The
Dix Mountain
Dix Mountain is the sixth highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Park, and is located roughly on the boundary between the towns of North Hudson and Keene in Essex County, New York. The peak was named in 1837 after John Dix ...
Wilderness Area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
is the name previously given to an area of New York's
Forest Preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
in the
Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...
, and 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 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. It is most of the main highway between New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New York ...
(Interstate 87), on the south by Blue Ridge Road and on the west by
Elk Lake Club and
Ausable Club
The Ausable Club, in St. Huberts, New York, is the name of a club and the clubhouse of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR), which upon the initiative of William George Neilson, formed in 1887 to save the lands around Beede's Hotel from the lumb ...
lands.
In 2018 the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area was merged with the High Peaks Wilderness Area after New York State acquired several parcels of land connecting the two wilderness areas.
Geography
The terrain is rough, rocky and mountainous, with several of the mountain tops exceeding . The area contains 12 small ponds with a total surface area of about . 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 Hough may refer to:
* Hamstringing, or severing the Achilles tendon of an animal
* the leg or Tibia, shin of an animal (in the Scots language), from which the dish potted hough is made
* Hough (surname)
Communities United Kingdom
* Hough, Alderle ...
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.
Forest
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.
The present forest cover consists chiefly of pole-size yellow birch, aspen and stunted balsam at the higher elevations with mixed hardwoods and softwoods on the better soils at lower elevations.
Recreation
The area contains of maintained
foot trails, 2
lean-to
A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing lean-to structures are generally used as shelters. One traditional type of lean-to is known by its Finn ...
s. The area also has a significant number of popular but unmaintained trails; in fact, four
high peaks within the area are only accessible by unmaintained trails. The area also includes
Chapel Pond
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
, a high mountain lake surrounded by cliffs that is a popular destination for
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
and
ice climbing.
History
The
Adirondack Trail Improvement Society
The Adirondack Trail Improvement Society (A.T.I.S.) is a nonprofit organization based at the Ausable Club in St. Huberts, New York, founded in 1897 to ensure regular maintenance and consistent marking of the trails in the St. Huberts and Ausable L ...
, with headquarters at
St. Huberts, maintains a system of foot trails in the northern and northwestern part of the area, with approval of the
DEC. Their trails extend to such mountain tops as
Round Top Mountain,
Noonmark, Bear Den,
Dial,
Nippletop
Nippletop is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.
The mountain is part of the Colvin Range.
Nippletop is flanked to the northeast by Dial Mountain.
To the east, it faces Dix Mountain across Hunters Pass, and to the west it faces Mou ...
,
Colvin,
Blake
Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...
and Pinnacle. The steep, rugged terrain, characteristic of nearly the whole area, has been responsible for the region's retaining a wilderness atmosphere. This, together with other accompanying features, lends itself well to the classification into which it has been placed.
The state, in 1978 and 1980, purchased in fee from the
Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Approximately became part of the Dix Mountain Wilderness as a result, including the following summits:
Noonmark, Bear Den,
Dial,
Colvin, and Pinnacle. The state was given a
conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gove ...
on the remaining Adirondack Mountain Reserve lands generally below in elevation, limiting the future development potential of these lands while permitting the public to cross lands still held in fee by the Club, on foot, to reach the peaks.
In 2013, New York State acquired a 1,450-acre parcel on the western boundary of the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area known as the Casey Brook Tract. In 2016, the 20,700-acre Boreas Ponds Tract was also acquired by the state, thereby creating a connection of state-owned land between the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area and the nearby High Peaks Wilderness Area. In 2018, the
Adirondack Park Agency Adirondack may refer to:
Places
*Adirondack Mountains, New York, US
**Adirondack Park, a protected area in the US, containing a large portion of the Adirondack Mountains
* Adirondack County, New York, a proposed county in New York
* Adirondack, Ne ...
recommended, and Governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
approved, the merging of the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area into the
High Peaks Wilderness Area
The High Peaks Wilderness Area, the largest Forest Preserve unit in the U.S. state of New York, is located in three counties and six towns in the Adirondack Park: Harrietstown in Franklin County, North Elba, Keene, North Hudson and Newcom ...
.
See also
*
List of Wilderness Areas in the Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park' ...
References
{{reflist
Wilderness areas in Adirondack Park
Adirondack High Peaks
Protected areas of Essex County, New York