Oakland Zoo

What a great experience. So many animals! Very clean environment. Aerial ride from one side to the other. Separate area that has some rides and a train that goes through the zoo. Great for All ages.. We had a wonderful day.

Oakland Zoo is one of the best family attractions in the Bay Area and a place we thoroughly enjoyed visiting. The zoo strikes an excellent balance between conservation, education, and entertainment, making it a great experience for both children and adults. PLEASE BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE. One of the highlights is the spacious, well-maintained habitat design. The animals appear to have significantly larger and more natural living environments than many traditional zoos, reflecting the zoo’s strong commitment to animal welfare and conservation. The gondola ride to California Trail is a must-do, offering beautiful panoramic views of the Bay Area while providing access to exhibits featuring native California wildlife such as bears, wolves, bison, and mountain lions. Families with young children will find plenty to do. The zoo is clean, easy to navigate, stroller-friendly, and offers numerous educational opportunities throughout the park. The staff and volunteers are knowledgeable, friendly, and clearly passionate about the animals and conservation efforts. What impressed me most is how Oakland Zoo goes beyond simply displaying animals. The organization actively participates in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation programs, creating a meaningful educational experience for visitors. The exhibits are thoughtfully designed and provide valuable information about animal habitats, environmental challenges, and species preservation. The zoo also offers beautiful walking paths, playground areas, and ample opportunities to relax while enjoying the scenery. Whether you’re a local resident or visiting the Bay Area, Oakland Zoo is absolutely worth the trip. It’s a wonderful destination for families, animal lovers, and anyone interested in conservation. We left with a greater appreciation for wildlife.

Big zoo with great view of the bay from the top after you get off the gondolas. The flora is well kept and saw many feedings like the alligators and muskrats. The theater didn’t have any shows though.

Had a lovely day with my infant son and wife. No line to get in at around 11am on a Monday. Even though it was a hot day, there were plenty of animals around chilling out in the shade. We saw a bear, giraffes, wolves, a leopard, and much more. Very few enclosures were empty. There seems to be plenty of space for the animals and the layout is beautiful. My favorite zoo is in Seattle but this one is close. We particularly loved the gondola ride and the SF Bay overlook. The views are stunning and the ride itself was a lot of fun. The food at the top of the overlook was pretty good and I think the prices were generally fair considering the venue. We didn't realize how big the beers were and had to chug them down as they aren't allowed on the gondola going down (oops LOL)! We will definitely come back once our son is a little older!

Had a wonderful time at Glowfari. The lanterns were magical. The staff were efficient. The cafes were good. The gondola was fun. I wish they had opened two lanes of traffic at the entrance because traffic was backing up kinda ridiculously under the freeway overpass.

The zoo is huge and was a lot bigger than I expected. It took about 3.5 to 4 hours to completely walk around the zoo. I love the gondola ride up to another section of zoo! I managed to takes these pictures of the exhibition. I'm sad how I didn't get to visit the Savanna section because it was temporarily closed. If you have EBT or Medi-cal, the tickets ONLY cost $1 to $5/per person with FREE parking!

We had a good time at this zoo, it was our first visit. The one thing, and this may be because it was a weekday, there were several exhibits that were closed. We missed seeing the entire Savanna section along with the several other animals. It was a nice zoo and well kept up. We assume the animal habitats were closed because they have to work on them sometime and the middle of a week would be better than a busy weekend. Overall, though, we would gladly go again!

Spent the day at the Oakland zoo. We had an 11:30am reservation time, and we arrived at around noon. There was quite a bit of traffic exiting the freeway as the off ramp goes directly into the turn to the zoo. It took quite a bit of time to exit the freeway and get through the entrance line. After getting through the parking line they had staff out directing traffic into makeshift parking. We parked way out near the entrance in a grassy field. It was a short walk to the entrance, though it is uphill from here. Parking in this area isn't the best for handicapped parking - however it looked like there were other spots closer to the front that were for handicapped vehicles. I recommend purchasing tickets online in advance as they are still operating on ticketed time slots for entrance. I have heard great things about this zoo, but it was smaller than I expected. I loved the open concept of this zoo, a lot of the habitats had "moats" so you didn't have to look at the animals through a fence which was a nice touch. The map was a bit confusing when you are first trying to decipher which direction you need to go to get to the next area of the zoo. There is a gondola that will take you from "Africa" to the California Wilderness area - this is the only way you can access this area of the zoo. They also offer a sky lift for a price where that takes you up a ski lift over exhibits and then back down. It took us about 3 hours to complete the majority of the zoo, however to access Australia, you need to exit the zoo and enter the area where they have rides outside, purchase train tickets and take a train ride to where they house the Wallaroos & Emu's. We waited in line to ride the train for over an hour and it was only a 7 minute train ride there and back. Though you get up close to the animals, to me it was not worth the $18 ride and hour long wait. I really enjoyed seeing the Grey Wolf Pack in the California Wilderness area as well as the HUGE Grizzly Bears. My step daughter really loved seeing the Giraffes up close. We were bummed we couldn't see the Hyena. The Elephant enclosure is closed as their Elephant moved to a sanctuary and they plan to remodel this area before gaining a new Elephant or other animal in that area. Overall, this was a great zoo and a fun day trip for our family. It was a bit pricey as our grand total with parking was around $120 for 2 adults & a child.