3 Nourishing Breakfasts to Fuel Your Mid-Morning Hike in Black Forest Colorado
Crab and Avocado Omelet
Stuffed French Toast with Fresh Strawberries
Are There Really Limitations on Breakfast Meals?
Who says breakfast is limited to eggs over easy with dry toast or pancakes with greasy bacon? Why not indulge in eggs benedict with zesty potatoes or stuffed French toast served with fresh fruit? When you first think of Colorado breakfast, you might imagine fried elk steak and eggs or chipped bison and biscuits with gravy. But Colorado is also home of many local farmers who grow organic delicious produce to stock the diverse restaurants along the western slopes, ski resorts and the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front Range.
Mountain View Cafe and Catering is conveniently located in the heart of the Black Forest, just north of downtown Colorado Springs. Focusing on real food and no secret ingredients, Mountain View Cafe uses locally sourced products and combines innovation with classic dishes for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. (1) If you’re local or visiting from out of town, you’re going to plan an outdoor day of hiking, biking, or both when the weather allows. And honestly almost everyday in the Colorado Springs region is a perfect day to get outdoors to soak up the sun and fresh mountain air.
“The Place to Break Bread and Build Community.”
Mountain View Cafe and Catering offers a perfect place to fuel up and make memorable connections before or after your Black Forest trailhead adventures. Their motto, “The place to break bread and build community,” (2) is recognized through their 4.9 star rating on google. This one-of-a-kind restaurant is your obvious choice. This cafe never disappoints with its unique menu of breakfast and lunch cuisine offering distinguished flavors in every dish. And always made fresh for every order. Besides nourishing breakfasts and delicious lunches, Mountain View Cafe provides a classic but cozy space with ample indoor and outdoor seating. They also create vegetarian dishes, a kids menu, and are open seven days a week from 7am-2:30pm. (3)
Local favorites of three nourishing breakfasts served at the cafe:
Stuffed French Toast with fresh strawberries
Crab and Avocado Omelet
Mountain Harvest Benedict
Thick sliced French toast stuffed with cream cheese is topped with fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce and powdered sugar creating a dessert like breakfast made with love and care. Gluten free options are available for this stuffed breakfast delight. This griddle breakfast can be paired with two eggs your way and a choice of meat for a small fee to make it your complete breakfast meal. (4)
The Crab and Avocado Omelet is three eggs, tender crab meat, avocado, jack cheese, spinach, and tomato combined perfectly, topped with their signature Hollandaise sauce. For those who love Hollandaise sauce, Mountain View Cafe and Catering blend their own homemade Hollandaise sauce and it’s considered the best in Colorado! All omelets are served with a choice of toast and breakfast side. Their zesty potatoes are amazing-hash browns, cottage cheese, or sliced tomatoes are their other side options. Fresh fruit can always be purchased. (5)
The traditional Mountain Harvest Benedict breakfast is a definite local favorite filled with all fresh local ingredients. A grilled croissant, crispy bacon, over easy eggs, grilled mushrooms, spinach, onions, and topped with their homemade creamy Hollandaise sauce. Also, benedicts are paired with your choice of a side just like the crab and avocado omelet. Their perfectly shredded hash browns are always a hit, but fresh fruit pairs well with this rich full-bodied breakfast. (6)
Mountain Harvest Benedict
Served with Yummy Hash Browns.
The Black Forest in Colorado is a Rural Gem.
The Black Forest is known for its peaceful and towering Ponderosa Pines woven with trails, wildlife, mountain views, ponds, and more trails. This region, located in northern rural Colorado Springs, is filled with free outdoor activities and a handful of unique restaurants including the Mountain View Cafe and Catering. Hiking and biking any trailhead in the Black Forest works up an appetite for any outdoor enthusiast. If you decide to hit the trails early and need a re-fuel of lunch fare before heading back home, then the mid-day menu is just as diverse and delectable as the breakfast options at the Mountain View Cafe.
