Oakland Zoo Reviews

Great zoo. A bit small and the design is a bit old.

I enjoyed it but the parking was 10$ and it cost 24$ per adult

Grizzly Bear exhibit was awesome! They where play fighting in the water area, i could watch them all day!

Don't get me wrong, it is fairly good zoo, but I felt like I wanted to see more. First things first. It is conveniently located just one block from highway and entrance is easily accessible regardless where you park. Admission price per adult is $17 which is not bad, but you actually have to pay more. Read until the end.

A few animals that I have seen are baboon, tigers, tortoise, elephants, camels, hyena, giraffes, wallaroo, otters, goats, etc. I have seen all these animals before and wanted to see more birds (only one parrot type, really?).

Some exhibits where closed and I would love to see anaconda, but I couldn't due to remodeling. Definitely there is lack of exotic insects.

The unexpected part was is the way of seeing wallaroo. It is only accessible with the small train and there is additional price of $3 per person for that. I thought that I am paying $17 to see animals.

Overall, it was OK experience, but I am not coming back. Work harder, Oakland Zoo

Still the majority of the animals weren't active, I did like the free ride on the cable carts.

I love visiting this place
It relaxes me
And above all
You can spend a nice family mention 1

Great place for a family gathering with kids of all ages!

Went last week, purchased a membership. We can't wait to go back.

Beautiful zoo, but be prepared for some hiking! Best zoo in the SF bay area by far.

Gondola ride is the highlight here. It gets very crowded in the afternoon though.

Really cool place along with the animals, but really expensive in terms of food

Sorry my bad. I meant to leave a five-star! It's my first time writing reviews using this interface.

I meant to leave a five star, but not sure why it shows one. I did it on my phone using one hand. Really sorry for rating it as one-star by mistake. I have changed the rating from 1-star to 5-star.

We visited the zoo yesterday and the experience was super nice. Our daughter really loves being there. We got a yearly pass and plan to visit it more often. It is the best zoo (especially for kids) we have found in the bay area.

The new California area is really amazing. The view alone is worth the trip!

As a member, glad Oakland Zoo was finally able to finally open. Covid-19 safety protocols are in place and seem to be working well. There is always the odd idiot who takes their mask off or has it pulled down below their nose. Fairly easy to avoid these morons.

We had a great visit, due to the time slot division with limited number of visitors we felt like we pretty much had the zoo for our selves

Overall, it's a nice zoo with many fun attractions.

Not the biggest zoo but nice exhibits. Have not been to a zoo in a long time and so seeing live animals like giraffes and elephants was pretty cool. Can cover most of the zoo in a couple of hours. Lions , and tigers, and bear oh my.

Where are the wolfs?!? The zoo is very close to the highway :( The rest is fantastic. It would be very interesting if we knew the stories of the animals

It was very boring there was nothing to do and they showed us that we had nothing to do on the gondola except for eat food

As with any zoo, you're really at the mercy of the animals and if they want to come out. Good variety in species and geographic representation. The facilities are a little run down and some were under construction, which gives me hope that improvements are on the way.

Had a blast for my first time. Can't wait to go back again. It was so much fun #oaklandzoo #animals #zoolife

Various issues with this place. When I visited, there were several closed exhibits. Also there is a $10 parking fee despite the expensive admission. All a let down that could have been avoided by making these visible (if present at all in the website). I can't tell if the Website info is poorly written or purposefully sneaky. But the 2 star really go to the rude parking staff that apparently can't handle a busy day very well.

Exhibit it huge! Saw most of the animals, gondola was closed due to high winds so didn't see the animal high on the hillside. Not much in the way of food, only one cafe and it was packed. Otherwise a great trip

Lots of things to see...beautiful park and they are expanding

Great zoo. Lots of animals and easy to get around even when it's busy. Took my daughter their for her 4th birthday and she loved it.

I love this place there are a lot of animals to look at and when they put on the shows its cool. The best part are the festivities like Christmas with all the lights and stuff.

Went to check out the gondola and they were pretty cool. Nice, mostly clean, little zoo. Some of the enclosures were depressing and others were quite impressive.
The area at the top of the gondolas was great. The "restaurant" at the top is not really what I'd expected. We ended up not eating there because lines were long and the place really didn't seem to offer anything special.

Overall, pretty enjoyable outing.

