General population through maximum security (men) · State Prison · UDC

Central Utah Correctional Facility

Gunnison, Sanpete County, Utah

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (435) 528-6266 Info last verified: June 2026

Utah's second state prison, a men's facility in the small town of Gunnison about two and a half hours south of Salt Lake City.

Statewide rules that apply at every Utah state prison

These rules are set by UDC and apply at every unit. The full list — including all permitted and prohibited items and the approval process — is in Visiting in Utah.

Dress code

Modest, loose-fitting clothing only — no skin-tight or figure-hugging items, including leggings, yoga pants, and form-fitted shirts.
Tops need sleeves that cover the full shoulder, with the cleavage line, back, midriff, and underarms covered at all times; no sheer fabrics or ripped styles.
Dresses, skirts, and shorts must reach the kneecap when standing, slits included.
No plain white, orange, or maroon clothing (what incarcerated people wear), no grey pants with a black shirt or medical scrubs (resemble staff uniforms), and no camouflage or hooded clothing.
Closed-toe shoes required. Every visitor passes a body scanner — underwire bras and clothing with heavy metal or embellishments do not pass.

ID: Every visitor 16 or older presents a government-issued photo ID, which is held at the entrance in exchange for a visitor card until the visit ends.
What to bring: No phones, electronics, purses, wallets, keys, paper money, or outside food. Lockers are available; vending coins go in a clear bag, and one debit or credit card is allowed.
Scheduling: Visitors apply in advance (processing takes 6-8 weeks, and the application renews annually), then book every visit ahead through the sign-up forms on corrections.utah.gov — no walk-ins. In-person visits run Friday-Sunday.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Utah

Overview

The Central Utah Correctional Facility is Utah’s second state prison, a men’s facility on the edge of Gunnison, a Sanpete County town of a few thousand people where the prison employs roughly 500 people. It opened in 1989 and has grown into three building groups: Henry (general population units and an infirmary, plus the Dogwood receiving and restrictive-housing unit), Boulder (maximum security, restrictive housing, and dormitory units), and Monroe (home of the Ironwood unit’s HOPE therapeutic community).

Visiting rotates unit by unit on a monthly calendar, so which building a person lives in — Aspen, Birch, Cedar, Elm, Fir, Gale, Hickory, or Ironwood — determines which weekend slots are available.

What Makes Central Utah Correctional Facility Different

In-person visits are 90 minutes, shorter than the two hours at the Salt Lake City prison, and hats and caps are banned outright here (they can be hung up at USCF).
The monthly rotating calendar is the controlling document for visits — the published PDF on UDC’s visitation page assigns each housing unit its weekend slots, and the Dogwood receiving unit does not appear on it; UDC does not publish whether people still in Receiving & Orientation can be visited.
CUCF pilots evening video visits on Monday and Wednesday — extra windows the Salt Lake City prison’s schedule does not show.
The Ironwood unit runs HOPE, a 12-plus-month residential substance use treatment community whose graduates may be eligible for a sentence reduction from the Board of Pardons and Parole.
Snow College and the local school district teach vocational and high school programs on site, and Utah Correctional Industries runs sewing, sign, and embroidery shops.
It is remote: no public transit serves Sanpete County, and the last stretch of any trip is two-lane highway.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, dress code, ID, and items — apply at CUCF. What follows is specific to this facility.

Approval at one Utah prison carries to the other after a transfer, so a move from Salt Lake City does not restart the application. Restrictive-housing units can have different windows than the general pattern — the monthly calendar controls. Video visits on ThrIVE are free as published, scheduled at least two business days ahead from a home device. The full approval process, dress code, and visit-frequency rules are in Visiting in Utah.

Getting There and Parking

CUCF is in the town of Gunnison, where State Route 28 meets US-89 in the Sanpete Valley.

UDC does not publish visitor parking details, and no public transit provider serves Sanpete County per UDOT’s current list — the trip is by car. Winter driving on SR-28 and US-89 is a seasonal planning factor in the Sanpete Valley.

Nearby Services

Gunnison is small but functional for a visit day: a 24-hour Maverik station on Main Street, a grocery store, and several local restaurants. Lodging in town is limited to two small motels; more options are in Salina (including a Super 8, about 20 minutes south at the I-70 junction), Manti, and Ephraim.

The hospital is close: Gunnison Valley Hospital, with emergency care available around the clock, is under a mile from the facility.

For family support beyond the facility, the Utah Prisoner Advocate Network (UPAN) is a nonprofit advocacy group for families of Utah inmates, with monthly newsletters, monthly Zoom meetings, and a family-orientation resource section on its site.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Utah state prison:

Visiting in Utah — UDC approval process, dress code, scheduling
Mail & Packages — the scanned-mail system and addressing format
Phone & Video Calls — rates, accounts, and free ThrIVE video visits
Sending Money — deposits, fees, and the debt-withholding rule
Medical & Mental Health — healthcare and the family medical line
Transfers — placement, the county jail program, and tracking moves

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.