The Fall Colors Are Just Starting at Central MN’s Inspiration Peak

Over the weekend my family was up in the Battle Lake area hanging out at my grandparent's cabin. After lunch, my sister, brother-in-law, and I took a quick drive down the road to Inspiration Peak, one of the highest points in Minnesota to take a look at the fall colors.

In the southern part of Otter Tail County is a collection of glacial features known as the Leaf Hills. The highest among them is Inspiration Peak, just west of Urbank, in Leaf Mountain Township . It rises 1,750 feet, about 400 feet above the surrounding countryside Making it the highest point in the county and one of the highest points in the state of Minnesota.

Backtrack to that morning, as I drove up to Battle Lake, I noticed that the fall colors were absolutely stunning around the Upsala area and I figured that heading north they would only be that much better.

I was wrong.

We got to Inspiration Peak and realized we weren't the only ones hoping for a gorgeous autumn view. The parking lot was full of cars and hikers heading out on the quarter-mile hike. I thought that had to be a good sign of fall foliage.

We did the steep hike to the top, only to see that the trees were still really green. Like super green. It may have well been the last weekend of August looking out 400 feet above the Leaf Hills. The DNR Fall Color Finder had indicated that the colors were at 50-75% of peak, and I would dare to say that area was closer to 25%.

The good news: if you were planning on heading up Inspiration Peak this weekend there is potential for the view to be way better than last. A week of cooler days will be sure to get those leaves a-changin'.