Warning!!!!

Beware:

National Park Service Will Cite Drivers Of AWD Cars For Driving On 4WD-Only Trails (yahoo.com)

4WD vs AWD? National Park Service Will Send You a Letter If You Don’t Know the Difference (yahoo.com)

 

Ha. I was going to post about that earlier today, but didn't. I watched this video about it:

 

Darn Subaru drivers always ruin everything. lol

 

The original thread that got the ball rolling so y'all can peruse at your leisure.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NationalPa..._all_wheel_drive_vehicles_are_not_considered/

Lot of talk ranging from pedantics, ground pressure to having a two-speed transfer case, angles, vehicle size, etc.

I've seen plenty achieved in crossovers but I get that a line has to be drawn somewhere since for every expert in something unusual there's a hundred more about to do something stupid.

Anyways, this is my personal favorite snippet:


And also the NPS's Mojave Nat'l Preserve recommendations, complete with photos:
https://www.nps.gov/moja/4x4-vehicles-and-off-pavement-travel-safety.htm

Mostly edge cases here but what I think will make the NPS's job more interesting is differentiating between single-speed transfer case GM pickups, the Cherokee Trailhawk trim versus the other less capable ones, etc.

Manufacturer marketing makes no distinction between AWD and 4WD so it's nice the NPS has a specific set of criteria.