diff --git a/src/gc-stacks.c b/src/gc-stacks.c
index 08425019a4daf..783129ea97693 100644
--- a/src/gc-stacks.c
+++ b/src/gc-stacks.c
@@ -23,22 +23,13 @@
 // number of stacks to always keep available per pool
 #define MIN_STACK_MAPPINGS_PER_POOL 5
 
-#if defined(_OS_WINDOWS_) || (!defined(_OS_OPENBSD_) && !defined(JL_HAVE_UCONTEXT) && !defined(JL_HAVE_SIGALTSTACK))
-#define JL_USE_GUARD_PAGE   1
 const size_t jl_guard_size = (4096 * 8);
-#else
-const size_t jl_guard_size = 0;
-#endif
-
 static _Atomic(uint32_t) num_stack_mappings = 0;
 
 #ifdef _OS_WINDOWS_
 #define MAP_FAILED NULL
 static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 {
-    size_t guard_size = LLT_ALIGN(jl_guard_size, jl_page_size);
-    bufsz += guard_size;
-
     void *stk = VirtualAlloc(NULL, bufsz, MEM_RESERVE | MEM_COMMIT, PAGE_READWRITE);
     if (stk == NULL)
         return MAP_FAILED;
@@ -49,7 +40,6 @@ static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
         VirtualFree(stk, 0, MEM_RELEASE);
         return MAP_FAILED;
     }
-    stk = (char *)stk + guard_size;
 
     jl_atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&num_stack_mappings, 1);
     return stk;
@@ -58,68 +48,41 @@ static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 
 static void free_stack(void *stkbuf, size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 {
-#ifdef JL_USE_GUARD_PAGE
-    size_t guard_size = LLT_ALIGN(jl_guard_size, jl_page_size);
-    bufsz += guard_size;
-    stkbuf = (char *)stkbuf - guard_size;
-#endif
-
     VirtualFree(stkbuf, 0, MEM_RELEASE);
     jl_atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&num_stack_mappings, -1);
 }
 
 #else
 
-# ifdef _OS_OPENBSD_
 static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 {
-    void* stk = mmap(0, bufsz, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAP_STACK, -1, 0);
-    if (stk == MAP_FAILED)
-        return MAP_FAILED;
-
+# ifdef _OS_OPENBSD_
     // we don't set up a guard page to detect stack overflow: on OpenBSD, any
     // mmap-ed region has guard page managed by the kernel, so there is no
     // need for it. Additionally, a memory region used as stack (memory
     // allocated with MAP_STACK option) has strict permission, and you can't
     // "create" a guard page on such memory by using `mprotect` on it
-
-    jl_atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&num_stack_mappings, 1);
-    return stk;
-}
+    void* stk = mmap(0, bufsz, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAP_STACK, -1, 0);
+    if (stk == MAP_FAILED)
+        return MAP_FAILED;
 # else
-static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
-{
-#ifdef JL_USE_GUARD_PAGE
-    size_t guard_size = LLT_ALIGN(jl_guard_size, jl_page_size);
-    bufsz += guard_size;
-#endif
-
     void* stk = mmap(0, bufsz, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0);
     if (stk == MAP_FAILED)
         return MAP_FAILED;
 
-#ifdef JL_USE_GUARD_PAGE
     // set up a guard page to detect stack overflow
     if (mprotect(stk, jl_guard_size, PROT_NONE) == -1) {
         munmap(stk, bufsz);
         return MAP_FAILED;
     }
-    stk = (char *)stk + guard_size;
-#endif
+# endif
 
     jl_atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&num_stack_mappings, 1);
     return stk;
 }
-# endif
 
 static void free_stack(void *stkbuf, size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 {
-#ifdef JL_USE_GUARD_PAGE
-    size_t guard_size = LLT_ALIGN(jl_guard_size, jl_page_size);
-    bufsz += guard_size;
-    stkbuf = (char *)stkbuf - guard_size;
-#endif
-
     munmap(stkbuf, bufsz);
     jl_atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&num_stack_mappings, -1);
 }