Inspiration Peak rises 400 feet above the surrounding countryside, and along with the glacial deposits known as Leaf Hills forms the highest points in Central Minnesota. The hills that include Inspiration Peak were known to the Ojibwe as Gaskibugwudjiwe, or Rustling Leaf Mountain. Sinclair Lewis, a Nobel Prize-winning novelist from Minnesota, inspired the current name when he wrote about the enchanted peace and seclusion of this place for contemplation. Drawing on his words, people began calling it Inspiration Peak, and that became the official name when the site was designated a Minnesota State Wayside in 1932. Trees such as oak and aspen add fall color to the landscape. Over the years, trees have spread across the area because of a lack of fire combined with well-draining soil, but openings are slowly being created to restore an oak savanna, a disappearing forested grassland dominated by oaks that provides diverse habitat for many plants and animals.