Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State, South Africa, near the Lesotho border.

[1] The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued, deeply eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops,[2] especially the Brandwag rock.

[6] In 1963, 47.92 km2 (11,840 acres) was proclaimed as a national park, specifically to preserve the scenic beauty of the area.

[1][8] The park is 320 km (200 mi) from Johannesburg and is close to the villages of Clarens and Kestell, in the upper regions of the Little Caledon River.

[4] The park is situated in the Rooiberge of the eastern Free State, in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains.

The Caledon River forms the southern boundary of the park, as well as the border between the Free State and Lesotho.

[9] The highest peak in the park (and also in the Free State) is Ribbokkop at 2,829 m (9,281 ft) above sea level.

[6] The park is located in the eastern highveld region of South Africa and experiences a dry, sunny climate from June to August.

The park also has Afromontane forests and high-altitude Austro-Afro alpine grassland, which is scarce in South Africa.

The Lombardi poplars and weeping willows in the park are introduced species, but are kept because of their cultural and historic connection with the eastern Free State.

[14] The eggs were from the Triassic Period (220 to 195 million years ago) and had fossilised foetal skeletons of Massospondylus, a prosauropod dinosaur.