Early visitors to this area scrambled down a boulder-strewn path and climbed over fallen trees to view Blackwater Falls, while today a boardwalk of more than 200 steps leads to the closest viewing point of the waterfall. The first boardwalk was constructed in 1961 and was replaced 25 years later in 1986. Construction of the current walkway began in August 2004 and was completed in December of the same year. Following the natural contours of the slope down to the waterfall, the boardwalk blends the elements of the wooden walkway with surrounding natural features to make it appear to belong there, an approach famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright called organic design.