Oakland Zoo Reviews

Nice place to visit so make sure you have enough time to spend there

It was very clean and the staff were friendly when we asked them questions. The Gondala was fun to ride even if the other things were not open yet. Very shady areas even though it was pretty open all around. Didnt get a chance to eat or drink there, but the price is..well pricey but it goes to help the zoo out. The little kid play area also used money to use the rides and the little train ride was worth the 6 bucks for me and my boyfriend <3

Great zoo for young kids. I've been to larger zoos with a lot more animals in San Diego, but this one felt like it was a lot more accessible with toddlers with strollers.

I enjoyed the zoo very much. It seems well kept and well managed. It is a scenic walk even if there were no animals. The big Surprise for me was the gondola ride to the east side of the park offering stunning views of the Bay. The structures on that side of the park were beautiful including the cafe and the wooden decks/platforms made for walking, standing and viewing. I liked the environment throughout the zoo where the animals are kept (the enclosures) from The birds to the tigers.
What I didn't expect, was to have to pay $10 for parking. I also thought the admission fee might be less than what it was. I don't know what the average price of admission for zoos are Nationwide, but it seems a little high to me. Maybe it's just because I haven't been to a zoo in a while or maybe it's because it's located in California.

Zoo closed in 2 hours due to rain, did not reimburse the cost for the day...we were four of us

Just left the last night of the Zoo Lights... Beautiful! ^_^

The new gondola is awesome along with the New cafe and California trail makes it totally worth the price.

Loved this zoo. Saw goats helping to maintain the grassy hillside. Only bad thing is that we can t really get to the Australia exhibit without taking a train ride (which cost extra). The gondola up to California exhibit was great.

It was a great moment for me to watch over those lovely animals.

Great place to spend some time with the family. Dinning is very expensive though

What a fun place! I'm used to going to the San Diego zoo (which is one of the best in the world!), so I honestly went not expecting much. I'm happy to report that the Oakland zoo was actually fairly big, hosting elephants, giraffes, lions, and much, much more. You won't find any Arctic animals or pandas like in San Diego, but I'd say for the price it's a decent zoo. My two year old and I spent a good 5 hours there, but it could have been longer if we'd bought lunch or gone on the kid rides. I have to say my only complaint is the price of the rides--we didn't go on them because they were exorbitant!

Great zoo, lots of stuff to do! New stuff at the top of the gondola is awesome!

Great weather every time very clean Lots of nice animal exhibitions. A small area with rides for kids

great place to have fun and enjoy a nice long walk seeing all the wonderful wildlife. My only complain is the prices on food. According to the attendant the prices are because it helps cover feed costs for the Animals? other than that it's nice to visit. My fave was watching the Giant tortoise eat up some tasty veggies...yum!

Got there at 9 and the line was forming. When we got in most of the animals where still hiding. Groupon had a family pack which helped with the price. Very diverse zoo not like Sacramento zoo. Worth the money and the drive. Just wish we could have seen all the animals

Would love to see longer hours during the week to go after school.

Show up before 10am on weekends to avoid long delays on parking and ticket purchasing.

From the top of the zoo you can see the entire bay and it is gorgeous.

Get the yearly membership and you will not be disappointed! The new gondola and restaurant are spectacular additions to what is already an Oakland original.

Animal's were trying to escape, super sad to see but my kids loved it anyways! Some Animal's were looking sick due to the weather and environment! They are not supposed to be locked up and miserable just so humans can pay to view them! Find a better environment and replace the animals to were they at least look healthy.

I have come here 3 time since last year. I have come to enjoy very much Oakland's zoo The first time the draught showed a terrible impact on the zoo's vegetation and animal and the ambiance was dusty but on February and may the park looked amazing and the animals also enjoyed the new condition as well. I love taking the sky ride to go to the upper part and the views. There is quite a good variety of animals throughout the zoo and the bears, jaguar, tigers, and elephants are quite impressive. I definitively recommend a family membership if you live in the area and come multiple times throughout the year.

