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 United States national park system.
Prvič so Galen Clark in drugi ugledni državljani lobirali za zaščito Yosemite Valley, leta 1864 je bil nato sprejet zakon o zaščiti "Yosemite Grant", ki ga je podpisal predsednik Abraham Lincoln.