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About this place
Connemara National Park trails offer a series of loops ranging from 0.5km to 3.7km or you can finish one loop and then start another for a longer hike. The trails themselves range from a flat, natural walk to a more strenuous upward climb up and around Diamond Hill, so it's perfect for a serious hike or just a simple stroll.
Scott and I took a road trip around Ireland and found Connemara National Park when we left Galway in the western part of the country. From Galway, if you take N59 from Clifden to Letterfrack the park is about 93 kms away and worth the drive! Entry into the park and the visitor center exhibits are free of charge and we spent an entire day there taking advantage of all the loop trails (all starting from the visitor center):
- Ellis Wood Nature Trail 0.5 km
- Sruffaunboy Walk 1.5 km
- Lower Diamond Hill Walk 3 km
- Upper Diamond Hill Walk 3.7 km
What we enjoyed so much about the trails is how they changed landscapes. From the visitor center you walk towards Diamond Hill (the highest point) through a stretch of bogland where you are actually on a wooden platform (Google Irish "peatland" for some interesting history of this area's use for fossil fuel). Then as you start up the hill you are surrounded by beautiful heather scrub land as the route gets rockier and steeper. The Upper Diamond Hill Walk is straight up and then back down, but the view from the top is absolutely beautiful (and quite windy). At 400 meters high you get a gorgeous 360 look over the Atlantic Ocean coastline on one side and the 12 Bens Mountain Range.
At the end of the hike we enjoyed hot soup and coffee at the Visitor Center Tea Room - not too bad, huh?
Note:
- The Visitor Center and Tea Room are open daily from 9am - 5:30pm March through October.
- The Park Grounds are open all year round from 9am - 5:30pm.