Golden Gate Highlands National Park Hikes

Don’t miss out on Golden Gate National Park hikes while you’re visiting Clarens. There are plenty of hikes for all ages, and even two driving loops for those who don’t feel up for a hike.

If you’re spending a weekend at Clarens, I suggest doing the 4-hour Wodehouse Hike on your full day in Clarens (probably Saturday), and then doing a combo of smaller hikes like Echo Ravine, Mushroom Rock, and even Holkrans before you head back to Joburg.

The Basics

Bring binoculars
Hikes range from 1 hour to 4 hours
Entrance R60/pp
Limited shade cover, bring water and a hat
Golden Gate Highlands SANParks website
Hiking map

Golden Gate Highlands National Park Entrance

You’ll need to get a hiking permit at the information center. When coming from Clarens (or the Castle in Clarens, if you’re staying there like I did!) drive past the Golden Gate National Park toll entrance—there is no one there. I was a little confused by this, but so is everyone else. The information center is located at Glen Reenen Rest Camp and Chalets.

Head just 5 minutes up the road, and you’ll come to the information center and Total gas station.

The information center is filled with plenty of insight about the park so take some time to read the boards. It’s one of the better centers I’ve come across at national parks.

Golden Gate National Park Hikes

Most hikes start off across the road from the information center. Cross the small bridge to get to the start point. If you have the energy, definitely do the Wodehouse Peak. It felt so special to hike and be around wild animals. The views are spectacular too.

Wodehouse Peak

11km, 4+ hours

This hike is a climb up and around the mountain, then back down to Mushroom Rock. The views are amazing, and you’ll run into zebras, elands, wildebeests, and other animals once you turn away from the highway (about halfway through the hike). Start the hike early in the summer months as it gets hot around 12pm.

This hike has a lot of ups and downs. My least favorite part of the hike was thinking we made it to the top and then realizing we had another summit to climb. (I am being dramatic as it wasn’t that bad in hindsight).

The hike says it takes 4 hours, but we did it in around 5 hours as we stopped for both breakfast and lunch… And I needed a couple of extra stops after all the climbs.

The beginning

Follow the trail signs and continue up to the lookout point. There are two shady spots to have a picnic before you reach the lookout point.

Once you reach the top, you’ll head back down again. Yes. Down. Not up the mountain… Keep to the right path and you’ll reach a rocky staircase to go down. Next, you’ll walk in the valley, parallel to the highway.

Some parts are quite muddy if it’s been raining so be careful. As it rained the night before our hike, I slipped a couple of times but luckily nothing major.

The middle

You will start a second ascent of the mountain. Use the chains to pull yourself!

As you reach the top, you’ll start to round the mountain bend as you hike away from the highway. Keep an eye out for zebras, elands, wildebeests. We even saw some zebras way out on the mountain ridge and stopped for our lunch here. You’ll also spot Drakensberg’s Champagne Castle on a clear day. This is just about at the halfway point.

Now for your final ascent, you’ll hike up the ridge.

The end

Eventually, you’ll reach the descent when you come across some electricity poles and a rocky staircase. The descent is tough and almost straight down the mountain. We ran into a couple that did the route starting with this tough staircase. As long as you pay attention to loose rocks and occasionally scoot on your bottom, you’ll be fine.

Continue along the trail and it will lead you back to Mushroom Rock. From here, it’s an easy walk back to the info center.

Echo Ravine and Mushroom Rock Combo Hike

Start at the information center and then cross the road to reach the signage for the trails. Echo Ravine and Mushroom Rock are out-and-back trails that will take you around 2 hours to complete.

First, go left towards Echo Ravine and follow the signs. You’ll pass a small river. The ravine is a dead-end and it will take about an hour to reach. You can try to climb some of them along the ravine but be careful; they are slippery!

Head back to the trail post and continue on to Mushroom Rock, which looks like a shiitake mushroom! There are a couple of “dripping wall” spots where water drips off the edge of the mountain top above.

To go back to the info center, you can either turn around and walk back the same way you came or continue along the trail until you come to a fork in the path. Keep right. This will take you down to the river, which you must cross.

It had rained the day before we visited so there was a lot of water in the river. We had to take off our shoes to cross because the rocks were not possible to jump across. The water came almost to my mid-thigh!

After this, you join the highway and continue to walk along that until you reach the info center. We looked for a nicer path along the river or something in the grass, but we didn’t see any other option than to walk on the highway.

Holkrans Hiking Trail

The Holkrans Hiking Trail begins at the Golden Gate Hotel and Chalets, which is located before you reach the information center. You’ll need to show your hiking pass to get in. Although we didn’t do this hike, you should if you’re interested in caves as there are some along the hike. It should just take an hour to do.

Natural Pool

Behind the information center is a small waterfall and natural pool. It’ll just take 5 minutes to walk to. The driveway says guests only, but you can walk on it to get to the waterfall. You can get into the water here but we saw some large crabs so we decided to stay away. It was perfect to put our feet in though to cool down after the Wodehouse hike.

Cathedral Cave

You must book in advance at the information center to hike Cathedral Cave. A minimum of 5 people are required to book. Call SANParks or book a day in advance at the information center. If I recall correctly, the guided hike costs R150.

Other hiking resources

Check out these other bloggers for additional advice on combining Golden Gate National Park hikes.

Golden Gate National Park Driving Loops

Blesbok Loop— This is a 6km loop that will take you up into the highlands and past the dam. Bring your binoculars as we saw wildebeest, blesbok, elands, and warthogs in the distance. The dam has some interesting birds too.

Oribi Loop— This 4km loop will take you past the Oribi basin, the vulture feeding project, and give you a view of Drakensberg. We didn’t feel the need to do this loop after hiking Wodehouse since it was more rewarding to hike for the views…

Bonus: Basotho Cultural Village

Continue driving through Golden Gate National Park for 20 minutes to visit the Qwa-Qwa Basotho Cultural Village.

More beautiful views from the Wodehouse hike

Joburg Weekend Trips

What did you think of Golden Gate Highlands National Park hikes? Let me know in the comments!