Devil Peak

Devil's Peak, also called Signal Peak after the fire lookout tower on its summit, rises to nearly 7,000 feet in the Sierra National Forest just outside Fish Camp, a few miles south of Yosemite's Wawona entrance. The direct hiking route to the top is a 4.2-mile round trip with about 731 feet of elevation gain, rated moderate and typically taking 2 to 2.5 hours. It's a steady forest-road climb rather than a technical scramble, and the payoff at the summit is a working fire lookout tower with open views across the surrounding ridgelines.

A Longer Route for Bikers and Off-Roaders

Because Devil's Peak sits on a network of Sierra National Forest dirt roads, it's just as popular with mountain bikers and off-road drivers as it is with hikers. A longer approach from lower trailheads near Fish Camp runs roughly 24 miles round trip with over 3,000 feet of climbing — a full-day ride rated intermediate for mountain biking, with a couple of miles of descent partway up before the final push to the tower.

A Working Lookout with History

The tower itself dates to a 1951 rebuild of a lookout first raised on the summit in 1900, and it's still staffed by volunteer fire lookouts during fire season. From the deck you can pick out Mt. Clark, Raymond Mountain, and Mt. Conness — three peaks named for men tied to the 1864 federal act that first protected Yosemite Valley. There's no visitor center at the summit, so keep visits brief and let the lookout get back to work.