record is at the Sanpete County Regional Airport, between Manti and Ephraim. There the air is calm about 39 percent of the time, and December averages about 2 miles an hour. That is a short record from another town, so treat it as a first look.

Calm winter air matters for a reason. Still air lets cold air and haze settle in the valley. The air quality topic tells more.

An inversion is when cold air gets trapped near the ground under a lid of warmer air. Haze builds up in the trapped air. A storm or a change in the weather usually clears it out. Cold air can pool on the low ground in Gunnison on calm winter days.

No air monitor or smoke record for Sanpete County was found, so this page gives no count of inversion days or smoky days. In summer, wildfire smoke can drift in from fires far away. I give no figure for it.

Here is what I would do. Check the air on the state's air quality site the way you check the weather. If air matters to you, visit on a still winter morning and a warm summer afternoon before you buy. The wind topic tells why calm air matters.

Sources: the Iowa Environmental Mesonet readings at the Sanpete County Regional Airport, October 2024 to September 2026, and the state air quality site.

Housing is the biggest cost in Gunnison. The glance box at the top of this page shows the Census typical home value. That number is what owners say their homes are worth, averaged over five years. It is not a sale price. Only a handful of homes are for sale at a time, so one sale can move the median. In Gunnison you price the home, not the town.

So few homes sell that every average rests on a few sales. Look at a whole year of sales. Then price each home against recent sales of similar homes nearby. Ask me for the numbers behind any median.

Everyday costs are easy to list. Sales tax in town is 6.75%, and groceries are taxed at 3%. A primary home pays about 0.58% of its market value a year in property tax. The taxes topic has every rate. Median gross rent is about $1,080 a month, from the Census survey of 2020 to 2024.

The city runs water, sewer and pressurized irrigation. No water, sewer, irrigation or garbage rates are posted, so ask the city office. Errands run in town. The big-box run is longer: Walmart is in Ephraim, about 30 minutes north.

Compare Gunnison with Ephraim and Manti up the valley. You trade the college town's stores and the county offices for a smaller town with its own hospital and a shorter run to I-70. Salina, 18 minutes south, shares the airport, the hospital's clinic and the July weekend.

Get a side by side for your budget and I will run the real numbers for the places you are weighing.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024; Utah State Tax Commission sales tax rates for October 2026 and 2025 property tax rates. Rates change, so ask the city office for today's numbers.

For general information only. This is not tax or financial advice. Tax rates and home prices change. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Three taxes matter most when you move here: sales tax, state income tax and property tax. Here is each one in plain terms. The sales tax rates are the ones in effect on October 1, 2026.

Gunnison's 2025 property tax rate is the highest of the 25 tax areas in Sanpete County. The city's own share is small. The South Sanpete School District levy is the biggest part of the bill.

The primary home exemption

Utah gives a tax break to the home you live in. A primary home is taxed on 55% of its market value, up to one acre. Second homes and nightly rentals do not qualify. Ask the county for the form and the deadline.

Who gets your property tax

A Gunnison bill has four parts. They are Sanpete County, the South Sanpete School District, Gunnison City and the Sanpete Water Conservancy District. Here is a rough split at 2025 rates. About 61 cents of each property tax dollar goes to the school district, about 22 cents to the county and about 13 cents to the city. The water district gets about 3 cents. Your tax notice is the final word.

2026: no city increase

At the June 17, 2026 budget hearing, the city manager said the budget needed no Truth in Taxation process, so no tax increase was proposed. Truth in Taxation is the hearing a city must hold to raise property tax revenue. Gunnison is not on the state's 2026 list. Sanpete County proposed no increase either. The 0.58% above uses 2025 rates, and I print no 2026 rate.

The same meeting changed the utility bill. The city fire fee rose from $2 to $4 a month, and the garbage charge rose with fuel costs. A small state water-testing fee was added too. The city has posted no full rate table, so ask the city office.

