Oakland Zoo Reviews

One of the great zoo. If you are more interested in Lions and elephants, visit Oakland zoo.

Quite a lovely zoo. Well-maintained. Not a lot of concessions. I didn't have the overwhelming feeling of animals being oppressed like you get art some zoos. There's a petting area.

If you park at the lower entrance, you'll spend much of your time walking uphill and then had downhill to depart. Parking is expensive. In part to try to push you to get a membership I'm guessing.

Great gondola views, but otherwise animal enclosures are mediocre at best. The zoo has a lot of hills as well, so bring good shoes and if you're bringing the kids and stroller, get ready for a workout.

Another fabulous day at the oakland zoo! If you are at the oakland zoo jump on the gondola and enjoy the amazing views!!!

Love the zoo...animals are incredible up close...only reason not a 5 star for me personally is animals being taken out of their natural habitat...but since you cant put them back zoo is a good ,safe place for them where they are well taken care of

This zoo has changed so much. It's very up to date and it's a must-see when you visit Oakland. The views of the East Bay from the top is extraordinary.

Love the new California area and the care given to teaching about the different animals and how they are also part of our lives..

Fantastic experience for a fair price. The animals are well cared for and given habitats that provide them with space. They are well cared for and the employees are knowledgeable. The gondola was amazing and I highly recommend the experience to everyone who asks.

$24 for an adult admission is quite high for a small zoo. Non of the stands were open on the partially rainy day I went. Why bother opening at all?

Very fun and the staff are very friendly and polite

The zoo is decent now, but will almost double in size with wolves, bears and more lions in summer 2018. While some areas are a bit of a let down, it has already a wide variety of animals and habitats including the very entertaining train ride through the Australian Outback (paid separately as is with the sky ride).

Definitely use the free Gondola to go uphill even if you come before summer 2018, the view is very worthwhile and the right company will make it a very nice experience.

Fantastic experience and well maintained exhibits, the people mover and new cafe are also wonderful and the rides are an extra bonus for the kiddos!

Clean, a nice variety of animals, cafe a little pricy, petting zoo and children's rides.

Great animals. Lots of steep hills which made it tough with a double stroller. Great gondola ride to the section with Californian animals.

As members, we were thrilled to learn the zoo opened back up! Very easy and convenient online tickets reservation after visiting the website. A+ service passing through the parking and zoo entrances. The animals were very active, especially the grizzlies! It almost felt like we had the zoo to ourselves, except when some groups weren t socially distancing whatsoever! I am pretty disappointed I didn t see any staff wiping down anything!?! And the one staff that came to clean the restrooms didn t practice social distancing with me, and I was the only one in there. We ll be back next weekend!

For a smaller zoo it has a lot to see and do. Its great to see that they are expanding as well.

Best place to take your family to have fun without having to travel far. Staff is super friendly and helpful. Place is super clean and you get to learn a lot about the animals that live there.

Nice, Gondola free ride is a plus. Cafe a bit pricey. We cannot see some animals. No idea where they are such as Bear, Bison, Tiger.

The new California exhibit gives great up-close views of grizzly bears, black bears, jaguar, mountain lions, bison, and Condors with a fun play area for kids all with a beautiful Vista of the bay and Oakland. The queuing for the gondola to get to the California exhibit, however, is a bit chaotic. The rest of the zoo was fine but some exhibits like the bug house seem a little tired.

Excelent place, i haven't visit the new trial, but i will soon.

Just want to have a great time with family OAKLAND CALIFORNIA zoo is AWSOME

My first time being here and loved the tranquility and scenery..Lots of animals to see..but some where not out..don't know why but my son missed the Gray Wolf cause he wasn't there..

Beautiful animals, staff is great while we were there chimpanzee was having a fit, throwing toys against window, and jumping against window. Staff stepped in had people move away from windows until he calmed down. They were friendly and answered questions they did a great job in making sure animals were properly taken care of. Well maintained

The students had a great time. This gentleman tried to ruin our time. I really hope his day is better tomorrow. I hope he is well rested and prepared to work a full day with children and at least answer one of their questions.

