Oakland Zoo Reviews

Great local zoo. Seek out a membership if you are local as it is well worth the price if you visit often. Great for kids and adults. There is a major expansion underway with a gondola to the top of the hill with expansive bay views already open. And included in the price of admission.

COVID UPDATE: A sizable portion of the zoo is closed as of the writing of this review. All of the drinking fountains are closed so expect to bring your own water or prepare to purchase the aluminum water bottles.

Only one refill station is available immediately after the gondola.



If you want to support the zoo, think about donating via their website. Otherwise, save your money for the full reopening.

Many years since last visit. New area is great. Zoos have lost their charm for me but the space given the animals is quite nice.

People are super friendly and walking around is so relaxing

You can see everything in a matter 2 hours if you take your time. Skip the train ride it was so not worth it. They had signs for an expansion in the works including wolves grizzly and other wild life. Check out their website for more detail.

This time was specifically for Zoo Lights. Wasn't impressed by the laser light show, but it was great walking around the park at night with all the sparkly lights. The gondola was marvelous!

Very good place to go with kids. Lots of new experiences.

The zoo has undergone many improvements over the years. Recently it has added a section on California animals. The plus side is that it is well laid out, the animals are in natural habitats (which means that they can be really hard to see, they blend in to the grasses, hills, and trees) ...so be prepared to stand around and look for awhile. This area is only accessible by an overhead cable car. The plus of this is that it has great views and is fun. The disadvantage is that the lines can get rather long, especially on Fridays in the summer.
The animal exhibits are well done and many are natural, elephants have hills, lions really really blend into the hillside.
The children's area has lots of play structures to tire the kids out, as well as child oriented animal exhibits (the otters are really popular.)
A good way to spend a day with the family.

A group of us took kids/grandkids and they enjoyed themselves too the fullest!!!

Great place to take your kids . Amazing animals ( tigers, Lions, Elephants, Girrafle and a lot more .

Nice new sky ride but at the cafe at the top, a bottle of water costs $6.

It was our first time. My husband and I fell in love with the wild life. It was an awesome time. Love the sky ride too! Thank you Oakland Zoo.

The Zoo was very clean and the animals looked very well taken care of. The food was not good, so I recommend you bring your own.

A lot of walking!! Hills etc... Wear a good pair of shoes! The animals were chillin, my gbaby loved it! It was fun.

We loved the zoo. Animals are well kept in spacious areas. The gondola is great. The only issue we had is that you need to pay 3 dollars per person to hop on a train to go and see the Australia section. We could not find a trail to walk there. That should included in the entrance fee.

Lot of animals , wild and fun.
Should try the train ride

I love taking my 2 year old son here! It's easy to get to and the exhibits seem to be well kept.

Great so to visit, in early January. I liked the fact a lot of the animals were rescued. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable

One of my favorite place to visit in Oakland. Beautiful zoo with enough hold and slopes to count as a bit of a workout. Don't miss the acrobatic gibbon, who can't help but entertain and thrill.

I love it!! Great destination for the whole family!!

Price is expensive for the number of animals available to see.

The zoo was great, animals were alert and active and it wasn't overly crowded for safety to be a concern. Great experience!

I hadn't been to a zoo since I was a little kid and this one was quite fun and a chill experience. There was a wide variety of creatures to look at and I got the feeling they took good care of them. If you're looking for a relaxed way to More

Nice walkabout with views! Amazing view on new gondola ride!

They have a variety of animals and birds in a clean environment. They also have gondolas for the upper area where the food court is.

It's a lovely zoo, membership is totally worth it.
Although exhibits in itself weren't that great, but the Gondola rides were amazing...
Food cafe on the top of gondola is way too costly and extremely slow in service, esp in the Grill counter.
We waited over an hour in the line to get to order our food.

It s a great zoo but it s a zoo... the new gondolas are cool but not what I expected when I got to the top

Needs more exhibits and not enough animals in each exhibit. Also the wolf exhibit was inaccessable; you can only reach it via a gandola: if you don't mind waiting an hour and a half. Also, we were forced to park on the lawn area which the roads to get there were all muddy dirt, with huge potholes and very uneven ground. Only recommend a truck to park in the lawn area. In addition, there was only one cafe/resturant area to eat so imagine every person in the zoo going there to eat. It's ridiculous. Stay very away from this zoo. On the flip side the works we for the most part polite.

Smaller than what I expected. Animals were seriously on chill today.

Love the new features and the animals seem happy, with plenty of space to run.