Its a ripe off you have to pay for the Entrance and then have to pay for tickets to ride the rides. The light show sucks Definitely not worth what they charge you for the entrance

First time here with my two year old, great zoo! A lot of different animals I was not expecting, and especially like the hilltop view and the trolley ride

Christmas Lights show,
Thoroughly enjoyed,
Will be back next year

Loved the visit here, the new area up the hillside is FANTASTIC! Great gondola ride and lovely new open pens. Made this Zoo come back on the map of regular activities with my kids.

Awesome zoo! This was by far one of the nicest zoo's I have been to. The animals seemed happy and very well cared for and their exhibits were well designed and spacious.

Great weekend activity and affordable entry tickets. ($24 adult/$20 child). Highlight of the park was the Gondola up to the hill with a cafe overlooked bay area. Cafe food is decently priced with salad, sandwiches, pizza, burgers and fries. A bit of hill to walk so bring water to hydrate.

Great food. A lot of animals just suggest going on a warm day to see the animals

Iy was a beautiful day. The zoo was packed but everyone was so nice.

Went for zoo lights had a blast and the gondola ride was just fantastic!

Best zoo. Sometimes you can't even see a lion because the area is so large:)

The zoo is an older.zoo but in good shape and more importantly the animals are taken care of well. This is our first visit since they opened the new area on top of the hill. Much larger area for the animals. Only saw the bears though. Play area for kids and the landing for the gondola has a restaurant in it. Great views from there. We went on a day when the gondola was getting its monthly maintenance, so there was a shuttle. They shuttle slows things down a lot. Narrow road and one vehicle either upper or down.

We love this zoo. We have been members for a couple years now and appreciate something new every time we go. We especially enjoy the newer California ridge and the wonderful children's play area up there

Great place to bring the family! Lots of areas to get food or drinks, their new exbihits are amazing!

Could spend half day. Most of the animals are not moving much

Everything is outside and there are a few nice hills to climb. A little expensive.

Such an amazing place. Just wish there was more parking!

Typical zoo. Animals sleeping and looking depressed. There is some uphill climbing so bring your walking shoes. It was a neat experience.

After having a membership a few years back and deciding it just wasn t worth the price to renew the following year, on my most recent visit last weekend, I made sure to go in with a no expectations kinda mindset. Figured I d enjoy my time roaming the park, maybe ride the train and treat myself to a bag of cold, and more than likely stale popcorn, and if I m lucky, achieve the impossible by taking a few good family pics. Well, shame on me for lowering the bar of expectation, and ever doubting this amazing zoo, everyone deserves a second chance, thank goodness. To think I could ve passed up my chance to visit the zoo, never knowing all that I was missing, and depriving my child of some unforgettable memories she might ve had while here. To say I was pleasantly surprised by all the new additions and improvements they ve made
over the past couple of years, would be quite the understatement. From the unexpectedly organized and efficient parking lot, to the outgoing and informative zoo staff I encountered while roaming the paths, everyone just made our experience that much better, so much so that we decided we were long overdue for a family membership to the Oakland zoo. I m looking forward to the new adventures I have yet to try, and the many more that await us in the future at the Oakland zoo.

Great to see the animals, and also interesting trees and vegetation.

They're pretty big and have pretty good collection of animals

6 & 7 year old kids were cussing out loud which made the experience unpleasant.

Love this zoo over my hometown zoo in SF. As the animals are free to roam.

Best zoo in USA. Integrates with nature around. Lovely grounds. Great w kids.

The Oakland Zoo is an average Zoo.The species are neither very rare or exotic. Three lions, three tigers, four elephants, 6-7 Giraffes may not make it a world class. Amphibians, reptiles, Birds section was a total disappointment. Though crowded the entry fees and parking fee make it a costly affair. The visitors galleries need quantum improvement for visitors and little children to have a good look at animals without disturbing them. The Gandola and train ride can be enjoyed only if exotic varieties and large wild animals are in plenty.

The Oakland Zoo is such a treasure! The new California area is gorgeous with amazing views of the bay as well as bears, eagles, and other native California creatures. There are hidden gems throughout the zoo, like the children's area where your can pet goats and sheep. Really a lovely and well tended place.

Enjoyed the Gondola ride for free and my nephews definitely loved it. The playgrounds and kids areas are great too. Finally saw some otters so I was pumped.