Considered “one of the East Coast’s most beautiful watersheds,” the Brandywine River is in the running for the honor of 2017 Pennsylvania River of the Year.

Public voting will determine the winner between now and 5 PM on Monday, Dec. 19. The Brandywine River is up against the Allegheny River (Middle & Upper), Loyalhanna Creek, and Perkiomen Creek.

“There is a spirit of good-natured competition surrounding this selection process that rallies community support around our deserving waterways and puts them in the public limelight,” said Cindy Adams Dunn, Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“These nominated rivers and streams showcase so many unique natural resources, recreational opportunities, and incentives boosting local economies. They also show just how blessed this state is with its wealth of major rivers and streams, and committed folks willing to support them.”

Bolstered by the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art’s Strategic Action Plan and local boroughs’ greenway initiatives, the Brandywine River flows from its spring-fed source on a Welsh Mountain ridge. It travels “south through rich farmland, down steep wooded valleys, past historic villages and mill towns, and passes nationally acknowledged historic sites on its way to the city of Wilmington, where it discharges into the Christina River.”

The competition is in its seventh year, and is organized by the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers and funded by the DCNR.

Click here to vote for the Brandywine as the 2017 Pennsylvania River of the Year.