diff --git a/src/gc-stacks.c b/src/gc-stacks.c
index 0624c5fa66b54..7882cef73bdb6 100644
--- a/src/gc-stacks.c
+++ b/src/gc-stacks.c
@@ -22,13 +22,22 @@
 // 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;
@@ -39,6 +48,7 @@ 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;
@@ -47,6 +57,12 @@ static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 
 static void free_stack(void *stkbuf, size_t bufsz)
 {
+#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);
 }
@@ -72,16 +88,22 @@ static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 # 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;
 
-#if !defined(JL_HAVE_UCONTEXT) && !defined(JL_HAVE_SIGALTSTACK)
+#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
 
     jl_atomic_fetch_add_relaxed(&num_stack_mappings, 1);
@@ -91,6 +113,12 @@ static void *malloc_stack(size_t bufsz) JL_NOTSAFEPOINT
 
 static void free_stack(void *stkbuf, size_t bufsz)
 {
+#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);
 }