Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

A solid 3 in my eyes but my daughter ranks it a 5 so avg it out to a 4. A classic San Jose location with some expanded zoo animals compared to when I was much younger and some carnival like rides along with a baby roller coaster. Great place for the toddler crowd to burn off some energy. Make sure to pay for parking!

For what it is, with the price of admission as well as the parking fee it is only okay. I do appreciate the fact that it's nice to have a little zoo in the middle of San Jose, but if you're truly looking for an animal experience, you are going to be disappointed. In addition to the lack of animals, the food also leaves a lot to be desired and the seating area can be very limited during lunch hour. Don't be under the wrong impression that the picnic areas next to the cafeteria are free use as many of those areas are private areas reserved for parties. There is an additional Picnic Area down the hill that is a short walk away that is free to use. As a local destination for small children to be able to spend an hour or two interacting with some animals and be able to play/run around outdoors it certainly can fit the bill, but it'll be a big one. As an aside, they really need to fix the parking machine screens in the parking lot. It can be very difficult to read the screen with how faded it is.

Out of towners,they have $9 reciprocal rates. Great for kids 3 to 12. They have rides that are not too scary (though our 21 month old wanted off ASAP). He loved the climbing structure and slides, though .Petting zoo, small regular zoo, puppet show and more. Charming or depressing? It's up to you, but the kids will love it.

I want to give this 4.5 stars. It's such a nice place for little ones, but it could use a little TLC. We came here with a 3-yo and a 1.5-yo. The 3-yo had a blast; he loved every part of this park/zoo. There wasn't as much to do for the 1.5-yo., but she had a good time too. R I D E SMany of the rides are solo, kid-only rides, so the sweet spot is for 3-5 year olds. There is a rollercoaster, the Fruit Express, where an adult can ride with a child, but there's a height requirement. There's a couple of small (but fast) drops and a couple of twists. Our 3-yo loved it, and it was his very first rollercoaster. Unfortunately the Danny the Dragon train ride wasn't running on this day. It would have been a fun ride that everyone could have gone on, including the 1.5-yo.F O O DThere is a food court, the Picnic Basket, with grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, wraps, hamburgers, hotdogs, pizzas, fries, and drinks. The food was not bad at all, and the prices aren't outrageous like most theme parks. We got 2 burgers, chicken nuggets, sandwich, large salad, fries, fruit, and a drink for about $50. There's plenty of seating.Z O OThere obviously isn't as many animals as a full zoo, like the Oakland zoo, but there's enough to keep the kids entertained. Because the cages are smaller, the kids could get up close and really see the animals. Some of the areas could use a little upgrade. The alligator pool, for example, is covered in algae. There's also a petting zoo area, which our 1.5-yo enjoyed, but our 3-yo was bored.P L A Y G R O U N DThere's a playground area where kids may climb on a large net structure, or crawl through tubes. It's so much fun, it may be hard to tear your kids away.P A R K I N GThere's plenty of parking. The fee is $10 but there's no obvious sign about this. Many people didn't even know they had to pay.Overall, this is a great place to spend the day with the little ones.

Awesome turkey at Happy Hollow Zoo! This one looks like a century year old . It was not afraid of getting close to you by the fence too .

Park and zoo is great for small children. The onsite restaurant is terrible, however. The burgers are overpriced (even by concession standards) and taste like burnt cardboard.

Came on a Saturday morning with the little one. There are no lines to purchase tickets around 11am. We were a little bummed the carousel wasn't working, but there was plenty more to do. We love the goat and sheep area. Made our way to the zoo area. Noticed some construction that was blocking some walkways. Hopefully, they will finish soon so animals can come back to their spots. This zoo definitely has a lot to do. Today, we stuck around the front part, but next time, we'll check out the playgrounds, puppet shows, and rides that the offer.

My adult daughter wanted to see a capybara and the closest one we could find was at the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo! It ended up being a family event with my adult son and husband tagging along.Parking was easy, but there is a pay station ($10) and then you put your receipt in the dashboard. An attendant was at the pay machine helping out which made it so much easier.We took the walkway with the bridge to the zoo. It's a cool suspension bridge but if you get queasy with heights, don't look down.There are two entrances: general admission and members. The senior discount applies to persons +60 years old and we scored the $3 discount (LOL)!We headed straight to the zoo section and the first animal we see is a capybara! These large rodents can grow up to 4' but it wasn't as big as the giant ant eater! Sadly, the red panda was not on display. There were several other areas that were closed for remodeling so sadly not that many animals.Danny the Dragon was closed but I did get my kids on the roller coaster that was closest to a train ride that my son used to love as a child. They were too big for the ride but they still made the best of it.I remember visiting Kelley Park and Happy Hollow when I was in college a long time ago. It's definitely been upgraded thanks to it's proximity to Silicon Valley but it's a good place for a quick visit to take the kiddos.

This place is so great! It's so affordable for entertainment in the Bay Area. The annual membership is such a steal: $100 for individual plus annual membership which includes annual parking. Parking is $10 a day otherwise. And every time you visit, you can get a guest ticket for just $9 (vs $18 for a general admission ticket). The membership pays for itself in just a few visits! I love it because I don't feel pressured to stay as long as possible when I go. Especially with a 2-year-old who still naps. The food is so reasonably priced too, for a zoo/ amusement park (not sure if amusement park is the right word). You get a discount on the food if you're a member, on top of the reasonable prices. If you really don't want to spend money on food at the park, they also let you bring your own food in which is a great surprise! I usually pack a Bentgo lunch for my daughter and then buy some garlic fries to share.Reliable entertainment for a wide range of ages... but geared towards younger children I would say. There's a large playground with big slides and structures which my daughter loves.So, super affordable and entertaining for my kiddo--during my first year of membership, we visited 20 times. So worth it!

It was such a delight bringing the kids here for some weekend fun. Very family friendly. There are so many things to see here. Even before entering the park, you walk on this bridge which I think was really neat. You can purchase your ticket online which saves you the hassle of doing it there. Just a scan away and you're in. The park is huge, and stroller friendly. There are tons of different things to do inside. It's has rides for kids, jungle gym area, a zoo area, a food court. You won't be disappointed. Though there were many rides, my kids were very happy just playing at one of their large jungle gym area. I mean.. it's pretty huge. There are some seatings but wished there was more for the parents. There are restrooms located everywhere within the park. We soon got hungry and so lunch time it is! I love the food court they have there. Great selection of food for adults and kids alike. I grabbed a salad which was delicious, some fresh fries, and 2 mini pizza. Absolutely no complaints about food, it was good and my kiddos sure worked up an appetite. I love how this food court has all the food made already, you just grab what you like and wait in line to checkout. No wait time at all. There are restrooms located inside the food court as well. Plenty of seating inside with cool ventilation. We are full and ready for the next adventure. It's time to checkout the animals. We got to see some meerkats, a crocodile, etc and also got to visit the goat enclosure. I don't think we got to see everything. It's a big park. We also seen people camp out with their picnic blanket on the lawn. I totally would recommend anyone with kids to come check this place out. We are from out of town and I am so happy my friend recommended coming here for our visit here in San Jose. Will definitely come back again in the future.