Hiking Devil’s Peak is a springtime project.

During the summer, the 7.6-mile roundtrip hike up to Devil’s Peak can feel like a trip through the bowels of hell. In July and August, the ridgelines in the backcountry of the Ventana Wilderness are known to be quite a few more degrees warmer than Big Sur’s valleys and coastal areas, and with a cloud of flies, the steep hike up to the 4,158-ft. peak is unbearable.

But in the cooler winter and spring months, the walk up to the peak is a great day hike that often offers stellar views of Big Sur’s rugged backcountry.

The trail leaves from the north end of Bottchers Gap Campground and immediately starts the steep 2,000-foot climb to the top of Devil’s Peak. On the cold, overcast day that I am hiking there, I am alarmed to discover patches of snow just a few feet from the start of the trail.

A few minutes later, the trail affords a great view of jagged, 3,709-ft.-high Pico Blanco, which looks like a Swiss peak covered by vegetation instead of snow. Fifteen minutes into the hike, I hear what sounds like a strong gust of wind, and I button up my windbreaker. It ends up being the sound of rain-swollen Mill Creek meandering through the moss-covered oak trees.

After two miles, the trail climbs up a steep open area to the top of Skinner’s Ridge. On the ridge, the trail levels out for a short distance and continues toward Devil’s Peak under a group of madrones with twisting, smooth branches that look like bodybuilders flexing their muscles.

It then descends to a junction where the Turner Creek Trail takes off to the left and the Big Pines Trail continues to Devil’s Peak. Though the hike to this point has been an uphill battle, it is nothing compared to the last steep mile towards the summit.

Luckily there’s some entertainment along the way. Looking down at the snow, I discover the quarter-sized paw prints of a bobcat, spaced about a foot apart.

By the time the trail levels out again in an open area with fire-damaged trees and chaparral near the top, my shirt is drenched in sweat despite unrelenting gusts of cold air. Walking through the open area, a spur leads up to the left to the true summit of Devil’s Peak, where oaks obscure the view. I prefer walking a few feet farther to a sloped meadow above the trail.

Though the Pacific Ocean can be visible from Devil’s Peak, on this day a lot of the peak’s best views are hidden behind rapidly moving clouds. I am still able to see, however, the steep valley created by the Little Sur River under Pico Blanco.

On the hike back down, I discover a rock with a Native American grinding hole lying right in the middle of the path.

After the trail briefly passes by Mill Creek, it continues uphill where a small spur trail leads to a handful of rocks, including one with two clearly defined mortar holes.

By the time I return to my car after the five-hour hike, the sun has started to peek through the clouds. I stand in the sunlight for a few minutes; if it were summer, I would have headed into the shade of the oak trees.

Directions: Drive 11 miles south of Rio Road in Carmel on Highway 1 and then turn left on Palo Colorado Road. Drive 7.6 miles up the narrow, winding road until it ends at Bottchers Gap.

In addition to Devil’s Peak, here are a couple of other hikes that are best left alone during the summer:

Massive Manuel Peak dominates the scenery in the Big Sur River Valley, but during the summer, the eight-mile roundtrip hike up to the 3,379 ft.-high mountain is challenging and often times disappointing.

The challenging part is that the hike up the peak is basically a constant climb with only chapparal and poison oak leaves for shade. The disappointment comes when hikers summit Mt. Manuel in the summer months to discover that the only thing they can see in the dense fog is a poison oak plant a few feet away.

Directions: Drive 26 miles south of Rio Road on Highway 1 and turn into Pfeiffer State Park. Park by the softball field and hike up Oak Grove Trail. After .7 miles turn off on the Mt. Manuel Trail to the right.

The short hike up to Pfeiffer Falls is great for a rainy day. In the summer this easy 1.4-mile roundtrip hike is overrun by tourists, and the lack of rainfall causes the falls to look like a leaky faucet. But in the winter and spring, the trail has only a handful of hikers, and the falls are much fuller. Also, springtime hikers can escape sudden downpours by hiding in the burnt-out bases of redwood trees on the way up to the falls.

Directions: Drive 26 mile south of Carmel on Highway 1 and turn into Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. After passing the entrance booth, take a left at the first intersection to the Pfeiffer Falls parking lot.

—Stuart Thornton