There’s only one way to start your day off right: with a hearty meal. When you’re planning to spend the day exploring a national park and adventuring around, getting your day started with a delicious and filling meal is a requirement. Bonus points if you can get that meal with a view.

To save you the time and hassle of doing the research, we found the best breakfast spots in national parks across the U.S.

Yosemite: The Ahwahnee Dining Room

If you’re planning a trip to Yosemite National Park, dining at The Ahwahnee is as much of a “must-do” as seeing the giant sequoias. Walking into the dining room of The Ahwahnee is like stepping back in time to the 1920s. The dining room has 34-foot high ceilings with stone pillars and pine trestles, giving diners a feeling of vintage richness.

What makes The Ahwahnee Dining Room a sight not to be missed, besides the food, are the spectacular views. The windows run from the floor to the ceiling and look out upon the pine forests of Yosemite, so every diner in the room gets a unique view of the park.

If you’re planning to have a meal here, even at breakfast, consider a reservation. For breakfast, you’ll choose from potato hash, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon toast, freshly made pastries, and so much more.

Note: The Ahwahnee Dining Room is scheduled for renovations January 2023 – spring of 2023.

Crater Lake: Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room

For most visitors to Crater Lake, the entirety of their vacation is built around spending time on or around the lake. Whether it’s hiking, boat tours, fishing, or biking, they’re near the lake. If you plan your trip right, you can even dine with lakeside views. The Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room is the only fine-dining restaurant inside Crater Lake National Park.

Crater Lake Lodge offers visitors the feel of a bygone era. With its timber and stone facade, you feel like you’re walking into a giant log cabin. In the dining room, you’re graced with an old stone fireplace and large windows which overlook Crater Lake.

For breakfast, you can enjoy a self-serve buffet. The buffet includes hearty classics such as scrambled eggs, applewood smoked bacon, breakfast sausage, and fresh, seasonal fruits. As you dig-in and fuel up for the day, you get to gaze upon the deepest lake in the United States. The cozy atmosphere of the Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room is the perfect way to start your day.

Glacier Bay: Fairweather Dining Room

Part of what makes Glacier Bay in Alaska so beautiful is the harshness of the natural landscape and the ability of life to thrive despite it all. If you want to see glaciers, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is the place to go. Additionally, the only place you can stay indoors inside the park is Glacier Bay Lodge.

At the Lodge, you’ll find the Fairweather Dining Room where you can get a hot breakfast, starting at 6 a.m. every morning. The cuisine is almost as spectacular as the scenery out the window, but that says a lot more about the beauty of the scenery than it does the food.

Fill your belly with breakfast potatoes, cage-free scrambled eggs, applewood smoked bacon, sausage, and biscuits and gravy while you watch nature pass by outside the windows. The spruce trees reach up into the sky and are home to plenty of birds and other small wildlife. When the weather is good, you can even dine outside on the deck, where the smell of pines will accompany your meal.

Mesa Verde: Far View Terrace Cafe

Mesa Verde National Park is all about history. In the park, you get to travel back in time to see how the original people of this land lived their lives. You get to learn about how they socialized, traded goods, and ate. Learning all that history is certain to make your stomach rumble.

Be sure to start your day with a delicious meal at the Far View Terrace Cafe. You’ll find the restaurant near the Far View Lodge. You can start your day off with a made-to-order omelet or a breakfast sandwich that will keep you full straight through to lunch. While the food is sure to get you ready for your day, it’s the view that you’re sure to remember. The floor to ceiling windows and the outdoor terrace give you views of the expansive horizon so you can gaze off into the distance while you sip your coffee.

As the first meal of the day, breakfast sets the tone. Getting a hearty, filling meal will lead to a fun and successful day of travel. Pair that with spectacular views and you’re living the dream on your vacation. All of these in-park restaurants provide you with everything you might need: good food, good views, and convenient location.