To clear my head, I take drives. Sometimes nowhere, and lately in the mornings east on Highway 30 to the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary, or even to the Westport ferry dock and back again.

But more often than not, I drive until I reach the ocean, and then I get out and walk.

On many overcast afternoons, when the wind whistles down neighborhood streets and through patches of shore pines, I’ve found myself on the Discovery Trail, parked at Seaview Approach to cover two or three or four miles out of eight and a half.

I walk on the pavement to Beards Hollow and then back on the wet sand, dotted with razor clam shells.

It is a convenient trail, flat and with enough exits to crisscross onto the beach or into the woods, and usually quiet, save for a few cyclists.

No wonder then that for several years, Coast Weekend readers have chosen it as the region’s premier hike in the annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

However, I must add others to that list: Saddle Mountain, Elk Flats Trail, Tillamook Head, Fort to Sea Trail and Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain, just to name a few.

In this week’s issue, find a list of this year’s reader favorites on pages 16 and 17, as well as stories that highlight new and cherished dining destinations, arts groups and natural wonders.

Much of the language of this place is about discovery, the language of Lewis and Clark, but perhaps Discover Our Coast and Readers’ Choice are more about how much there is left, something new to find at the end of the road.