The state's property tax area list also shows an inland port project area inside Gunnison's tax area. It is a tax-increment area. That means it directs new tax revenue from a project, and it is not a higher rate on a homeowner. Where it sits in town is not known. The new construction topic tells what the city has on record.

Sources: Utah State Tax Commission (sales tax rates in effect October 1, 2026; 2025 property tax report, entity rates and tax area list; 2026 Truth in Taxation list); Utah State Legislature, S.B. 60 (2026); Gunnison City Council minutes of June 17, 2026. The shares of the bill are arithmetic from the 2025 entity rates. Questions about your own bill go to the county.

For general information only. This is not tax or financial advice. Tax rates and home prices change. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

The glance box at the top of this page shows the Census typical home value. Gunnison is a small market, so a few sales can move the numbers. Watch a whole year of sales, not one month. Recent sales of similar homes tell you more than any town number. Ask me for current numbers.

The Census counts about 660 homes in Gunnison. About seven in ten are owned by the people in them, and the rest are rented. Almost no homes are seasonal, so nearly every home is lived in all year.

Most homes are houses on their own lot. About nine in ten are single-family houses. A few are duplexes or small apartment buildings, and about 4% are manufactured homes. The median home was built in 1975. About four in ten went up before 1950, which is the pioneer-era and early-1900s grid. The 1990s are the biggest later decade, and little has been built since 2010. These are Census estimates for a small town, so read them as shares, not exact counts.

The prison count and a bigger Gunnison in Colorado can make online numbers misleading. The overview topic has both.

The homework here is rural and specific. The home checks topic covers flood, soils, water and the highway. You can browse every Gunnison home for sale any time. No account is needed to look.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 (housing counts are estimates with a margin of error). Ask the city about any specific lot.

Gunnison is an old grid town on a low rise above the river bottoms. No recorded subdivision names were available, so think in places. Here are five areas, from the middle of town outward. Elevations are from USGS.

• DowntownThe original grid around Main and CenterAbout 5,130 feetCity Hall, the Casino Star Theatre and the city park, two blocks north of Center, sit here. The oldest homes are here too. The original 1862 blocks were laid out at about eight acres each.
• NortheastThe hospital, its clinics and the prisonAbout 5,150 to 5,210 feetGunnison Valley Hospital is at 64 East 100 North, near downtown. The prison campus is at 255 East 300 North, at the north-northeast edge of the grid, about 1 road mile from City Hall. It is a place fact. Locate it on a map before you tour.
• North edgeThe north edge and the hillAbout 5,280 to 5,400 feetUS-89 comes over a rise from the north, and the city line climbs to about 5,400 feet at the northwest corner. Christensen Arms' plant sits at the northeast edge.
• South endThe San Pitch crossing and the schoolsAbout 5,100 feetThe river and the riverwalk run under the US-89 bridge in the south part of town. FEMA maps a flood zone along that line, and the home checks topic has the details. Gunnison Valley High is on 600 South, and the elementary school is nearby.
• West and southwestThe river bottomsAbout 5,090 feetLow farm ground runs toward where the San Pitch meets the Sevier. It is the ground the 1859 camps left. The soils are wet. The home checks topic covers groundwater and flood.

Centerfield, about 2 miles south on US-89, is its own town. It was incorporated in 1909, and it shares the Gunnison Valley schools. The nearby topic has Mayfield, Fayette and Axtell too.

Tell me what you are looking for, and I will pass it to the partner agent on the ground. That agent checks the water, the flood line and the setting for the parcel. You can also browse every Gunnison home for sale.

Area descriptions come from map data and USGS elevations. No recorded subdivision names were available. Drive times are by car from City Hall at 38 West Center.

New building in Gunnison is small. New homes go up one lot at a time. No home builder is named in the 2026 city records, so I name none.

What the city is doing in 2026

In March 2026 the city rezoned 11.36 acres from farm use to rural residential. In June it approved a mixed-use project at 700 South Main with a conditional use permit. No size or opening date is on record. Also in June, the city changed its rules on minimum lot width.

