The McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of the Forest Preserve, lies in western Essex County in the towns of St. Armand, North Elba and Wilmington.
The 7,951-acre Jay Mountain Wilderness is the smallest wilderness within the Adirondack Forest Preserve. Despite its relatively small size, the area provides a true Adirondack experience with treeless mountain summits, large expanses of remote areas without trails and many recreational opportunities for visitors.
Essex County is a county located in the Adirondack Park region of New York, making it a prime destination for outdoor enthusiasts. It shares its borders with several other New York counties, including Franklin County to the north, Clinton County to the northeast, and Warren County to the south. The population was 37,381 in 2020. Its county seat is the hamlet of Elizabethtown.
