Oakland Zoo Reviews

The best zoo in the bay area for sure. Tons of animals, great humane enclosures and the new gondola ride and hilltop area is fantastic!

Could use more exhibits and better paths. A lot of the exhibit paths are hidden.

Some of the paths lead to dead ends which make you think there is nothing to see at the end but yet animal exhibits would be there (like the hyena for example).

A good place to have fun and learn more about animals.

This Zoo is way better experience than San Diego Zoo, trust me I did not had any bad experience at San Diego but the experience of Oakland Zoo was Amazing, must visit if you are in Bay Area

I went here to enjoy 2017 lights show .
The experience was nice .

So fun! Took the gondola up to the top and checked out the amazing eagles. Then took the train around the oark to see all the rest of the animals. What a great family day!

It was very nice. Clean everywhere. A little pricey. It is reciprocal zoo withSacramento Zoo. Really big.

I didn't really like zoos too much until I came here.

I highly recommended volunteering at the Zoo if you are looking for a Community Service activity. The Tram provided spectacular views.

Explore, enjoy and walk to see all animals big and small.

Amazing! Great selection of animals and the gondola ride has a spectacular view!

We had a great time. It was great for our older kids but for our preschool age kids not so much. All the play areas and petting zoo were all closed. Water fountains all turned off and only the stores open at the entrance. Bring your own beverages or buy it when you first get there because all the usual eating spots are closed. Everything else was closed. Was not worth the entrance fee when everything for the kids is off limits. The time limit also has you feeling rushed. Gives you barely enough time to get around the whole zoo. With little ones it a little harder. The ride up the mountain was amazing. We all enjoyed it and loved all the animals up there. Again, wish the play areas were open and water fountains. But with Covid it all has to be closed. I just don t think it was worth the $120 we paid to get in when all the kids stuff were closed off. Especially petting zoo.

We loved this zoo. Perfect size for grandparents and 4 year old.

Bring my two kids here, they have a blast every visit! Another good thing if you park at the very close to the entrance, by the end off the day there will be shuttle to take you back to your car.

The zoo is always fun, if a bit crowded. We were a bit late to go to the new section, but enjoyed seeing all these animals anyway. Parking is interesting here at times, but we're got lucky!

Oakland zoo is great my son loved the train ride and gondola.

I'm spoiled - I'm from Omaha, where we have one of the top-ranked zoos in the country. But I enjoyed the Oakland Zoo. The new California area is worth a visit.

O K for children and picnic. Too much up and downs. Difficult for senior citizens. No visible direction boards indicating animal locations. Toilets are not maintained and less in number .Difficult to read the maps.

Great place for all ages. Educational, entertaining and relaxing. A good place to learn about the native plants.

Very nice new California exhibit. Not quite as large as the SF zoo, but not too busy either. Large open enclosures, and helpful keepers.

I love how the animals were active there it was cool

Our first visit ever was during Covid. They had setup hand sanitizers around doors and elevators. The volunteer docents were kind, friendly and very knowledgeable. My absolute favorite area is the gondola ride & California native animals. There is a beautiful view of the bay up there too.

Did not get to see all of it but will return to see the rest.

I was blown away by the views you get at this zoo! The gondolas give you views not only if the bay, but if the animals below you like the lions and the camels. There are many animals to see, and they seem to be well taken care of with lots of space. I also highly recommend coming for the light show during the winter holiday. They put a lot of effort into decorating the park, and it is a treat to take the rainbow light gondola at night.

Great place to attend a wedding! Night time gondola rides are where it's at! Highly recommend.

I think this zoo is just the right size; it's not exhaustingly enormous, but it's not too small either, so my friend and I were able to see almost all the exhibits within 2.5 hrs. The staff members were very friendly and helpful, so we were able to ask questions and learn a lot about the animals we saw. If anything, I highly recommend taking the gondola up to the northmost exhibit. There's a playground for kids, lots of endemic species of animals to see up close, and an outlook point with an excellent view of the bay and San Fransisco! The parking lot fills up pretty quickly, so I suggest arriving at open.

Awesome experience
As a member I'm Glad it's open again

Great zoo for the price. Plenty of attractions and things for the kids to do. Great family spot for a day trip.

It s good zoo but I think need more animals. I m from Indonesia, place I grew up hv zoo bigger than Oakland zoo and more animals too

This zoo is easy to get to and the animals look very happy. Nice place to take kids. It is really fun if you go in early morning when they first open. The animals are more receptive and alert. I bring my breakfast and eat it in the park. The week day is better for me because it is less crowded, and more quiet. This is zoo is a nice place for an outing.

Great older zoo. Lots of animals that were pretty active. Rides for the kids too.

Much bigger than expected, but has plenty of animals and many help desks and restrooms.

Best to go on a cool day with a slight over cast. The animals are a bit more active and you can clearly see the squirrel monkeys!!! They are the best!!!

Like
We liked it very much. It is big and will be even bigger next year. Allocate at least 3-4 hours, or even full day and plan ahead. In addition to animals, there is a small adventure park inside as well (for extra money)

Fun, lively place. Wear comfortable shoes because you will be walking a lot.

Love all the upgrades, just wish they were opened a little later

We have been to the Oakland Zoo many times and love the zoo. This visit was to see the new California Trail. The animals and enclosures were perfect. You could really get up close to most of the animals.

It was really fun but there were animals missing from habitats

Good place to spend time with kids. Small zoo and animals are very well taken care. Train ride is not worth. Some part of zoo is closed and will be ready by summer. Gandola ride fare is included in ticket and is an interesting ride. Ample parking space and friendly staff. Variety of items to shop.

Very impressed with this zoo! Lots of space, awesome exhibits, and incredible variety of animals. It was awesome how up close and personal you can be with the animals. Main thing that surprised us was how big it is. You can even take a ski lift to a upper level that is like a whole other zoo. Really cool place.

Very nice n entertaining place. Full on fun for kids

Born an raised in Oakland, always had a good time. We got the membership for our family, why take the kids to the park when you can go to the zoo any day! The animals look healthy, it's well kept, and plenty to see. They are expanding the zoo to add a few more animals which is great. The lift to the cafe up top is free, also has a great view of Oakland. I've been taking my daughter here since she was born and she pretty much memorized the entire park. Shes never bored of it. Theres always something new to learn or talk about. Fun for the entire family. If you dont enjoy walking especially uphill, then that's a shame. It's great exercise for the kids and for yourself. The amusement park on the side of the zoo is fun for the kids too, the only ride I didn't like is the tiger roller coaster. I took my daughter on it recently for the first time. Seemed pretty dangerous because it didn't really secure her in place. If I wasn't in the ride with her, holding her head, she definitely would have hurt herself. Possibly banging her head into the ride. Other than that the other rides are safe and in great order.

Very kid friendly zoo. Surprisingly large place. The gondola wasn't working because of maintenance, but the walking wasn't so bad. All the animals were out an about and playful. Didn't get the feeling they were miserable. Took my toddler son and he had an absolute blast. Enough to buy a yearly pass.

Great place for the family! Their new California exhibit is awesome and the views from the gondola are great.

A lot of fun for the family, but what a lot of hills! We all got a good workout with our fun

Wonderful place to take my grandson .. the animals are amazing

This place is so fantastic and great! I love the animal houses and the variety of animals that are around. It was hot but there was good shade! Also the new restaurant and gondola is really neat! :)

Ever family should go to take the kids.the animals are so much fun!!!

Great place for families. Our 3 year old loves the rides and seeing the animals. The food at the landing is much better than the options at the.main level

This zoo is medium to small. They are expanding which will be a nice addition once done. I had a map and there are signs but I felt they could do a better job helping people figure out where they are and where to go. Park people I interacted with were polite but not overly friendly. Overall a great zoo and would definitely visit again. My only complaint is the website showed animals that are part of the upcoming addition and not currently available so it was misleading.

Went for Night Lights! Amazing lights, just pricey food.

Zoo is looking very run down neither of the gondolas were running.

The Oakland Zoo was fun and beautiful. A few animals but enoght to keep my kids happy and entertain. They have a great Adventureland with rides for the entire family.

Such a fun place! Lots to do, kids love it, and it's well priced.

Gorgeous zoo! Much better than the San Francisco one. Enjoyed it.

Ride the new gondola ride up to the California Experience part of the Zoo. It is an amazing view with good food waiting.