Oakland Zoo Reviews

So much fun...the Gondola ride is grea( fantastic views). Good food and knowledgeable staff to enhance the overall experience.

Feed the elephants twice a year, lots of fun for kids.

Really nice just wish more of the bigger animals were out! The Gandola ride was awesome!

I love the Oakland Zoo for its manageable size and strong animal conservation education component. The docents are always knowledgeable but not afraid to answer with a genuine "I'm not sure" when asked a tricky question. Memberships are affordable and worthwhile.

A little expensive for non-members but excellent for kids.

Muy buen lugar para ir con la familia y disfrutar viendo los diferentes animales muy interesante y educativo.

Nice place to take kiddos on slow days, it's best if you can go during the week and the membership is the best value- so you don't feel pressured to try to do too much...a couple of hours and done

Beautiful location, well maintained and friendly staff. I had a much better time here than I did at the SF zoo even though this one is smaller. I will definitely come back when the new wing opens up.

My four year old daughter was in awww over all the animals. Great family day

Nice but smaller zoo. Only took 2 and half hours and I has two young boys. The gondola to the new part of the park was awesome and a must see. The price seemed rather high for how small the zoo was.

I loved this zoo. Their new attraction with the bears, wolf family, restaurant and ther high point view was absolutley wonderful to experience. It's actually better than the San Francisco zoo.
There was one negative, we had to park at the exit gates, walk all the way up the hill and still pay for parking. Some people can handle a hike but, I couldn't. I was so exhausted and out of breathe. It was horrible. Then when we finally got to the top there was actually, parking in the parking area.

Was nice. Some better labeling in some places could improve it. The directional handout map was very confusing at times.

If you're in a pickle and don't know if you should select SF Zoo or Oakland Zoo. No brainer! Choose Oakland.

It is a Fun places to take your kids to see the animals and eat and I clean up the place. Cuz I volunteer

Overall pretty great. There is quite a variety of animals to see.Good kids play area, a train and a petting yard.If you have young kids who need to be in stroller wear your sneakers because going up uphill was quite an excercise while pushing. Didnt get to try the food places so can't speak on it. I live 15 mins away from the zoo so its convenient for me. Parking was about $10 per vehicle. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 per children. Gondola rides looked nice hope to try them next time.

Great place to take kids. We went on usual weekend end of September but the place was super crowded. The exit and the parking itself took more than 20 mins and we just ended up parking on grass instead of the parking lots! Other than that...this place has a variety of animals..giraffe, camel, elephant, tiger lion, monkeys...etc. Very interesting for kids. I kinds wish they had a park with some swings and food options.

Great local zoo. Plenty of space in most enclosures. See the bears play in the California section of the park.

Best to be clear, I thought I would like this all, I wanted to like this zoo, I kind of like this zoo. The enclosures were sad and most of the housing for these wonderful animals was less than.... will not come.back.

Animals are treated well and has big space in cages.

Don't come early in the morning parking is horrible come towards the afternoon there's better parking

This place is great. The animals are basically in their own habitat with plenty of space to roam. Its a must see

Suitable Place for Kids and Animal Lovers. Gondola, Train and Sky ride(Seperate Fees) is a must see. Not much food options so pack ur bags full. Little confusing routes inside so DONT MISS the map in the entrance. Ample restrooms and play areas are available.

Oakland zoo was a fun experience.i had a blast with my children there.

We had so much fun. I love having a zoo so close to us.

The best part is the gondola and the upper part is all native california, wolves, condors, mountain lion, bears. It's cool. Find them so they can continue to rescue animals from all around and release them. It's not just the animals you see.

Went to the zoo this october and it was really nice. The zoo limits the number of people who can come to the zoo through their reservation system online and the entrance fee is not expensive at all. There is few exibits for food near the entrance (which closes by 3pm) and a stand that sells snacks inside so either pack a lunch for your family or eat before going to the zoo. Any part of the zoo that is enclosed is closed. The animals seem to love it since it's very quiet. We enjoyed it and spent about 4 hours there. Plenty of areas with sanitizer stations.

Fun medium sized zoo. Probably the best in the bay area. Don't miss the gondola and the bears.

Fantastic zoo, first time visit and was not disappointed. They key to avoid crowds is to go on Christmas Eve when the weather is not beautiful. Even with the rain and drizzle the zoo was fantastic

Food is terrible. I understand they want to make a profit, so they charge $ 11.00 for a hot dog and is terrible

Wonderful zoo, clean and animals seem well cared for, and close enough to be seen well by very young children. Docents were really friendly. Will come again!

Great place to spend weekend with your family. Kids love it!

Not too crowded. Good views of the bay area. Good collection of animals. Not good- pay for rides separately.

Bring lots of pennies for the souvenir coin machines

The Oakland Zoo has done a phenomenal job of handling the COVID crisis! They have employees carrying hand sanitizer dispensers to provide to people in line. They are wiping down public surfaces with a spray disinfectant, and all areas are marked with clearly-visible six-foot designations. Absolutely mind-blowing how perfect their response is and how fully on board each employee is.

The zoo is super great. Free Gandola ride... The new addition "California trait" is very nice. It has nice restaurant, play ground for kids . Able to watch the bear playing in water in really close distance. The children zoo is another highlight of the zoo. My kid spend 2 hours there easily. Also do not miss the animal feeding event. We spend the whole day there. We were thinking the zoo is small and 3 hours max. But we were so wrong. Definitely coming back again. We will join the membership if we live closer by. The membership is actually a great deal for entire family which also include parking. We particularly love to see Elephant and how they are eating. Very amazing.

