Oakland Zoo Reviews

The zoo is sweet. Bring your picnic and hang out here with the kids.

Typical park eatery. Paid 50.00 for two adult and 2 kid meals.

Great place for all ages (young & old), great for school field trips!

Lots of fun kids had a great time staff was kind of rude but what would you expect surrounded by children minimum wage job why not blame the parents and hate us all I'm just saying some of the rudest Zoo staff I've ever experienced my family and I regularly go to the Sacramento Zoo and I've always been treated with respect and dignity I can't say that for my experience here I will return for the children but it's not the San Francisco Zoo

It's an interesting place, we enjoyed much the stay watching all these wonderful view. Very fun zoo.

Nice zoo and will be much nicer after the new construction. It's still a great way to spend a morning or evening.

Love the gondola beautiful world class zoo, right in our backyard.

My first time visit and my last. Everything was to pricey $$$. But what really got me not to go back was some of the staff. They were really rude. From the rides and some from the food area . You would think as expensive as it was, you would get better customer service. But not

Entertaining animals - Can be completed in 4 hours (considering a kid with stroller).. all places navigable through stroller

Too many people with numerous kids and no masks. Also, food prices are ridiculous. It cost me $26 to eat lunch.

The zoo is well kept. It is however a smaller zoo and is more suited to younger kids.

It's a nice enough zoo, lots to see, though it seems every time I go, there is SOMETHING that is closed.
The thing to keep in mind is that, being the SF Bay area, it's expensive, about $110 for a family of four just to get in. Then about $50-70 for lunch. And if you want to ride the train or buy any souvenirs, a visit will be over $200 total.

This is a great family outing and now it opens at 9:30 on Sundays! Much better. We usually stay for 3 hours and do one section. The gondola and North American wildlife section is awesome.

Wonderful way to spend a few hours. The zoo didn't feel too crowded and the animals seemed very active. Loved the quiet signs throughout, it really made it so wonderful.

Oakland zoo is my family favorite place. Great fun for whole family. Awesome place for kids.

Very good place to spend a family Sunday. I highly recommend them.

Love to to
Come here to this zoo. A lot better then the sfo zoo. Animals look happier and they have more space. My kids really enjoy it here.

It's very exciting for children and adults,they have volunteer programs for teens,and they have exciting events for everyone

Actually a pretty cool zoo! It's not too big, but you'll have a good time here.

Lovely place to relax, walk, and have fun outdoors.

Love this place . Wheelchair access. Food cafes and more

One of the best zoo's I've been to. Clean happy animals. Attentive staff. Everyone seemed happy to work there. Beautiful views of San Francisco.

Love the Oakland Zoo! Lots of animals to see, fun playground, conservatory and the French fries are good too!

Surprisingly good. It is a decent size is too but you must be prepared for hills. Good size exhibits. The admission is not cheap, but they have to feed the animals.

On wenday on the news Wenday I saw babyPanda to go to Oakland zoo Panda cubs an on the 10th of Jan 2014 (is this true ?) Place let me down

The Oakland zoo is the best, they win all kinds of awards, are dedicated to conservation and they are constantly adding new enrichment features to their animals exhibits. They have a huge range of animals as well. Well worth a visit.

This zoo was great. A nice variety of animals and very family friendly. Went first thing when they opened and it was crowded. One of the lifts(That carries you over the animals) was not working, but overall a great way to spend a day.

This is by far the best zoo in the bay area. My kids love the animals and the great Gondala ride with a view. The entry is not cheap but it is a nice zoo.

Good place for a family day trip. The main zoo part is fun to traverse because the trail goes up and down and through trees and brush. I felt like I was walking through Jurassic Park. It's nice and big with lots to see and some grassy areas to run around in or have a picnic lunch. There's a new part of the zoo that's only accessed by a gondola ride up the foothills. Once you're up there it's this huge deck that goes around the perimeter and you look down into the enclosures to see the wolves or whatnot. There's an area for the kids to play and climb on stuff.

The cons of visiting here though is that first off it's not nearly as aesthetic as the SF zoo. They've left it pretty overgrown and natural which isn't a bad thing per ces but it does feel a little out of control. Also, there were a lot of exhibits that were closed and empty. If they can't put an animal there then they should clear it for picnic benches or playgrounds. The bathrooms were a wreck! Dirty and a lot of non functional sinks/dispensers/etc. And lastly, there was literally 2 benches to sit down on to rest or just watch an animal up in the newer area and the whole area is pretty much in the sun. So as cool as the new area is, it was pretty miserable to visit when you couldn't sit down and rest for 5 minutes or get out of the sun

Great local tourist attraction. Great place to spend the day.

We. Love. This zoo. All the animal exhibits are close to each other which keeps active toddlers continuously engaged. There are lots of learning and sensory experiences. The California trail exhibit is amazing. Highly, highly recommend this zoo.

We went to the zoo during the COVID situation and we were pleasantly surprised how neat and well maintained it was. Hand sanitizers were placed throughout the zoo. I could also see the gondolas being cleaned and sanitized after every ride. We felt safe and had a fun outing.

Nice place for kids best place to visit on summer vacation good experience for kids and toddlers too

Helpful, friendly staff. Clean and well maintained. Wonderful habitats for the animals.

