Just outside the entrance to the Zoo was a small park with rides, food and drink, picnic areas and even a carousel. Here the entrance was in the center background just behind a small golden stature of a lion.

There was lots of parking for both the zoo and for the park just outside the zoo. Here were picnic tables and barbecue areas close to parking. Mature shade trees grew everywhere.

A fine and well maintained carousel was located just outside the zoo. The animals on it were a mix of the traditional horses with zoo animals mixed in for fun, like the running gorilla shown here.

A ticket booth was open and selling tickets for rides. All the tickets were the same price, but the number of tickets per ride varied. Small rides for the younger kids were a single ticket, whereas the tiger roller coaster was four tickets.

The "Safari Cafe" was located outside the zoo in a small park with kids rides. The usual kinds of food were for sale, including ice cream for those hot summer Oakland days.

The Tiger Roller Coaster ride had just pulled in and was about to unload passengers. This was a surprisingly popular ride that required the most tickets to ride.

The Tiger Roller Coaster ride was a low ride designed to thrill the younger kids. The cars themselves were decorated to look like a single long tiger. It's head was shown in the previous shot. Its tail was shown here.

Among the rides for the much younger kids was this small airplane ride. It was decorated to resemble the setting for an air race with the checkered tower in the center. The planes were all biplanes.

The train ride was perhaps the most interesting ride because it ran from outside the zoo, through and around the zoo and back out again. The lines for the train ride were long and the ride itself was full. Here the train had just returned and was unloading.

Another of the rides tailored for younger kids was this truck, car, and motorcycle ride. It ran in a small circle and gave kids the illusion of driving. Here was a pair of motorcycles side by side as if cruising down 101 toward LA on a sunny California day.

The engineer of the small zoo train rang the bell as the train pulled around to cross the sidewalk on its way to enter the zoo. Although a replica of a steam train, the train appeared to run on diesel.