<P> On average , about 4 million people visit Yosemite each year , and most spend the majority of their time in the 5.9 square miles ( 15 km ) of Yosemite Valley . The park set a visitation record in 2016 , surpassing 5 million visitors for the first time in its history . Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea . First , Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development , ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln 's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864 . Later , John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley , but surrounding mountains and forests as well -- paving the way for the U.S. National Park system . </P>
<P> On average , about 4 million people visit Yosemite each year , and most spend the majority of their time in the 5.9 square miles ( 15 km ) of Yosemite Valley . The park set a visitation record in 2016 , surpassing 5 million visitors for the first time in its history . Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea . First , Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development , ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln 's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864 . Later , John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley , but surrounding mountains and forests as well -- paving the way for the U.S. National Park system . </P>
who was president when yosemite became a national park
who was president when yosemite became a national park
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln