This summer, the owner of a Subaru Crosstrek opened a strange letter from the United States Department of the Interior. The driver had recently visited Canyonlands National Park in Utah. They uneventfully took their Subaru down a challenging but public park road called Colorado River Overlook Road. While the owner says they didn’t see a single soul during the drive, clearly, someone was watching.

PSA: All wheel drive vehicles are not considered four wheel drive by the US Park Service
byu/Greatbigdog69 inNationalPark

The Subaru Crosstrek is an AWD vehicle, but this particular Canyonlands road is restricted to 4WD use only. As such, the National Park Service noted the vehicle’s presence on the road, looked up the registered owner, and issued a formal warning via the letter.

While overall informational in nature, the National Park Service rep let the Subaru owner know that future violations may incur “collateral forfeiture, a fine up to $5,000, up to six months imprisonment, and/or other penalties.”

Indeed, there are mechanical differences between AWD and 4WD drivetrains. AWD vehicles have power going to all four wheels automatically at all times. With 4WD vehicles, the driver has to manually engage and disengage 4WD.

In the automotive world, the general consensus is that 4WD is better for crawling trails or off-roading. AWD works well in moderate snow and ice. The more challenging the road conditions, though, the more 4WD would be recommended.

The Subaru driver now understands the difference and felt the letter was worth sharing so other drivers don’t make the same error when picking park routes. “Hopefully my ignorance can help a few others that haven’t put much thought into such things.” They also encouraged anyone interested in visiting Canyonlands to go without hesitation. “I had a great time and Canyonlands is a beautiful park (maybe my favorite)! I highly recommend you all visit.”