The eastern boundary of Essex County is Lake Champlain, which serves as the New York – Vermont border at an elevation of just under 100 feet (30.5 m).

The highest natural point in New York, Mount Marcy at 5,344 feet (1,629 m), is in the town of Keene.

Riders may also request minor route deviations for a small fee with advanced notice.

Riders can connect to Amtrak's Adirondack train at Westport station for service to New York City and Montreal.

The Mountain Valley Shuttle operates from Elizabethtown west to Keene, Jay, Au Sable, Wilmington, and Lake Placid.

Riders may connect to Clinton County Public Transit bus routes in Au Sable.

Amtrak's Adirondack service travels through Essex County once a day in each direction on its route between New York City and Montreal, stopping in Ticonderoga, Port Henry, Westport and Port Kent (seasonal).

Amtrak also offers Thruway Motorcoach service connecting Lake Placid with Westport station.

The service was temporarily suspended from March 2020 through early April 2023 due to the closure of the Canadian/American border in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related logistical challenges.

It voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, switched to Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and then flipped to Donald Trump in 2016, then to Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.

Until Bill Clinton won it in 1996, it had voted for a Democratic presidential candidate only once since the Civil War, in 1964 when Barry Goldwater lost every county in New York State.