I love that zoo enjoyed every time I went with my family

Love, love, love the holiday lights at the Oakland Zoo. Took the grandkids and they were mesmerized. Sorry I didn't take good photos - I was entranced as well. Animals are asleep for the night but the lights are great and the gondola ride up the "hill" was fabulous. It was only $12.00. A must see for the holidays.

Great time at the zoo! Members pass is a steal of a deal! They got a train ride through most the zoo, gondola up to the upper portion of the zoo, sky ride that goes over the bison and camels and a children's area.

Most convenient and comfortable community zoo. Carnival area a big plus.

A good zoo with a variety of animals and activities. Great for kids. However, food options are poor and the place could do with some updating and fresh ideas.

Wonderful day. A little disappointed in Australia. A few emus. Kangaroos way in the distance hidden in trees.

Nice zoo, a little on the expensive side. Park in the lower lot if you want a faster walk to the children's portion of the zoo and you'll wind up with a downhill walk at the end of the day when you are tired. The cable car is free to the cafe at the top of the hill. The train and other rides are actually outside of the zoo and an extra expense.

We love the zoo! It focuses on safari and jungle animals and is currently missing california animals, but there is a california animal exhibit under construction. It's got lots of seating around the major habitats, like the elephants and monkeys. And it's got a great kids zoo. There are big animal statues to climb on all over and there is a petting zoo where the kids can pet/brush goats. The only downside is it's built on a hill, but that means you get a good workout! There is a small attached amusement park with rides you can pay for. There's also a train that goes around the zoo and a skylift that flies over it, though both of those cost money too. There are two train crossings, which my toddler loves! Its a great zoo and open all year round.

I went to the zoo with my 10 yr old grandson. We enjoyed looking at the animals, especially the baboons. Then he rode some of the rides which he liked.

great animal care here! knowledgeable staff and a large variety of animals.

Perfect size for a day trip with kids. Animals are well kept except for the lion and the elephants who don't look super healthy.

My 3 year old loves this place. We ve been several times. The first time the gondola to the bears and upper region of the zoo was closed, and the other times the ride on the gondola to or from that upper region of the zoo took a very long time. We waited in line to ride back on the gondola for over an hour. I would recommend that they create a foot path to be able to walk there.

I love this place, easy parking healthy animals. My only complaint would be the picnic area could be improved.

Great experience and nostalgic. Got lost a few times, but fun.

Family orientated clean fun learning experience adventure very rewarding lousy food.

We enjoyed the views from the Skyride & the Train. The Zoo is kept up nicely with friendly staff & the animals were so cute!

Comfortable and very nicely arranged. Great for little kids.

The rides (junior rollercoaster, carrousel, etc) + zoo combo is great for kids, you can stretch to a whole day event! The zoo is great with plenty of open exhibits (elephants, zebras, lions, camels, giraffes, crocodiles, giant turtles, etc) , and specialized areas (rain forest snakes and frogs, desert lizards, etc).

Nice local zoo keeping kid busy. Fun playground with carousel and train ride with reasonable price.

The gondola broke down today 4-1-19. -no joke-and there are hundreds stuck on top. There appears to be one shuttle in operation which takes 10 at a time. After an hour of saying no, we re finally being allowed to walk down.

Wonderful place and the staff I interacted with were very friendly and full of passion and information. The elephant did what many of us with we could.

Though a lot of the place is dated, and could use a renovation, I would still recommend a trip here. A new section of the zoo is slated to open in June I believe, doubling the size of the place. Our kids had a great time and we will definitely be going back.

We visited on a weekend during summer. Except for Gondola, there's nothing thats interesting. Very few animals and wildlife.
Totally disappointed.

Pretty good sized zoo. My kids enjoyed it and had fun.

This is a Beautiful place. I've lived in the Bay Area 44 years a d this is the 1st time here.

