Oakland Zoo Reopening Feb. 3 After Storm Caused Giant Sinkhole

The Oakland Zoo is finally reopening after a major sinkhole caused by a collapsed culvert under the vehicle entrance to the zoo at Golf Links Road opened during the tremendous New Year’s storms. The zoo said the culvert, overburdened by the historic and unprecedented amount of rainfall throughout the region, connects Arroyo Viejo Creek under the entry road to the Zoo.

The Zoo announced on New Year’s Day that the sinkhole was approximately 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep and made the zoo impassable to vehicles, prohibiting guests from entering the zoo.

Officials said the volume and velocity of the water flowing across zoo grounds has caused “incredible” soil erosion, eucalyptus trees to fall, flooding in various buildings, and overwhelmed drainage systems. The zoo also experienced power outages. The zoo said its animals are “fine and remained safe during the extreme weather. While closed, zoo staff continued to be onsite to take care of the animals, provide maintenance needs, and conduct clean-ups from damage caused by the rain.”

The Oakland Zoo just announced, “Construction crews have been hard at work on rebuilding our entrance road, and we are thrilled to announce it will be completed in time for Oakland Zoo to reopen to the public on Friday, February 3rd.”

Tickets for all Glowfari event nights are on sale now, from February 3 through March 4th. Book your tickets for Glowfari now, before they’re all gone!

Tickets and member reservations for regular daytime admission will be available starting tomorrow, Tuesday, January 31st, at 9am. Please note, daytime admission tickets are available 28 days (four weeks) in advance on a rolling basis. More information here.

We appreciate your patience during our closure and we look forward to seeing you soon at the Zoo!