Hiking and Biking Trails for Tourists
Black Forest Trails for Fitness and Calm
Five Main Options for Trail Exploring in Black Forest:
Cathedral Pines Trailhead-Family and Leashed Dog Friendly. Free parking but spaces are limited. This is an easy-moderate 5 mile hike through the pines with views of Pikes Peak Mountain seen throughout the trail. Benches are placed along the way for rest stops and wild flowers are abundant seasonally. This trail does include a basic restroom and could take up to 2 hours to complete by foot. Located on the southwest corner of Vessey Rd. and Holmes. (7)
Black Forest Section 16 Trail-Family and Leashed Dog Friendly. Free parking lot with lots of spaces. This easy flat trail is a fairly wide gravel path that loops around the “School in the Woods”. The trail begins and ends at the parking lot. There is plenty of shade with views of Pikes Peak Mountain on the west side of the loop. This 4.2 mile trail will take about 1 1/2 hours to complete by foot and is perfect to hike or bike during any season. Keep an eye open for opportunities to spot wildlife. Located at 8510 Burgess Rd. (8)
Black Forest Regional Park-Family and Leashed Dog Friendly. Two large free parking lots-one on each side of the park. Loads of mostly flat trails with abundant thick grassy areas for sports, picnics, sunbathing, and napping. The trails provide spectacular views of Pikes Peak Mountain and the Front Range. This park has tennis courts, basketball courts and playgrounds with swings. Also with the built-in BBQ's, you can enjoy a meal with friends and family after your mountain bike ride or leisure hike. There’s about 6 miles worth of trails to keep you busy for hours. This property is a 385 acre regional park surrounded by Ponderosa Pines. The restrooms include running water. Located at 4800 Shoup Rd. (9)
The Pineries Open Space-Family and Leashed Dog Friendly. Large parking lot with a sizable restroom. This is a more challenging trail for hiking and biking compared to the first few mentioned. This almost 9 mile loop is unpaved and contains some rocks, roots, and gravel/sand. Hiking is for sure a great option since you can hike in a mile or two, then hike back if you don’t want to complete the entire loop. At mile marker three, when approaching from the left side of the loop, has an amazing view of the Front Range and Pikes Peak Mountain. There is also a bench area to rest and take pictures. This region of the Black Forest was part of a forest fire in 2013 so there is a good bit of burn scar area, but you can see the new growth; which is really awesome. The Pineries is a gorgeous trail with meadows and tons of open space-the wind can be tough at times though. 13201 Vollmer Rd. (10)
Fox Run Regional Park Trailhead-Family and Leashed Dog Friendly. Plenty of parking and restrooms. Two great playgrounds with a fenced in dog park. There are lots of accessible trails; 5 miles total. These lead to ponds, benches, and pavilions. The surrounding natural beauty is full of Ponderosa Pines and Spruce trees with open grassy areas for sports, play, and rest. This park has gazebos and picnic tables as well, so you can always take a break from the sun to lounge and read. Fox Run Regional Park is definitely the first choice for family hiking trips. It has all the amenities needed for a planned casual day of exercise and fun soaking up the Colorado vibes. 15926-15980 Roller Coaster Rd. (11)
Fuel Up Before (or after) You Hit the Trails
Before you venture out into the Black Forest for your mid-morning mountain bike ride or nature hike, choose Mountain View Cafe and Catering as your fuel stop for coffee, tea, and nourishing breakfast options. If you decide to start your day with a four mile hike or a nine mile bike ride, you can recharge yourself afterwards with a healthy lunch entre at the Cafe. Their lunch choices are just as tasty and they still always use fresh local ingredients engaging all types of palettes. Maybe you crave a “Ponderosa Patty” on grilled sourdough or want to keep it vegetarian with “Pasta and Fresh Basil and Tomatoes.” (12) Either breakfast, brunch, or lunch, Mountain View Cafe and Catering always delivers the freshest, homemade, healthy meals for all walks of life.
When you’re planning your next special event and you need a first class caterer, choose Mountain View Cafe and Catering to make your next celebration memorable. Catering options bring the Mountain View Cafe to your personal event serving authentic meals guaranteed to please everyone. (13)
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day-so they say. If powerful energy is what you need and you prefer fresh local ingredients, then the perfect choice for your morning fuel is Mountain View Cafe and Catering.
The Black Forest trails are bold and traditional-to conquer the trails you need to conquer your morning.
“Delicious and handcrafted menu-carefully curated with your taste buds in mind.”
For overall taste, extraordinary service, quality, location, and pricing, Mountain View Cafe and Catering is chosen time and time again by locals and visitors. If you appreciate homemade care when preparing your meals, you will choose this cafe for your healthy fuel before your hike.
You will visit more than once, when you experience the “exciting culinary journey” (14) at Mountain View Cafe and Catering in Black Forest Colorado.
(1); (2); (3); (4); (5); (6) https://www.mountainvwcafe.com/
(7); (8); (9); (10); (11) https://www.alltrails.com/
(12); (13); (14) https://www.mountainvwcafe.com/