We visited the Zoo a couple of week ago with our two grand children age 3.5 and 1.5. What a change from 30 years ago when we went with our own children! A lot of money has been invested and the zoo is still being expanded with new areas. It is a very pleasant, safe, and well run place. A great experience for our grand children.

A great zoo, though on the smaller side. I like how the hilly terrain makes for interesting enclosures.

In all fairness the day we went was windy so the gondola was not running, and there were horrendous fires burning just north. When the gondola is not working, you can only access a smaller part of the zoo. The upper part of the zoo was totally off-limits since there was no gondola ride to take you up there. That's a whole third of the zoo . So we missed out on a lot. The air was thick and Smokey. But even beyond that, I was a disappointed in the zoo. It needs a lot of TLC. You can definitely tell it is an older Zoo. The animals look well cared for and there are a lot of well-informed docents to answer questions or provide information. Some of the things that weren't that great, were the lack of a signage to get you around the zoo, the many empty cages and enclosures, the poor quality of the ground you walk on, lots of big gaps and cracks and bumps that are kind of dangerous, lack of good signage on the foliage around the zoo which truly does make it interesting. And lack of any type of commentary on the little train ride that is given. There was no, "Welcome to the train ride", no standard, " keep your arms and legs in the train ride", not even descriptions of the animals that we slow down to see from the train. It definitely needs an overhaul. Better training on behalf of the people that provide the train ride too.

Great place. Way better than Monterey Aquarium as far as price and exhibits is concerned. Also, I'm from L.A. and we have a famous zoo, but it is terrible compared to this one. Also, they have tons of teen volunteers helping out, which is great for us and them. Only negative is kids over 2 have a pretty high entrance fee, but I'll let it slide b/c of how great it is. It closes at 5, but we stayed 'till 530 and no one hassled us. Goat petting zoo is the best!!! We had to rush to experience everything. Also, bears are co-best (8

This zoo is amazing. Lots of features, plus gondola ride, and good food. Friendly staff.

Excellent place for the whole family. There is everything, even mechanical games for the little ones. The trip in the train is the maximum, it takes you to see the kangaroos.

I love the Oakland zoo! It's just the right size with just the right amount of things to do. My kids and I had so much fun the last time we were there.

Always love the Oakland zoo. The California exhibit is beautiful, with views of the whole bay area from the gondola ride, and we got to see the wolves eating with their half-grown cubs. The zoo has tons of enrichment for the animals, and it has a lot of interactive areas for children. There's also a carnival ride area, eateries and snacks for sale.

Nice place to take the kids! Note: bring your own food and drinks, lunch for 4 around $60.00

Wonderful zoo. The gondala ride was cool and the view on top over looking San Francisco and the Oakland Airport was really nice.

Tickets there are a little bit expansive.
There are a lot of shady place to stay and observe animals which is really nice for summer weather.
Animals seems like happy and healthy.
Gondola is on my recommendation list.
It is so clean and stable.
We have a very good time with our friends there.

Excellent zoo and educational experience for the whole family. The zoo is well designed (for actual walking and not vehicles like other zoos) and the exhibits are very well thought out. Went with a 3 and 5 year old and we had to leave when the zoo closed. Staff was very friendly and professional even when crowded. Recommend bringing your own food since the cafes get really crowded during meal times. Both cable cars are a must in my opinion, the other stuff (train, carousel, etc) is more of a money trap :)

Plenty to do, will definitely go back. Highly recommended!

Funny looking creatures lol . We live up the street and keep coming back. I would give them a 5 but I seen waaaaayyyyyyyy to many rats today.

You get a free gondola ride with ticket and zoo has been remodeled, was pleasantly surprised, we had fun visiting.

Super family friendly. We always spend the entire day here.

Very nice zoo, the sky ride and gondola ride is a must do. Nice animals in good conditions. Just that it is hilly so be prepared to walk/climb hills.

My sister and I had a great time! The line to get into the zoo was extremely long (for a Saturday morning) We arrived around 10:30 am and there was little to no parking left. However, I noticed that when we were leaving at around 1pm there was a whole lot of parking available in the front since the people that arrived in the morning were starting to leave.

Didn't realize Oakland had a zoo. It is a very nice zoo. The enclosures seem to be properly sized for the animals which is a nice change from most zoos. The 1 star off is because this zoo is expensive ($10 to enter the park the zoo is in, $22 for zoo admission). Lots of costly add ons (though not required). However, a new board walk section being built with a free gondola ride stands to be a great addition.

This is a good place to visit if you are looking for a different side of Oakland

I try to come here when its not to hot or else the animals just wanna lay around. Come around the fall or early spring

First time to the Oakland zoo. I have been many times to the San Diego Zoo. And although smaller Oakland has their s_t together. You've just got to go there, it's so close.

With the new expansion of the zoo, there was a good selection to see. The bears were great to see. Most of the animals were out and about.

I really like the zoo, but it was pretty crowded for me, in our COVID world. It was often difficult or impossible to remain fully distant, and lots of people didn't care to. On the upside, pretty much everyone was wearing masks, though you had the usual numbers of folks with noses out.

I went on a Saturday, so weekdays might be better in terms of crowds.

Best zoo around. A must if your in Northern California

Great place to go and spend the day with your children and friends! Bring your own stroller if you need one, their new rental strollers are terrible. Animals are Beautiful and the new upper part of the Zoo is Great!

Love the zoo, especially the new addition at hilltop, the playground, gondola, habitarim, great learning experience for kids.

Lots of animals lots of walking. Loved it! Great family time!

We enjoyed visiting this zoo, though I would recommend skipping the train ride if you only get to see a kangaroo and an emu.

Mountain lions, bears, and an awesome view of the East Bay. Fun rides for the kids and friendly staff. Become a member and visit often, it is a great way to spend the day.