Parking has become a nightmare, apparently due to the California Trail exhibit... Came at noon on memorial day, spent 20 minutes just trying to turn onto the street leading to the zoo!! Had to turn around and leave after driving an hour to get there. We are members, and there has been zero communication about the parking woes, despite an April report we later found on ABC7 regarding the nightmare. Way to treat your members! Thanks for ruining the day for us!

Nothing good in this place there is nothing to see and also the tickets are too expensive I do not recommend it

It is a very nice and beautiful place to share with family and friends, I really liked it.

Had a great time for our 2 year anniversary! The animals were active and visible. It wasn't overly busy due to rain and it being a Monday afternoon. The ticket price is a little high, but worth it.

While smaller than other zoos, the enclosures are much better than most of those at San Franciscos. It seems the animals are much healthier and cared for (I think so anyway).

There was so many cars lined to get in I was nervous, but could never tell inside! Friendly staff and beautiful day!

Not as pretty as the SF zoo, but the habitats seem more hospitable for the animals, and they have elephants and crocs. Just get lunch somewhere else before you go.

It was nice to walk through, it was more safari type animals. Took the gondolas, it was all nice and cool up top, it was cool for a Sunday leisure day.

Great place to take children to enjoy a morning/afternoon of educational fun. The new Gondola ride up to the California Wildlife exhibit is amazing. A wonderful addition to the Zoo.

A small zoo that is expanding. It's hilly so you get a workout. They could put in more benches. LOVE the gondola! Prices are good.

This zoo was perfect for our family. Even on a busy holiday we weren't too cramped. The animal habitats are really nice and the animals seem happy and playful. It's very hilly, so wear walking shoes, and parking is tight, be patient and get a good spot.

We visited here a few days ago and out two boys loved it so much we had to buy passes. Compared to the zoo we have been to in the past it feels that we were able to be much closer to the animals here in oakland. California also has natural vegetation that can make for some pretty cool enclosures for the animals. The gondola was our sons favorite part though. Good place to go for all ages.

Loved coming here since I was a kid. Always enjoyed being around the animals and the zoo staff!

This zoo is really great. The new expansion is wonderful.

One of those good Zoos where the animals seem to have enough space to play, not all stuck in cages or up against concrete in the blazing sun. Has more animals than the SF Zoo

Pq has a good structure for both the animals who work and a lot of beautiful nature.

Our experience at this place was OK. I really cant say that we enjoyed this place because of such a few variety of animals here. And not to mention that the area where the animals are kept is so small. My biggest disappointment was that it was very hard (almost impossible) to spot any exotic birds because the bird cages were dirty and the mesh made it harder to see anything that is inside.

Clean facility with healthy animals. plenty to do to keep the kids busy for the better part of thr day.

Zoo staff is very passionate and kind.
The accessibility and cleanliness is amazing.
Fantastic place for kids to learn wildlife at its best.

Great zoo with huge area and nice sky railways. Many animals from different countries and regions. Closes around 5pm so plan your visit accordingly. There are many entertainments for kids of different ages, so it is a really good place for families and people of different ages.

The large mamas are great! The presentation is spacious, wide open and all the animals are active in front of people. One of the best in urban zoos. The facilities are very old and poor. Restrooms are dark and dirty. Not enough cafe and restaurants. Restaurants are very expensive, better to bring your own food. The membership seems very reasonably priced and well worth it, considering the parking is included.

Great place for kids and family. My 3 yo loves it. Animal habitats are specious and zookeepers are good people. The lift ticket is a bit expensive IMO. Management should consider reducing the lift ticket price or make it free as their other free gondola ride.

Always come with our annual pass and it's even better now with the new gondolas and new animals in the new area

went here with my bf and had a great time! although the wolves weren't there, we still had a great time. the wolves were nursing their pups i think so that's completely understandable

Awesome Zoo! Our daughter lives spending her birthday here!

Great place to visit, not to crowded and an all day adventure.

The zoo is big and the animals have a lot of space to roam around. The giraffe area could be expanded though. There are already six of them plus other animals and the ducks. Their area seems small for so many animals. This zoo does not have as many animals as one would expect. Still a nice zoo. This year the area was expanded and the Gondolas were added. You could ride them up to a new cafeteria section for free. The view of the whole Bay Area is spectacular especially on a clear day. Food here is quite expensive. A cup of coffee costs almost $5.

Best zoo ever my kids enjoyed it very much even the baby who is 33 years old