When summer vacation calls, Subaru owners’ travels are filled with memories like no other, from hunting for shark teeth fossils in the Middle East to exploring national parks in the United States.

Hot Springs Odyssey

One of the most fun-packed adventures we had in our Subaru Forester was the hot springs adventure. Packed to the max: One mom (aka driver), four teenage girls and one large dog plus camping gear and personal items, we headed out to find hot springs to soak in.

We traveled along U.S. Highway 93 from Kalispell, Montana, to Highway 75 in Idaho where we found the first place to car camp. We laid the back seats down, put two sleep pads down and all five of us plus the dog crawled in to sleep for the night. The next morning, I woke extra early to drive to the first hot springs that we soaked in.

Afterward, we adventured to the next hot spring – totaling four different ones for that day before we set up camp in an actual tent.

This Forester never once failed me in performance or safety.

– Lynn Rose Pine
2011 Forester
Kalispell, Montana

Cross-Country Escape

Retirement for my wife and I began two months before the pandemic struck. All travel plans were canceled, and our first year of retirement was spent close to home.

A little over a year later, our wanderlust got the best of us, so we came up with a new plan. We bought a Subaru Outback Onyx Edition XT, packed up our camping gear and bikes, and hit the road the day after our vehicle purchase for a three-month, 13,000-mile road trip from Georgia to California and back.

After a brief stop at home, we were on the road for another two-month trip through the upper Midwest, across Canada, through New England and down the East Coast. Through deserts, sand dunes, red rocks, mountains, dust devils, rain, sleet, hail and 28 national parks, our Outback performed like a champ. Our Subaru has become our home away from home!

– Dennis Baxter
2021 Outback Onyx Edition XT
Gainesville, Georgia

Casey Amarnek and her son, Caden, at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. They are both smiling and standing against a wooden rail; Casey has her arm around Caden’s shoulder. Dark cave walls can be seen behind them.
Casey Amarnek and her son, Caden, at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky

 

Have Subaru, Will Travel

After a year of planning, my son, Caden, and I set off on our road trip from South Carolina. It was hard to believe that the day to begin our adventure had finally arrived! We had mapped our route, contacted campgrounds, planned a rough schedule for each day, prepared food, packed minimally, and set up the vehicle to accommodate the experience we had planned for ourselves.

We were ready to spend 17 days in our Outback to see some awe-inspiring sights, embark on some awesome adventures and make some amazing memories. Here are highlights from our trip.

Gateway Arch, Missouri

Our approach to St. Louis was exciting as the Gateway Arch came into view. The best memory of the day was riding in what we called the moon pod to the top of the Arch since one of the two of us is an aspiring astronaut.

As we looked out from the top of the Arch, we were inspired by the thought of all the people who set out to cross the Mississippi River to explore the West so many years ago.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone, Wyoming

Our approach to Grand Teton National Park was beautiful. The early morning drive, exhilarating. Elk, wolf, bison, prairie dog, bighorn sheep, deer and bird sightings, exciting. The hikes, invigorating. The gushing water, thunderous. The views, breathtaking.

Yellowstone required the most planning since it was the biggest park with the most to see. We didn’t want to miss any of it! Each of our three days there was filled with incredible adventures, views and animal sightings.

One anticipated event of this entire trip was a bison hold up. We experienced it more than once, with bison blocking the roads we drove or paths we walked as they roamed freely and ate liberally.

The 4:30 a.m. start to our days provided us the opportunities to experience the park at its best. Peaceful and magnificent.

A shot taken of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Montana that shows a river flowing between two immense dry-looking, rocky canyons.Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Montana

 

Bighorn Canyon, Montana

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area was beautifully deserted and peaceful. Seeing the mustangs and other wild animals, such as bighorn sheep, as we walked around the teepee circles marked by stones and approached the canyon walls gave us a taste of what this part of our country was like before the expansion westward.

