Denali -- The Great One beckons visitors from around the world

It stands more than 20,320 feet tall, beckoning visitors from around the world every year. Mount McKinley is the heart of Denali National Park and Preserve -- and all of Alaska, for that matter.

Denali National Park and Preserve is one of the most visited spots in Alaska. Each year, more than 330,000 people -- about half the total population of Alaska -- flock to the area north of the Mat-Su Valley to not only get a glimpse of the towering mountain for which it is named, but also to revel in the outdoor opportunities, from camping to hiking.

"It's interesting to talk with everyone who comes through the park to find out where they are from, how long they're here, things like that," said Kris Fister, a public affairs officer with Denali National Park and Preserve. "You meet people from all around the world working here."

Denali National Park and Preserve was first established as Mount McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917. The original park was designated a wilderness area and was incorporated into Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980.

Now, the area covers more than 6 million acres of Alaska's wilderness, with an operating budget of more than $10.5 million.

The tour bus program is a popular one at the park. Private motorists can drive into the park for the first 15 miles, but that is it. From there, tour buses take people on the rest of the road. In September, the entire road is opened to 1,600 vehicles during a four-day period. People have to apply for a permit -- and the odds of receiving one are less than one in 10.

"It is one of the most popular programs we have," Fister said. "People apply year after year. Last year, we had a bad first day weather-wise, but on the last three days, it was absolutely perfect. It was clear and warm, but it's not always like that."

Fister said she remembers a few years ago, there was an enormous dump of snow prior to the four-day lottery opening.

The road couldn't be opened all the way that year.

"That's the drawback of doing it in September," Fister said.

The park hosts several educational programs every year, including virtual field trips for classrooms and teacher-related events. There is a junior ranger virtual visit activity page on the park's Web site as well.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act that established the National Park Service. Since then, millions of people have visited national parks and historic areas in America.

The act Wilson signed designated the National Parks Service as an office of the Department of the Interior.

The government's aim, as stated in the National park Service Organic Act of 1916, was to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment for the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Today, more than 83 million acres of the country are part of the U.S National Parks System, and that represents 378 areas from sea to shining sea. Delaware is the only state that does not contain an area that is part of the National Park System.

The largest area in the National Parks System is right here in Alaska, and it's not Denali National Park and Preserve, as many would guess. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve contains 13,200,000 acres -- which comprises 16.3 percent of the entire national system.

If you combine Wrangell-St. Elias with Denali, the two account for more than 23 percent of all national park land in the country.

By contrast, the smallest area isn't a national park, but it is a historical spot.

The Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial is .02 acres, and commemorates the life and work of a Polish patriot who was a hero in the American Revolution.