The city's 2026-27 budget includes a new well, and the city has applied for state money for a sewer master plan. No completion date is posted. It also budgeted about $671,200 for an industrial park improvement project, mostly paid by a state grant. These are city projects, not homes for sale. The state's tax area list also shows an inland port project area. The taxes topic explains it.

Outside the city line

City water is not a given outside the line. In August 2026 the council tabled a request to serve 10 acres north of town. The owner offered water shares and annexation, and a pump station would be needed. A lot outside the line should not count on city water.

Questions for every new lot

1. City water and sewer. Get a connection in writing. Outside the line, ask whether city water can reach the lot at all.
2. Irrigation shares. Inside town, the city runs pressurized irrigation. Outside town, irrigation comes as shares. Get them named in the contract.
3. Septic. On edge lots, ask if septic will work and who approves it. Central Utah Public Health in Manti handles septic.
4. The flood map. FEMA maps a flood zone along the San Pitch River and on the bottoms. Check the exact lot.
5. The county recorder. Check what is actually platted before you trust a listing's label.

The city's connection and impact fees are not posted. Ask the city office for the current fees. Buying new works differently from buying resale. You pick a lot, follow a build schedule, and sign the builder's contract. Builders often cover the buyer agent fee, and your agent puts that in writing before you sign.

Sources: Gunnison City Council and Planning Commission agendas and minutes, 2026; the 2026-27 city budget. Plans change, so ask the city where each one stands.

Every town has its own list of things to check. Gunnison has several. They are the questions I would ask about any home here. A few have free maps you can look up for one address.

Septic outside town goes through Central Utah Public Health in Manti. Call 811 before you dig. Ask what serves any lot: a well, a water right, a septic system and a road. Ask me about any of these on a home you like, and I will tell you what the record shows.

This is general information, not legal, engineering, or insurance advice. Sources: OpenFEMA community status book and the FEMA flood hazard layer; USDA soil survey; USGS fault database; Utah Geological Survey hazard layers; Utah DEQ radon results (2019); Utah Division of Water Rights; Gunnison City. Have a licensed inspector look at any home before you buy.

The best thing you can do before you shop for a home is get pre-approved. That means a lender checks your finances and tells you how much you can borrow. It shows you what you can spend, and it makes your offer stronger when the right home comes up. In a small market like Gunnison, being ready the day the right home appears matters.

Not every home here finances the same way. A lender reviews each of these in its own way. Think of an older grid home, a manufactured home, acreage on a well and septic, or a parcel where water shares carry value. With few recent sales nearby, the appraisal matters more. An appraisal is the lender's check on what the home is worth. If I am your lender, I can tell you early if a home could be hard to get a loan on.

USDA has a map of eligible areas. The map does not rule out Gunnison. The program's other rules decide the rest, so check any address on the map and ask a lender. The loan guides on this site explain conventional, FHA, VA and USDA loans in plain English.

How my dual role works. I am licensed in both real estate and lending. On any one purchase I take one role. Every role is disclosed, and you are always free to choose your own agent and your own lender. In Gunnison, a partner agent I trust does the work on the ground. The full explanation is on How I Work. This section is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice.

The state prison and the hospital are the two big employers. The Utah Department of Corrections runs the Central Utah Correctional Facility at 255 East 300 North. Gunnison Valley Hospital is the other. The state's employer file from September 2026 puts both in its largest size group at a Gunnison address. ACT Aerospace, which makes aircraft parts, and Christensen Arms, a rifle maker, are in the next group. The grocery, the schools and Proteor, a maker of artificial limbs, follow. This is a list of size groups, not a ranking.

The prison opened in 1989 and has room for 1,800 people. The state says it has about 500 staff, and most of them live across the six-county region. So the jobs reach well beyond town. The overview tells how the prison shaped the census count.

Census job counts for 2023 show about 1,400 jobs inside Gunnison. That is more than the number of jobs held by working residents. More people drive in to work than drive out. They come from Manti, Centerfield, Ephraim and Salina, and about 80 come from Salina.

Work close to home

The Census puts the average trip to work at about 16 minutes. More than half of workers get there in under 10 minutes. About seven in ten work inside Sanpete County, and a smaller group drives to another county. These are survey estimates with wide margins, so use them as a guide. The traffic topic covers the roads.

Farms, turkeys and the industrial park

Turkeys are part of farm life in Sanpete County. The county's turkey plant is up the valley in Moroni. Pitman Family Farms has owned it, under the Norbest name, since 2018. Sanpete County had about 9,540 jobs in March 2026, counting every town.

The city plans to improve its industrial park. The 2026-27 budget sets aside about $671,200 for it, mostly from a state grant. The budget does not say where the park is. The state also lists an inland port project area in Gunnison's property tax area list. It is a tax-increment area, not a higher rate on a home. The taxes topic says more, and the new construction topic tells what else is going up.

Moving here for a job? My job relocation guide covers the sale and search timeline.

Sources: the Utah Department of Workforce Services employer file (September 14, 2026), Census job counts for 2023, the Census ACS (2020 to 2024), BLS county jobs for March 2026, the state corrections site and the city's June 2026 budget. Size groups are not a ranking, and no head counts are shown.

Yes. Gunnison Valley Hospital is at 64 East 100 North, about 2 minutes from City Hall. It is a critical access hospital, a federal class for small rural hospitals, and the federal cost report lists 25 beds. The main line is 435-528-7246.

The hospital's own site lists emergency care around the clock, three surgery rooms, a full lab and three labor and delivery suites. It has imaging that includes MRI, in a wing that opened in December 2024. Infusion care is on site. An oncology and hematology clinic runs through telehealth with Intermountain Health specialists. Clinics cover general surgery, urology, podiatry, ear, nose and throat, orthopedics and more. It also runs home health and hospice.

Clinics and pharmacies

Gunnison Valley Family Practice and Wellness is at 65 East 100 North, phone 435-528-2222. It has an after-hours clinic on Friday afternoons into the evening. Mid-Utah Family Medicine is at 95 North 100 East. The hospital also runs clinics and pharmacies in Manti and Salina. The shopping topic lists the pharmacies in town.

History and the new wing

The hospital says care here began in 1932, when Dr. Stanford Rees opened a practice in the old Gunnison Valley Bank building. In 1949 he sold the hospital to the local communities for $1. The present hospital opened in May 1970. Ground was broken on August 26, 2026 for a new north entrance and a west addition. It will hold 13 new patient rooms, a C-section suite, a nursery and a new kitchen. No opening date is posted.

When you need more

The state's 2025 trauma list does not include Gunnison Valley Hospital. Trauma levels run from I, the most complete, to V. Sevier Valley Hospital in Richfield is a Level IV center, about 36 minutes away. Sanpete Valley Hospital in Mount Pleasant is also Level IV, about 43 minutes away. Utah Valley Hospital in Provo is Level II, about 1 hour 35 minutes away. In an emergency, call 911, and the local ambulance responds.

On military orders? My military PCS guide covers VA loans and timing the move.

Sources: the Gunnison Valley Hospital site, the federal CMS cost report for the year ending June 30, 2025, the Utah Bureau of EMS trauma list (2025) and map drive estimates from City Hall. Services change, so confirm with the hospital.

Gunnison is in the South Sanpete School District, which had about 3,101 students in the fall 2025 count. Three of its schools are in town, and together they cover kindergarten through grade 12. The district office is at 39 South Main in Manti.

The Gunnison Valley schools also serve Centerfield, Mayfield, Fayette and Axtell. Ask the district which school serves an address you are serious about, since boundaries can change. The district reports a state building grant for new construction at Gunnison Valley High. The timing is not posted.

