Dix Mountain anchors the Dix Range in the High Peaks Wilderness, standing as the sixth-highest summit in New York at 4,857 feet. State geologist Ebenezer Emmons named the peak in 1837 for John Adams Dix, then Secretary of State of New York and later governor of the state. The summit sits in an alpine zone above the treeline, where a narrow ridge extends southeast toward the subsidiary summit of Beckhorn and beyond to other peaks of the Dix Range, making the mountain a natural hub for multi-peak traverses.
Two main approaches serve most hikers. The Round Pond Trail leaves from NY Route 73 to the north, covering 7.4 miles with 3,200 feet of gain. From the south, the Hunters Pass Trail departs from private Elk Lake (day-use fee required; trail closed during big game season), reaching the summit in 7.4 miles with 2,800 feet of gain; a shorter variant via the Dix Trail and Beckhorn covers 6.6 miles. For those seeking a more technical challenge, the Buttress Slide on the western face offers roughly 900 feet of 5.4-rated slab climbing. The northern cirque hosts the celebrated Finger Slides, a cluster of bare slide tracks popular with slide climbers.
From the open ridge, views extend to Elk Lake to the southwest, the Great Range to the northwest, and Lake Champlain with the Green Mountains on the eastern horizon. Snow can linger on north-facing slides and the upper ridge well into May; afternoon thunderstorms are common through summer.
