San Francisco Zoo

Sloat Blvd & Great Hwy, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA

Address:	Sloat Blvd & Great Hwy, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Phone:	+1 415-753-7080
Site:	sfzoo.org
Rating:	4.3
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Jessica Maple

This is the nicest zoo Ive been to. Round trip, viewing all the exhibits is about a 3 mile walk with plenty of shade and benches to rest (but not many drinking fountains). However, the layout is slightly confusing with no short cuts or paths to get from one section of the zoo to another. I would have loved if more exhibits were accompanied by docents to answer questions. There was one zoo worker in a bird exhibit that graciously spent her time teaching us about the different birds in the enclosure, their nests, eating habits and how they all live harmoniously together. That kind of education is empowering and motivates patrons to learn more about conservation, an absolutely integral part of any zoo! On the other hand, some of the exhibits made me feel sad for the animals. The hornbill has very limiting accommodations that prevent him from fully stretching out his wings and flying. He seemed to spend his time uncomfortably jumping from, and attacking various branches in his small enclosure. I understand this bird forms groups and mating pairs in nature. Perhaps he would be happier with a companion. Viewing the baby patas monkey consumed a good portion of our time here, and it was sweet to see his birth details (date, time, how big he was etc.) as well as the baby giraffe, which I would have missed entirely if not for a very nice docent who encouraged us to look through the window of the giraffe barn to see baby Ingrid enjoying the sunshine. Overall, this zoo is very clean and nice to spend the day in. The concessions are very expensive so plan accordingly. A picnic would be really nice here, as there are lots of tables, benches and open grassy spaces to relax.

Shadan Alkassim

The zoo is very small to adequately provide space for its animals to live a healthy & happy life. All the pools in the bear exhibits were empty or have an inch of water. The animals seemed very distressed. The Koala exhibit was the worst I ever seen. The Koalas where living inside a glass cage not bigger than a 5x8 storage box. The eagle looked sick & depressed with no space to roam. The zoo was extra crowded with so much noise coming out of the mass number of people visiting the zoo. I was stressed out with all the noise so imagine how the animals were feeling. Huge crowds of noisy & rude people everywhere no space to walk around you need to navigate through piles of people. The admission ticket is very expensive compared to most zoos. Animals well fare should be their top priority not profit from ticket sales. It was very stressful experience. It took 2 hours to find a parking space so far away from the zoo. So add 45 minutes of walking after parking to reach the zoo. The while zoo can be seen in 2 hours or less that is how tiny it is. You would think San Fransisco zoo should be one of the best but its one of the worst. The animals had no adequate space, shade, water, privacy or stimulation. Shame on you the city of San Fransisco. I was expecting to see happy & healthy animals. You can afford a better place for the animals under your care. Work on your exhibit, visit other zoos. Everything is just cement. Animals should not live in cement barren cages.

Denise R.

Living in the midwest, I was very excited to see a west coast zoo. Oyr most recent zoo visit before this one was Ft. Wayne, INs childrens zoo, which was fantastic. Overall, I was disappointed and expected more from the SF zoo. It starts out great. Before you get through the entrance, you see the giraffes and you are immediately drawn in and want to see more. The African exhibits are fantastic-- especially the giraffes, monkeys/small apes, and the gorillas. From there, it becomes marginal. To be fair, 2017 has brought loss and grief to the SF zoo. They lost two elderly animals, a rhino and a polar bear, just months apart. There are 2 others rhinos, but the polar bear exhibit is closed as a result. Regardless of the loss of those two major animals, they had many other empty exhibits. They are also renovating what seems to be the whole zoo, rather than one section at a time. The elephant exhibit is currently closed, and those beloved pachyderms are my favorite animals to see. The big cats and wolves were all napping, which again, is no fault of the zoo. Big cats and wolves like to sleep during the day. We enjoyed the bear, tarantula, sea lion, and amazon forest exhibits. They have a cute little train that we really enjoyed as well as a large playground foe kids of all ages. Overall, we had fun, but I feel like the SF zoo can be so much better. I hope to return next time I visit San Francisco, so that I can see the finished renovations.

A Private User

SaI was here this past Sunday while my in-laws were visiting. I havent been to the zoo in at least 8 years but probably been longer then that. We arrived around 12:30 and the parking lot was full. No surprise there, but they were charging $20 for valet and $10 for the self parking. What a rip off! We parked quite a few blocks away for free... The suckers can pay if they want to! I though the zoo and lines to get in would be crazy seeing all the people flocking there. It actually wasnt bad at all and we got in quickly. The in-laws treated us to the zoo, but its $15 for adults and $12 for seniors. Kids 3 and under are free but its still $54 just to walk in the door. For that kind of money I would expect the zoo to be tip top, but Id say overall it was just average. My 9 month old only briefly focused on the larger animals and I think hell be at least 2 before we bring him back. The wild cats were pretty scarce. There were only 2 lions, 1 tiger and a malnourished, emaciated snow leopard. Poor kitty... Anyways, the zoo is kinda depressing but where else can you see wild animals? I actually like the Oakland zoo better then SF zoo. And its sunny in Oakland too! SF zoo = 2.5

Jay Kumar R

Those who rate this zoo high / 5 stars probably never visited decent zoos. There are no elephants, fox, spotted deers, pandas, snakes (one anaconda was there though). Bears are plenty and good. Otherwise, it is under maintained and devoid of animals. As a photographer, I can very well drop my camera in home and walk in. The grill fence around displays are dirty with spider webs, glasses are scratched and hazy. There are few animals to take photo off. Exotic birds are very very few and like other animals kept in awkward places to take photos of. I was shocked to see the very common European Starlings in african birds display. Food: In Terrace fast food near bear display is cheap in quality high in price. Plain ice cream swirl $ 8.00. I ordered French fries for $4.29 which was less both quality and quantity than $0.99 fries in your local store. Despite it was made after 15 minutes of delay, the young charming black boy in the counter was calling "next customer" for collecting orders i.e money. He was not interested in providing food though. When I interrupted him and said "my fries are getting cold, could you please serve it warm?" he said "I will call police".

Cori Surratt

Really dont even waste your time or money! I am EXTREMELY disappointed we wasted over 50 dollars for two adults to walk around to see nothing much. The zoo closes at 5 we were there at 3, they started closing down any inside exhibits or food at 4pm... I paid good money honestly dont think yall need to close down at 4 to view inside exhibits. A lot of the staff seemed very rude about us trying to see what we paid for. I am a photographer and visiting zoos is something we do while on vacation and i could tell you this was the biggest disappointment yet!!! I would rather pay 800 in plan tickets to fly to Florida and get a better experience! I have maybe 3 good photos of animals and more plant photos than anything! You do also have to pay $12 dollars to park as this wasnt extremely obvious to us until we were in the parking lot already! I would really love a refund but instead i made the decision to hope that money goes towards the animals to help them! Trust me i dont normally write bad reviews but this is definitely a 1 star worth review