I do not rate schools, and I would be wary of anyone who says which one is best. The links below go to the district and to independent sites.

Counts come from the Utah State Board of Education (October 1, 2025). Ratings and boundaries come from independent third parties and the district, not from me.

Not in town, but a college campus is close. Snow College is in Ephraim, about 28 minutes north. It is a public college, and it offers two-year degrees and two bachelor's programs, in commercial music and software engineering. The college was founded in 1888. Its fall 2024 headcount was 5,577, and that count includes high school students who take college classes. The Ephraim page covers the town.

Snow College Richfield is about 40 minutes south. It teaches career and technical fields, including nursing, welding, diesel and auto repair.

For a larger four-year university, the nearest are in Provo and Orem, about 1 hour 30 minutes away. Weigh that distance against online classes.

Sources: the Snow College and Utah System of Higher Education sites and map drive estimates from City Hall. Programs change, so check the college.

Gunnison is a small grid of streets, and most trips inside town take a few minutes. No traffic counts are posted. Main Street is US-89, so through traffic, including trucks, passes the front door of homes on or near it. The state rebuilt Main Street in 2022.

The roads

US-89 runs north and south through town. SR-28 starts on Main Street and runs north toward I-15 at Nephi. The overview tells how the highways meet. In winter, storms add time on SR-28 and US-89.

UDOT lists a new traffic signal at Main Street and 100 South as planned and in design. The city signed an agreement with UDOT in April 2026 for crossing improvements there. UDOT is also laying state fiber-optic cable along SR-28 and US-89 through 2026, so expect shoulder work. The city has asked UDOT to look at the 45 mph limit on Main Street near the schools. No change has been adopted.

Homes on Main Street or a block off it hear the highway. The home checks topic has that, and the jobs topic has the commute numbers.

Sources: the UDOT project records and the city's 2026 council records, checked in October 2026, and the Census ACS (2020 to 2024). Commute counts carry wide margins.

No. Sanpete County has no public transit, so plan on a car for daily life.

There is no intercity bus stop in Gunnison either. The nearest bus stop is in Richfield. Check the carriers for routes and days before you plan a trip around it.

If someone in your home will not drive, ask about the trips you need before you move.

Sources: Sanpete County and city pages and the Census ACS, checked in October 2026.

Yes, a small one with no airline flights. The Salina-Gunnison Airport is about 13 minutes south of City Hall, 9 miles down US-89. The two cities built it in 1947 and own it together. It has one runway, 3,855 feet long, and it is open to general aviation only.

In 2026 the runway had pavement work and new striping. The state paid 90 percent, and the two cities split the rest. Airline flights leave from farther away. Provo has an airport, so check the airlines' current routes. Salt Lake City International is the full-service airport.

Airline airports

• Provo (PVU)~83 mi · ~1 hr 35 min
• Salt Lake City (SLC)~130 mi · ~2 hr 20 min

Sources: the FAA record for the Salina-Gunnison Airport, the city's July 2026 council minutes and map drive estimates from City Hall. Winter storms add time.

Gunnison sits where the Sanpete and Sevier valleys meet. US-89 runs north to Manti and Ephraim and south through Centerfield to Salina and I-70. SR-28 runs north to I-15 at Nephi. The list below gives the usual drives.

Salina

~14 mi · ~18 min

Manti

~15 mi · ~18 min

Richfield

~34 mi · ~38 min

Nephi

~41 mi · ~55 min

Provo

~83 mi · ~1 hr 30 min

Salt Lake City

~125 mi · ~2 hr 10 min

From City Hall

• Gunnison Valley Hospital~2 min
• Nine Mile Reservoir~9 min
• Palisade State Park~17 min
• I-70 at Salina~20 min
• Yuba State Park, Painted Rocks~25 min
• Walmart in Ephraim~30 min

Here are the longer drives people ask about.

