The visitor centre at Ossenzijl is the main gateway to the Weerribben section of the national park. The centre has exhibits on the ecology and history of the peat landscape — the process of peat cutting that created the park, the return of wildlife as the extraction ended, and the ongoing management challenges of maintaining open water against the natural succession towards carr woodland.
From the visitor centre, canoe rental is available and several signed walking and cycling routes begin. The village of Ossenzijl itself is a small, quiet place on the park boundary — a handful of houses, a jetty, and the characteristic Dutch flatness. The approach from Steenwijk or Giethoorn passes through flat agricultural polders that make the sudden transition into reed landscape all the more striking.
The centre is open April–October; outside that period, the park is still accessible but the hire services and facilities are reduced.