Let's Go to the Zoo

I haven’t been to the zoo since I was a kid, which makes sense, because the zoo is really designed for kids. My wife heard through the grapevine that the Oakland Zoo is very nice, so, for our first visit, we took the kids to the Oakland Zoo and it was well worth it.

They do make you pay for parking on top of an entrance fee, but you can tell that the proceeds go towards keeping the park clean and the animals well cared for. And the staff was very pleasant, friendly, and helpful. Becoming a member, which we are considering doing, has many advantages (including free parking and admissions to other zoos).

We arrived at 9:50 AM, before the gates even opened, and already the parking lot was filling up with families. Our kids are 20-month old twins and we saw at least 3 other pairs of twins strolling around. It was fun to see so many kids running around and enjoying the animals. The tigers and lions were still sleepy, so we moved on to the giraffes, elephants, camels, chimpanzees, bears, zebras, you name it, they were there. Our kids were speechless and amazed at the sights and sounds. They had never seen such large animals up close before and it made for quite the experience.

The Children’s Zoo was the absolute highlight. The kids were able to pet the most docile goats you’ve ever met. They also had alligators, who put on a show of splashing as they competed for a sunny spot. The Children’s Zoo also puts on a show, which allows the kids to get up and personal with more of the animals. It was getting close to 11:30 AM by that point, so we moved on to lunch, and missed the show (but we’ll be sure to catch it the next time we’re there).

Lunch was the only sore spot of the day. Let me highly recommend that you bring a picnic lunch. Yes, you’ll have to lug it around with you before you eat, but it’s well worth it. The Oakland Zoo has plenty of picnic areas and we saw lots of families with wagons to haul their bounty of provisions. We didn’t arrive that well prepared and ate at one of the cafes. Let’s just say the food was sub par and leave it at that. However, I will say the curly fries were tasty. But I’m very partial to French fries.

The day was a hit, we recorded 20 minutes of video, which captivated the kids after their nap. I’m sure we’ll go back again.

Oakland Zoo
9777 Golf Links Road
Oakland, CA 94605