I-70 is about 20 minutes south, past Salina, and I-15 at Nephi is just under an hour away. The overview tells the story.

Planning a trip to a town not on this list? Look up any Utah drive between 138 towns.

These are map estimates from City Hall in normal conditions, not official figures. Add time for snow, and check your own route.

The city handles water, sewer and pressurized irrigation, and other companies handle the rest. City Hall is at 38 West Center Street, phone 435-528-7969. Call first to ask about office hours. Here is who to call.

Inside the city line, most yards get a pressurized irrigation line that the city turns on each spring. In dry years the city sets the watering days. Outside the line, city water is not a given, so ask the city office whether it can reach the lot.

Sources: the city's 2026 budget and council records, the Utah Public Notice site, Rocky Mountain Power and Enbridge Gas Utah, and the county landfill page, checked in October 2026. Rates and schedules change.

It depends on the address. The state broadband map lists what providers report at points in Gunnison. It does not prove that a given house can order a plan.

Gunnison Telephone, the local company, was bought by CentraCom, and the sale closed on July 1, 2026. Its network mixes fiber, older copper lines and fixed wireless. Fiber is a glass cable that carries internet very fast. The state map shows fiber at the center of town. Check the exact address before you count on it. This page gives no speeds or prices, since both change.

On the edges of town, satellite internet is a common fallback. Run an address check before you take a remote job.

Sources: CentraCom's July 2026 announcement and the Utah Broadband Center provider layer, checked in October 2026. The map shows what providers report, not what every home can order.

Moving day is only the start. Here is the short list for your first 90 days in Gunnison.

1. Turn on the utilitiesCall the city office at 435-528-7969 for water, sewer and irrigation, and ask for your garbage pickup day. Call Rocky Mountain Power at 888-221-7070, and ask Enbridge Gas Utah to start gas. Do this a week before you move in.
2. Register your carUtah gives you 60 days after you move. The motor vehicle office is in the County Courthouse at 160 North Main in Manti. A car titled in Utah for the first time needs a vehicle identification number (VIN) inspection.
3. Get your Utah driver licenseThe only Driver License office in Sanpete County is at 10 West 100 South in Ephraim. It is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
4. Skip the emissions testSanpete County does not require one.
5. Get a library cardThe Gunnison Civic Library is in City Hall, on the east side, phone 435-528-3104. Story time is Tuesdays at 10 a.m.
6. Register to voteRegister online at vote.utah.gov, or in person with ID. The Sanpete County Clerk is in Manti.
7. Sign up for schoolAsk the South Sanpete School District which school serves your address.
8. Test for radonTest every home. The home checks topic has the numbers.

Rules and office hours change. Check each office before you go.

Gunnison has a full grocery, a hardware store and a dollar store, all on Main Street. Ridley's Family Market is at 520 South Main, with a pharmacy inside. It was the Gunnison Market until Ridley's bought it in spring 2026. A second pharmacy sits at 77 South Main. For named places to eat, see the restaurants topic.

Rasmussen's Ace Hardware is at 435 South Main, and Family Dollar is on South Main too. Gunnison Implement, at 51 West 200 North, is a farm and hardware dealer. Maverik and two Sinclair stations sell fuel on Main Street.

The big-store run

Walmart is in Ephraim, about 30 minutes north. It is the only Walmart in Sanpete County. Richfield has more, about 40 minutes south.

What Gunnison does not have

Costco is not in Gunnison. The nearest one is in Spanish Fork, about 1 hour 25 minutes away. Plan the big runs around it.

Store lists change. These were checked against store pages, federal pharmacy records and map records in October 2026. A business missing here is not necessarily closed. No store hours are shown.

Gunnison's recreation is the working-valley kind. A small trout water is up US-89, a state park with a reservoir is up SR-28, and a high plateau rises east of town. Snow, drought and road conditions change what is open from year to year.

