Recovered ‘paddlers’ paradise’ named Pennsylvania River of the Year for 2021 Updated Feb 02, 2021; Facebook Share Winding through northwestern Pennsylvania, connecting Pymatuning and Shenango lakes with the Beaver River via 82 miles of scenic, peaceful river, the Shenango River has been voted the state’s 2021 River of the Year. The Pennsylvania Organization for Waterways and Rivers and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources invited the public to vote online to choose from among 5 waterways across the state. Other waterways nominated were Buffalo Creek in Allegheny, Armstrong and Butler counties; Lehigh River in Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton and Wayne counties; Loyalhanna Creek in Westmoreland County; and Tunkhannock Creek in Susquehanna and Wyoming counties.