The Connemara National Park visitor centre is the practical starting point for Letterfrack. It explains the park's bog, heath, woodland, mountain ecology, and Connemara ponies, but its real value is as the trailhead for the Diamond Hill walks. Even if you are not climbing, the short nature trails give a quick taste of the landscape.
The centre buildings also have a darker past, as part of the Letterfrack Industrial School complex. The park notes that much of its land once belonged to the school and to the Kylemore Abbey estate, which makes the visitor centre more than a simple information desk.