Lion ,tigers, bears,monkeys,giraffes, turtles & much more !! Great place for family !!

This place is awesome! I did not expect much since the last time i was here, it was an eye sore. It has been 15+ years. They have done some incredible work. Animals were all so active and the employees, volunteers so helpful. Highly recommended.

Great for kids. If you have to entertain a kid for whole day then it's best place to go. On a busy day parking can be hard so plan to reach early

Good experience my kids enjoying a lot. Only some of the employees looks no happys and the service.. Be nice thank.

Animals were super close. The children I took remained engaged and excited. Some construction happening there, but it didn't disrupt the fun!

It's much smaller than San Francisco zoo. The number of animals here is kind of in the middle of Happy hollow and sf zoon. And you need to buy extra tickets for rides.

Beautiful zoo! Rides, animals, big open spaces for picnics. Membership would be totally worth it with kids.

Any zoo gets a 4+ rating from me. This zoo is good, I like the animals, it's not too big and can take less than 3 hrs to go around even if very slowly. The air chair ride is just $3 but is very nice. The zoo is dry though in terms of activities as compared to really good ones but good place nevertheless. Can get crowded.

Such a great zoo. Love the convenience of getting to it

I felt as if the zoo was so spread out and not a lot of animals. I felt as if they put play ground in between the animals to make the park look bigger. The restaurant food was dry and over priced. I wont be going back.

Best zoo in the bay. Perfect for kids. I wish they would have more places to eat though.

More than I expected. Besides animals to see, the gondola trip was amazing. My kids enjoyed it very much.

Despite the cold day, the animals were active. We saw warthogs, elephants and zebras feeding. The bears and monkeys were playing together. We really enjoyed the cable car ride to the upper area. Cutest animal we saw today - the Chimpanzee who was watching the Christmas lights being put up in the field opposite the enclosure.

It's not a big zoo but has all the popular animals, plus sky rides and a train. Perfect for a day trip with kids.

First time going to the addition. Loved the for area and we were blessed with a clear day. Fantastic view!!

Lots of people but love the gondola ride and the animals. Staff are super nice.

Good zoo, but we seemed to get through everything really quick. The new gondola is great. Can't wait to see the expansion next summer.

Animals here are very active. During the summer they have students at each exhibit providing lots of information about the animals.

Great park, great staff. Gets lots of use, but very well done. Some days the animals in the California trail area don't come out. Some days the grizzlies splash in the water inches away from you. Seems like a good deal for most of the animals.

Nice place to visit with Children and having lots of fun too

The Oakland Zoo. Great family adventure for everyone. They built a new 'Skyway'. Very neat. It ends up on top of a hill to an eatery and wildlife Habitate museum (which was closed for some reason).

I'm rating one star because my best friend ended up being stuck on the gondola yesterday and apparently it was swinging around and everything it sounds horrible and I messaged the zoo about it they seem to have no sympathy for what happened to her. It was swinging around and everything I know that stuff can happen but seriously

Very cool zoo. Love all the exhibits and the little gondola ride was a very cool experience as well.

The zoo itself is great. However don t plan to get food. We ate at Tuskins and between the line and the waiting for the food it took an hour to get lunch. Overall: great zoo but eat before or bring food.

Nice zoo. Great time with the family. Be sure to ride the gondola.

I've traveled to many zoos and this one remains one of my favorites. It has a nice variety of animals and interactive experiences for kids and adults alike. My family has had a family membership for the Oakland Zoo for the past five years, and I encourage everyone who wants to visit to buy a membership. Being a member gives you free parking, early notification of new events, and has reciprocal benefits at most zoos across the country. I also recommend arriving early if you want to see the lions and tigers active opposed to just sleeping in their habits.

Loved it but bring your own lunch! Food there is very expensive!