National Park Service Tells Subaru Crosstrek To Get Off Our Trail

I have a Chevy Colorado ZR2 and a Subaru Crosstrek PHEV which has the increased lift and XDrive. In the past I have owned Jeep Cherokee and Liberty and a number of Ford Superduty 4x4 trucks.
The NPS apparently doesn't really understand how 4x4 and modern AWD vehicles work.
My 1986 F350 Diesel 4x4 had the standard 2 speed transfer case with high and low range. It did not have limited slip or locking differentials so was fairly easy to get stuck in mud or slippery surfaces. Same with the Cherokee. The Liberty did have limited slip on the rear, but also had full time 4x4 labeled AWD along with low and high. The Subaru even without XDrive applies power to the wheel with traction. You can see videos of Subarus with 1 wheel on the ground still moving forward.
The ZR2 which is VERY 4x4 has an automatic 4x4 position that senses slip and engages axel as required more like the Subaru than the F350.
Subaru isn't the only one with very capable AWD and not every 4WD truck can get out of 1/4 inch of mud. Ask me how I know.

This must just be a NPS thing. I checked with my local USFS office and they had no issues with all wheel drives on 4WD roads...but they reminded me it would costly and I might incur a fine if I got stuck.

As I recall from the comments in the Reddit post, the OP did not drive a Wilderness edition Crosstrek. Reading elsewhere, I think I saw the NPS listed a minimum of 9" of clearance was part of their requirements. The Wilderness would have passed the clearance requirement, but the non-Wilderness trims fail that.

That said, without something equivalent to 4-low, our bone stock favorite CVT equipped AWD can't go as many places, even in Wilderness trim.

White Rim at Canyonlands. Last year, eight friends and I arrived in Canyonlands with six 4Runners, one Jeep, and my Subaru Outback Wilderness (which I had lifted to give 10.7 inches of ground clearance) to camp along the White Rim Trail. When we went to collect our camping permits, I was informed that my car wasn’t allowed on the trail and that I couldn’t get a permit. I explained my experience and was about to mention X-Mode, but the ranger cut me off, saying, ‘X-Mode doesn’t matter. You need 4-wheel drive.’ They also warned me that if I went onto the trail, I could be fined $1,000.

I drove it with my Tacoma and I know that my second new Outback Wilderness will do a better job than the Tacoma. It is an easy off-road path for the Wilderness

The problem Subaru drivers are to have is the nps is not going to take the time to make signs saying "except special versions of Subaru" when posting limitations on trails. A blanket statement of "no AWD" or "4wd only" is to be it. It's like camp grounds using the 10 year rule. There may be nice exceptions that are older but they're not going to check every one.

The NPS in Coloroado is a bit overzealous at times, as I experienced a time when I was kicked out of Estes Park with my son after finding a cozy campsite one evening. He said the camp site, which had a fire ring and a tent spot closed at 11pm….hmm, but to be the devil’s advocate, I’m sure they have had to rescue people on the off-road trails that got in over their heads on more than one occasion.
I can see having a general rule, such as 4x4s strongly encouraged or even 4x4s only except for *current list of approved vehicles (list is updated online annually), and hopefully they are flexible enough to make these exceptions, especially for the more capable AWD vehicles like the Subaru Wilderness X-drive models.

If the laws say 4 wheel drive only, then that's what it means. Too many times folks want an "exception".
That's why we are in the mess we have in USA now. BTW I drive an outback.

Every park ranger I've ever meet thinks it's their own private hunting club. We the people own that land, not them. Pull that shit in Idaho and they will bury you right there. 12 years ago those assholes were going down left and right. These Park rangers need a reality check.

So the new ford raptor, which is considered to be one if the best "stock" off road vehicles on the market, comes in awd, does that mean it is not allowed on these trails?....?

I don’t understand how this becomes a “let Subaru AWD in but exclude all other AWD.” What about EUVs?

Having owned a stock '07 FJ with locking diffs and upgraded off-roadish tires, and owning several older true off-road SUVs and trucks (pointing that out as many modern day SUVs and trucks are definitely tarmac queens), in addition to owning an Outback XT (with mods similar to a Wilderness edition, including Geos) and an Impreza with mods similar to a Crosstrek and a WRX, I have a decent amount of off-tarmac experience. While, from an engineering standpoint, there is a difference between 4WD and AWD, it does not mean one is automaticly more capable than the other...especially in modern days. As another poster stated, they have a 4x4 that will get stuck easily. If the 4x4 doesn't have limited or locking diffs (front, back, center) and/or electronic control, the vehicle can easily get stuck in uneven and/or loose conditions. Suspension has a huge impact on agility and traction, again a 4x4 with stock suspension, especially modern ones tuned for the tarmac, is more likely to have issues. Clearance...clearance is clearance, whether RWD, FWD, AWD, or 4WD. I am just as confident in my Outback and the FJ and several of my older true off-road SUVs in most situations.

We did talk to a NPS ranger that manages a National Monument out west (we lived in Utah for the last 3 years until we moved back to the Midwest) about "road" conditions in a National Monument that is entirely 4WD High Clearance. He was aware we were using our Outback, didn't make a peep about it. He did advise a few routes to avoid, with any vehicle, complained about have a few weeks of recovering vehicles, both 4WD and FWD and a few AWD (he specifically mentioned Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V), and mentioned it's really expensive to recover a vehicle.

We enjoyed our time there, that included a nice section of steps, that we navigated easily to the dismay of a group of Jeep/Toyota/GMC trucks that had some difficulty. We ended the trip in a section with deep dips, so we had to use engineering to overcome those obstacles without damaging our front and rear numbers...did I mention, we saw a 4x4 with a rear bumper pushed up after passing through the same section? 😂 And it had way more clearance than we did.

Let me throw a skunk in the 4WD, AWD, NPS garden party. My old Renault 5 was a terrific off road vehicle and I suspect that a Citroën 2CV would be even better. A Volkswagen Bug is pretty decent too.

The advantages: both cars are small and light. In a tight corner a few strong folks can pick up the rear end and swivel it past an obstacle, or push it out. Being narrow allows you to pick your track.

On one Quebec back road, we got bounced around in a slow going heavy duty pre SUV. Coming back with four people in my Renault 5, we zipped along in comfort.

I'm more cautious off road in my 2006 Forester XS than I would be in my R5 before it rusted out.