The Arapeen OHV trail system covers hundreds of miles on the plateau. Skyline Drive runs over 100 miles. It is usually open from about July to September, and it takes a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle. In winter, snowmobiles use the plateau. The Sanpete Ranger District office is at 540 North Main in Ephraim, phone 435-636-3300. Ask there about trails and roads before you haul out.

Hunting and fishing happen along the two rivers and on the plateau. The state wildlife division posts the rules and seasons.

Facts come from the Utah State Parks and Division of Wildlife Resources sites, the Forest Service and Sanpete County. Drive times are map estimates from City Hall, with no traffic. Seasonal closures, water levels and access rules change, so confirm them before you plan a purchase or a trip around one.

Capitol Reef National Park is the closest national park, about 96 miles and 1 hour 50 minutes southeast. The park is open all year. Check the National Park Service site for current fees and hours.

Fish Lake

Fish Lake is about 65 miles away. It is the largest natural mountain lake in Utah, at over 8,800 feet. Ice fishing usually runs from about New Year to March. Pando, a famous grove of quaking aspen, is nearby.

Fremont Indian State Park

Fremont Indian State Park is about 55 minutes away. Its museum exhibits were closed for renovation when last checked, while the visitor center and the outdoor areas stayed open. Check the park's site before you go.

Drive times are map estimates from City Hall, with no traffic. Park details come from the National Park Service, the Forest Service and the Utah state parks site.

No ski area sits in Sanpete County. Sundance is the nearest open one, about 1 hour 55 minutes away. Brian Head is about 2 hours 20 minutes away. Each resort posts its own opening day, so check its site.

Eagle Point will not open for the 2026-27 winter. The resort said so on August 3, 2026. It is not an option this winter.

Winter close to home needs no lift. Snowmobiles use the plateau, and ice fishing at Fish Lake usually runs from about New Year to March.

Drive times are map estimates from City Hall, outside storms. Ski details come from each resort's site.

Not in town. Gunnison has no golf course. The nearest is Palisade State Park Golf Course in Sterling, an 18-hole course with a par of 72, about 17 minutes north. Call ahead for tee times.

Cove View Golf Course is Richfield's city-owned course, with 18 holes, about 40 minutes south.

Course details come from the state park and course sites, so call before you play. Drive times are map estimates from City Hall.

Gunnison has a short list of places to eat, and all of them sit on Main Street. This is not a ranking, and no one paid to be here. Hours move around, so call or check before you go.

• SandwichesSubway215 S MainA sandwich chain, open daily.
• Drive-inShelle'sSouth MainA drive-in with burgers, fries, shakes and breakfast.
• Ice creamMain Freeze230 S MainIce cream, malts and burgers. Closed Sunday.
• CafeMountain Peak Cafe424 S MainBreakfast and lunch, with coffee.
• PizzaLittle Caesars111 N MainA pizza chain inside the Sinclair store. Closed Sunday.

The kinds of food are sandwiches, burgers, ice cream, breakfast and pizza. Two of the five close on Sunday. For groceries, see the shopping topic.

A bigger choice

Gunnison has no sit-down Mexican, Chinese or steakhouse. Ephraim, about 27 minutes north, and Richfield, about 38 minutes south, have more places to eat. The Ephraim page and the Richfield page list them.

Names and addresses come from each business's own page and listing sites, checked in October 2026. Hours change, so almost none are shown.

The big night out is the Casino Star Theatre. The rest is small and close together: a city park, a pool, a library and recreation programs. The town's big weekend is the Fourth of July, and the events topic tells how it goes.

Library and recreation programs

The Gunnison Civic Library is in City Hall, and the first 90 days topic has its details. Gunnison Valley Recreation runs youth and adult programs for Gunnison, Centerfield and Mayfield.

Outdoor trips are in outdoor recreation, and the state parks are in national parks.

Details come from the Casino Star Theatre Foundation's site, the Gunnison City pages and the recreation site. Hours and schedules change, so check before you go.