Great zoo! Had a lot of fun. One quibble: in the new North American wing, there is no seating (zero, none at all). It was a problem when we brought my elderly father in law and he started to struggle with the heat. Please install a few benches there!

Great zoo with lots of animals. Parking is nuts here and the admission I pricey. If you want to go frequently, consider buying the membership.

Really nice zoo, my baby enjoyed all the trip. Amazing the new California trail, just loved it

I've never been to the San Diego zoo which by most accounts is the best zoo in the country but I have been to several others and this is by far the best zoo I've ever been to. I went in with high expectations and I was not let down. What an incredible experience, it seems a lot of thought was put into this zoo and the only complaint I have is that while most of the enclosures seem appropriate to the animals inside, the chimpanzee enclosure seems way to small for them, especially considering all the open space not far away that could be used to expand the chimp enclosure.

California trail was great for kids and the fries in the restaurant are yum. Drinks are expensive though.

We had so much fun. It was interesting with plenty of adventure to be had!

I'm not a big fan of zoos generally, but Oakland Zoo is large, is updating many of their enclosures and has lots of enrichment / large spaces for the larger mammals. Good on them.

Cute zoo with lots of things to do. Food was good too.

The site is very beautiful but I do not think there are many animals. They have tried to keep the animals in something similar to their habitat and sometimes can not be seen easily. I think the tickets are expensive for what they offer. $ 24 per person. Seniors 20 dollars. One of the attractions is the funicular that takes us to a viewpoint of the entire bay of San Francisco. This is spectacular.

I like this place instead but lack attention to the staff greetings

Had a great time with my grandchildren but way to expensive.

Easily the best zoo in the area. The tram is included and a lot of fun.

We went on a Sunday. It was very busy, hard to get a good spot to see the animals. There was an area that looked abandon. Just empty exhibits. Unfortunately the Gandola and California Trail were closed durring our visit. Maybe we'll go back and see it again when everything is up and running. Also there is a lot of walking up, and down hill. If that is an issue for anyone just know it's a bit of a work out.

Omg this year was so fun with new tram and upper level

I had a bad experience at the Oakland Zoo today. My two sons 5 & 8 were looking forward to riding the plane ride that they always ride when they come to the zoo, but this time the ride operator told my son that he couldn't ride because he was too tall. I told her that I had just measured him next to their height requirement sign, and he was definitely under the max height limit which was 58 inches. The ride operator says "he is shorter than 58 inches, but we changed the height limit to 54 inches", I said if you changed it, u should of changed it on the signs, my son has been waiting excitedly in line to get on this ride. The ride operator acted like she didn't care that the sign said 58 inches, so I had the supervisor come down. The supervisor says, even if we go off the posted 58 inches sign, he is still taller, so I put him next to the sign & showed him my son was shorter than 58 inches, and the supervisor like no sorry he can't ride. He had the nerve to tell me that my son's hair counts as height (because my son has dreads that sit up on his head like a high top) so I put his hair in a ponytail to show he wasn't as tall, but he didn't care. I felt like they were intentionally trying to was upset me, yht supervisor saw he was wrong, but wasn't man enough to admit it, and apologize and let my son ride the ride. My son was so excited about going to the zoo, and he was enjoying himself, untill we got to the ride area, he was so disappointed. I will never go there again.

Great place for a day outdoors with the kids. Would highly recommend the gandola ride to the new exhibit. The cafe at the new exhibit is really nice with a phenomenal view

Very nice place for kids and family... Lot of animals like giraffe, elephant, black bear, grizzly, fox etc. The best part is that park has gondola ride inside which takes to the mountain top ... You can see the entire Oakland from the top. We went there for an hour before the park closes so we couldn't cover all the areas... To cover all the areas at least keep 4 to 5 hours. Also go early morning or after the lunch time as most animals (except humans) sleep in the afternoon.