ABSOLUTELY loved the zoo!! The staff over by the rides was the best! They were so friendly super helpful & helped me find my lost diaper bag witch had everything in it .. First timers & we had so much fun!

Would have given 5 stars had there been gorillas there.

My first time up on gondola. Beautiful day. Loved the California Trail. Hope the whole zoo gets updated with bigger enclosures for the wonderful animals.

It was overall a pretty good experience, we were lucky enough to see plenty of animals even though it was a cold day. We were somewhat surprised at how overgrown some of the exhibits were, or else I would have given it to stars.

My daughter loves going to the zoo she had so much fun on her field trip

In seve very beautiful photos I hope to go one day because you are beautiful

They treat their volunteers REALLY well here. For a few hours of volunteering, we got free admission to the zoo for the rest of the day and an extremely discounted lunch! The zoo itself is nice, too. Some of the enclosures seem a little small, but the staff seems to be doing their best with what they have and the animals seem well cared for.

Zoo was very nice to visit. Parking was decent and most of the staff was friendly. Lots of great animal's to see and everything was very clean. I wasn't to thrilled with the amusement ride area.

I've generally hated zoos. Many zoos have that heartbreaking quality of visiting a prison. The Oakland Zoo is a bit refreshing in that the animal habitats are generally large and well-appointed, the animals are mostly rescues, and the staff that I've interacted with are passionate and knowledgeable. It's a nice, sprawling zoo. Check out the Siamangs and the Flying Foxes (the world's largest fruit bats!).

Great zoo with lots of very nice exhibits. Children's zoo area is especially great for small children with a show and tell, otters and a goat petting area. Rides inside and outside the zoo add to the attraction.

Generic zoo, smallish in size and variety of animals, nothing special.

You would think by having the San Francisco Zoo, it would be enough, but we have another zoo across the bay, which in size, is not as enormous as San Francisco's but I think is just as enjoyable.





The lift takes you over the lion's den and giraffe prairie and gives you a whole new perspective from above!

Another favorite attraction of mine is the meerkat exhibit where in the wild these animals live in large "clans" and to me is just entertaining to watch.

This zoo went through a recent expansion adding what is known as the California Trail. Basically more than doubling the previous Zoo size. Bald Eagles, Condors, Cougers, Black Bears, Grizzly Bears and more. Keep in mind this in addition to what was previously there, like Tigers, Lions, Elephants, oh my and more. With the expantion comes a higher price too, but you get to see so much more as well. An added bonus is the views of San Francisco are pretty awesome from this new portion of the Zoo.

It's big. Animals not caged. They are in areas that mimic their surroundings in the wild. Good selection of animals. Fun for the whole family.

It s totally radical dude total things and stuff here gnarly for sure

It s a great place for kids and adults. Easy to navigate and plenty to do

The new California trail area after taking the Gondola up the hillside was an amazing addition to the zoo with large new spacious areas for the animals to roam and is good for all ages. Very enjoyable for the whole family.

Great looking zoo, very poor management in supplying food threw out the place.

Had a great day exploring this zoo. I was surprised how big it is and food was a decent price as well. Will certainly be visiting again!

Completely remodel... New experience and way better than SF Zoo!

Surprisingly great zoo that is a pleasant surprise in Oakland. A hidden gem!

Great play areas for kids, wide open areas for bears and other large animals

I feel like the ratings here are fairly generous or from patrons who may not have experienced a truly exceptional zoo. Cost is not equivalent to the experience in my opinion. If you have small children some of the features for them may tip that scale a bit but overall habitat and animal display was lacking.

Enjoyed our day! Got tons of exercise! Very nice layout and wonderful areas for the little ones. Next time will definitely bring our basket of goodies and water/sodas. $5 for a can of soda is a bit much. Previous reviews stated parking is free?? Not so. Admission prices were also misquoted. All in all it was a beautiful day spent in the animal kingdom!

Recommend coming slightly later in the afternoon when more of the animals are our for feeding. Overall it was a nice experience and their new restaurant will be a must to check out once it is done being built.

Good zoo to begin with, and now with the new expansion it's a great destination. The view from the new area might be the best in the bay area. Magnificent location.

Grear expansion with amazing views! Cute animals and very clean.

This hidden preserve treats the animals with respectful care and wide open spaces. It's a bigger place than you think and the variety of animals is diverse. The food is above average and the gondolas are brand new for easy transport. There are free passes for San Francisco residents and library card holders on some days which can make traffic hectic. Highly recommended if you avoid those days!

One of the best zoo I have been to. Saw many animals that are usually hard to find/see in other zoo(Jaguar, grizzly bears, gray wolf...). Kids love the playgrounds and rides. It was a great idea to buy the family membership in advance. We are definitely going back soon.

Okay zoo as far as animals but the hills you have to walk and all the back and forth is crazy. There is no going around it is a bunch of dead ends and going back the way you came. Food prices are outrageous so bring your own. Example: small bottle of water is $4.57

Excellent zoo, but be careful about when you go, it can be super crowded

Love visiting the Oakland zoo did zoolights with my family and it was an amazing experience.

Great for the whole family! Not overcrowded and good food. Plenty of animals and totally worth the money.

Really worth visiting .
Enjoyed , full day with family .

A fun city zoo with some great animals in nice spaces. The new part of the zoo on top of the hill is really cool. Just the gondola ride alone is worth the price of admission.