Dix Mountain Wilderness Area
| Dix Mountain Wilderness Area | |
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IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
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| Location | Adirondack Park New York USA |
| Nearest city | North River, NY |
| Coordinates | 44°3′38″N 73°46′9″W / 44.06056°N 73.76917°WCoordinates: 44°3′38″N 73°46′9″W / 44.06056°N 73.76917°W |
| Area | 45,208 acres (183 km2) |
| Governing body | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation |
The Dix Mountain Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of New York's Forest Preserve, is located in the towns of Elizabethtown, Keene and North Hudson, Essex County. It is roughly bounded on the north by NY 73, on the east by the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), on the south by Blue Ridge Road and on the west by Elk Lake Club and Ausable Club lands.
The terrain is rough, rocky and mountainous, with several of the mountain tops exceeding 4,000 feet (1,220 m). The area contains 12 small ponds with a total surface area of about 92 acres (37 ha). Vertical cliffs of considerable height are common, particularly in the northern and eastern parts.
Some of the mountains, such as Dix, South Dix and Macomb, have had small landslides in recent years which occur mostly on the near vertical north slopes. This has left a series of prominent, bare rock scars on the upper slopes.
There are four trailless peaks in the area — South Dix, East Dix, Hough and McComb — that are over 4,000 feet in elevation. Many approach these mountains from a popular, unmaintained trail off NY 73 which provides access to a slide scramble up East Dix. From there, all the major peaks are connected by herd paths.
Some of the most severe and extensive forest fires of the Adirondacks occurred in this area during a prolonged drought period in 1903. As a result, the tops and upper slopes of the mountains not only lost their forest cover but the humus was also consumed and the mineral soil eroded down to bare rock.
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