Editor's note: This is the second in a series looking into the state of tourism in Utah following COVID-19. Be sure to read part one. ST. GEORGE — Utah's national parks felt about as vacant as they ever have since they were designated by the federal government as the threat of COVID-19 became more apparent. Characteristics of the virus were still widely unknown to everyone by the time it hit the U.S. with full force in mid-March last year. The Department of Interior even shut down access to all federal lands for several weeks near the beginning of the pandemic.