Gunnison's arts scene is small and runs through one theater. The bigger stages are up and down the valley. Here are the places by distance, nearest first.

• TheaterCasino Star Theatre78 S Main, GunnisonA nonprofit theater with 260 seats. First-run films and a few live shows a year.
• Public artSanpitch Dragon and the pool muralGunnisonPublic art from the theater foundation and volunteers.
• LibraryGunnison Civic Library38 W Center, in City HallBooks, e-books and story time on Tuesdays.
• LandmarkManti Utah TempleMantiA landmark, dedicated in 1888 and rededicated on April 21, 2024. About 18 minutes away.
• SeasonSnow College Eccles CenterEphraimThe college's concert and theater season. About 28 minutes away.
• VenueSevier Valley CenterSnow College RichfieldAn arena and a theater. About 40 minutes away.

Venue details come from each venue's own site. Hours and seasons change, so check before you go.

The big weekend is the Fourth of July. Here is the usual run of the year. Dates move, so check the sponsor before you plan around one.

• JanuaryIce fishing at Fish Lake once the ice is thick enough. Snowmobiling on the plateau.
• FebruarySnowmobiling and ice fishing. Snow College basketball in Ephraim.
• MarchThe state starts stocking trout at Nine Mile. In 2026 the first stocking was March 12.
• AprilA second Nine Mile stocking. In 2026 it was April 16.
• MayThe Scandinavian Heritage Festival in Ephraim, on Memorial Day weekend.
• JuneSalina's Eyes to the Sky Balloon Festival, usually the third weekend. The city pool opens for summer. Twelve Mile Flat Campground opens in mid-June.
• JulyGunnison's Fourth of July celebration, usually July 3 and 4. Skyline Drive usually opens about July.
• AugustThe Sanpete County Fair in Manti, usually in late August. The Sevier County Fair in Richfield, usually the first full week.
• SeptemberLibrary story time returns. The Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree in Richfield, in mid-month. Twelve Mile Flat closes at the end of the month.
• OctoberA fall concert at the Casino Star. Skyline Drive closes with the first big snow.
• NovemberSnowmobile season opens on the plateau.
• DecemberEphraim's Christmas Light Parade, usually in early December.

Gunnison's Fourth of July

The celebration is usually on July 3 and 4, at Gunnison City Park and on Main Street. The city has called it Small Town, Big Deal. In 2026 the evening of the 3rd had food vendors, park games, a community auction for city projects, an evening concert and fireworks.

The 4th began with a 5K run and walk and the American Legion breakfast. Then came the parade, a car show, craft vendors, bingo and a free swim at the city pool. Salina, 18 minutes south, usually holds its own rodeo on the same two nights, though its 2026 run is not confirmed.

Up and down the valley

Salina's Eyes to the Sky Balloon Festival is usually the third weekend of June. The Sanpete County Fair is in Manti, usually in late August. It ran August 26 to 29 in 2026. The Scandinavian Heritage Festival is in Ephraim on Memorial Day weekend. Richfield hosts the Sevier County Fair and the Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree.

The Casino Star also books concerts. A fall concert there was held on October 10, 2026.

Dates are the usual pattern, based on the 2026 notices and each organizer. Check each sponsor for the exact days.

Gunnison sits where the Sanpete and Sevier valleys meet, with small towns close by. Centerfield is about 2 miles south, and it is its own town. Here are the towns people use most, with the drive from City Hall.

Small towns close in

The Gunnison Valley towns share schools, a recreation program and a July weekend. Fayette and Axtell sit about 10 minutes away, and Sterling about 11. The areas topic covers the land around Gunnison.

Day trips

Yuba State Park is about 25 minutes up SR-28, and Palisade State Park is about 17 minutes north. Fish Lake is about 1 hr 20 min away, and Capitol Reef is about 1 hr 50 min. Fillmore is about 1 hr 10 min west.

Drive times are map estimates from City Hall at 38 West Center, outside rush hour and storms.