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All 791 San Francisco Attractions »

San Francisco Zoo

Sloat Boulevard at 45th Avenue, Parkside, San Francisco, CA 94132
415 753 7080
Ranked #87 of 347 attractions in San Francisco
3.5 of 5 stars 93 Reviews
Type: Zoos
Description: The penguins win the popularity contest at this zoo. You can watch being fed daily at 3 PM. Or, if you prefer the big cats, come an hour earlier.
Useful Information: Activities for young children
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93 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    22
    32
    23
    12
    4
Date Rating
San Francisco, California
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 26 May 2012 NEW

My daughter volunteered at the zoo for years, so as her chief driver, I had many opportunities to visit the zoo. I've seen considerable improvement over the years. The new habitats for the big cats, rhinos and hippos are great. But my favorite animals are the grizzly sisters. They were rescued from a death sentence in Montana and now reside... More

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See 8 more reviews by Trekker2009_9 for San Francisco
Seaside, California
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 May 2012 via mobile

Compared to the San Diego Zoo, not so good. A lot of the exhibits did not have animals in them. I would like to have a better list of things not available so I don't waste my time going to them. The food was expensive and not good. The parts we loved were the bear exhibits, the price was reasonable.... More

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See 4 more reviews by Wakeman23 for San Francisco
Novato, California
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 20 May 2012

Every animal has an upgraded living enviroment. It has been totally redesigned with much happier occupants.

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See 7 more reviews by Eileen L for San Francisco
Sfax, Tunisia
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 10 May 2012

Loved the Lil' Puffer Steam Train (fastest zoo train in the world) but you need some elephants. When will this happen?

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See 5 more reviews by first l for San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Top Contributor
96 reviews 96 reviews
Reviews in 22 cities Reviews in 22 cities
29 helpful votes 29 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2012

I like to come here about once a year. The Savannah section is interesting, and it's fun to watch them feed the giraffes. The lion house is old, but the cats are amazing. Don't forget to see the grizzly bears and the polar bears. Yes, the zoo needs work. Budget cuts for the city have meant hard times for the... More

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See 35 more reviews by Monarch B for San Francisco
San Jose
Senior Contributor
31 reviews 31 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 May 2012

Yes it is good for about 3 hours, in that amount of time you will have seen it all. It is not a big zoo. However, they do have some cool things to see. Try to go during the week and beat the crowd and you will enjoy yourself more. The feeding of the penguins is always fun to watch.... More

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Concord, California
Contributor
15 reviews 15 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 3 May 2012

Unfortunately this zoo needs a lot of work done to it. Looks very run down, and a lot of exhibits were closed. They are in the process of refurbishing it, and the new exhibits were nice..but as a whole... it was dissapointing.

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See 9 more reviews by MsVic for San Francisco
Minnesota
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 3 May 2012

This is not a large zoo and can be seen in about 2-3 hours. The exhibits are large and the animals all have room to move, yet they are mostly visible to visitors. The place is clean and well-kept. Good place for a family visit as there is a childrens zoo included. Don't miss the Penguin feeding - it hilarious!

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See 10 more reviews by jaberwockey for San Francisco
Foster City, California
Senior Contributor
33 reviews 33 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 April 2012

I have been to the zoo several times, and I love it! My favorites are the flamingos and the lemurs. Haha, I did a project in High School on lemurs and we went there to study them. I had a great time. My only complaint is that sometimes when I have gone it has seemed like a lot was closed,... More

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See 8 more reviews by SCUAmanda for San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 April 2012

the whole place was littered and only a few animal exhibits were open..kids petting zoo was the only good part..plus over priced cafeteria was horrible

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See 7 more reviews by Jashlyn_G for San Francisco

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