A large piece of petrified wood at Theodore Roosevelt National Park is teetering on its side. In the distance, a hill made up of gravel and scrubby patches of grass reaches toward the sky.
Petrified wood at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

We felt like we went back in time as we made our way to the most northern point of our trip in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The untouched landscape of colors continued in all directions.

When the dirt road we traveled came to an end, we continued on foot to reach the Petrified Forest. We felt like we might encounter Laura Ingalls Wilder as we walked through the field as the grass blew in the wind without a soul in sight.

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Ambitious people create amazing things. We laughed that we would have never trekked out to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the 1920s, looked at the wall of rock and thought that we should carve a sculpture of some influential people into it.

As we looked at their magnified faces at Mount Rushmore, it was amazing and inspiring to think about the impact that these men had on our country.

Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana

The campground at Indiana Dunes National Park was great. Every site was well-kept and surrounded by trees. During our visit, though, the bugs chased us back to the Subaru several times. But as we were running, we enjoyed the adventure of the unique national park and the memories we made.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

It was hard to believe that this was the last stop of our trip before heading to Maryland to visit family. The Junior Ranger program at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio, provided a fun fishing opportunity, and we enjoyed some short hikes to waterfalls and rock formations.

Our trip ended with us running to the car in a downpour during our last hike of the day. Every moment was a treasured memory.

– Casey Amarnek
2018 Outback
Boiling Springs, South Carolina

Shark Teeth Fossil Hunting in Wadi Dahek, Jordan

Wadi Dahek is in the far eastern part of Jordan in the middle of a beautiful remote desert near the Saudi Arabia border. There are no roads leading there; I have to rely on GPS coordinates and my 2015 Subaru Forester to trudge through the sand, rocks and dead vegetation.

Wadi Dahek was the bottom of an ocean millions of years ago, so we came here to find some shark teeth fossils. Although we didnʼt find any this time, we had a great dinner over the fire and the dogs we rescued in Jordan spent their first night with us in a tent.

The tent felt cramped with my wife, myself and two dogs, but our Forester had plenty of space for the trip. Thank you, Subaru, for making a reliable and comfortable vehicle that can effortlessly endure deep sand in the Jordanian desert, with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as perform on the road in the chaotic cities of the Middle East (thank you, EyeSight!).

– Andrew Mayher
2015 Forester
Mentor, Ohio

A 2019 Subaru Outback Limited with a kayak on the roof is parked at a campground with evergreens and lake water in the distance behind it. A pop-up camper is near the Outback.
2019 Subaru Outback Limited

 

30-Day Solo Camping Adventure

As a college professor, this past year of teaching through the pandemic has been trying, to say the least. In addition, I turned 50 in January. A month-long outdoor camping adventure was just what the doctor ordered.

I hooked up my small pop-up camper to my 2019 Subaru Outback Limited, loaded my kayak to the roof and headed out on a 30-day solo camping adventure of a lifetime.

The trip took me across nine states and more than 4,000 miles, from Wisconsin to Maine and back again. I was surprised by how many people asked me about hauling a camper with an Outback. Why not? With its 2,700-pound towing capacity, the Outback performs like a champ when you choose the right-sized camper.

Kris Isaacson taking a selfie at her campsite in Taughannock Falls in New York state. Behind her on the left, a tent is set up with a picnic table inside it, and on the right is her Subaru Outback with a multi-colored kayak on top and a camper behind it.
Kris Isaacson at her campsite in Taughannock Falls in New York state

 

Because I was traveling solo, I was glad to have the Outback’s backup camera, as it made hooking up my camper easy. Together, my Subaru Outback, little pop-up camper and I camped along all five Great Lakes, saw Niagara Falls, paddled the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain, and visited two of the Finger Lakes.

Towing capacity was no problem as we traversed the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the gorge regions of Pennsylvania and New York.

But my Subaru didn’t do all the climbing. I conquered Maine’s Mount Kineo before driving down the state’s entire coast from Quoddy Head to Kittery.

Looking forward to future adventures — big and small — with my Subaru Outback.

– Kris Isaacson
2019 Outback Limited
Menomonie, Wisconsin