When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down businesses, schools and gathering places last year, many people turned to the outdoors for an escape. But the increase in visitors to places like national parks meant social distancing became a challenge in these places too. In order to reduce the impact of visitors on national parks, park infrastructure, like roads and visitors centers, funnel visitors to certain areas. Which meant when park visitation increased during the pandemic, so did human traffic at these concentrated spots. âWe developed the components of the study to answer that question: can people still socially distance in a crowded national park?â said Dr. Zach Miller, who is a Utah State University professor with the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism.