Moclips is a low-lying coastal community on the south shore of the Moclips River, bordering Mocrocks Beach, about 83 miles (134 km) west of Tacoma and 27 miles (44 km) northwest of Aberdeen, Washington. The name derives from a Quinault word that linguist William O. Bright translated as “large stream”. Historian Edmond S. Meany offered a different reading, describing it as a place where girls approaching puberty were secluded. The Moclips River and its main tributary, the North Fork, both rise on the slopes of Macafee Hill, on the southwestern flank of the Olympic Mountains, and flow roughly 12 miles (19 km) west to the Pacific, draining a watershed of 22,890 acres (9,263 ha). The watershed is underlain by Pleistocene-age glacial and glaciofluvial deposits of sand, gravel and till, laid down as valley glaciers descending from the Olympics retreated and spread outwash across the coastal lowland.

Quinault ancestors fished and gathered along this stretch of coast long before settlers such as Stephen Grover filed for a land patent in 1901 under the Homestead Act of 1862. Moclips sits just south of the Quinault Indian Reservation, homeland of the Quinault Indian Nation. The town was not incorporated until 1905, when the Northern Pacific Railway reached the Moclips River and Dr. Edward Lycan opened the Moclips Beach Hotel. The M.R. Smith Mill and Shake Company was established in 1905 on the banks of the river and became a vital part of the local economy. It specialized in producing cedar shakes and shingles, which were essential for roofing and other construction needs. Its industrial complex was surrounded by homes, a school, a theater, a community hall, a post office, a mercantile, and a tavern. A Pacific storm badly damaged the business district and hotel in 1911, fires finished off the remaining beachfront buildings by the end of 1913, and a 1948 welding accident destroyed more homes and businesses. The mill operated until 1967 and was destroyed by fire in 1969. Rising seas now bring more frequent flooding and shoreline erosion to Moclips, especially during high tides and storm surges.

Mocrocks Beach runs about 18 miles (29 km) along the Pacific from the Copalis River north to the southern boundary of the Quinault Indian Reservation, near Moclips. At low tide it exposes a wide, gently sloping sand flat that is prime habitat for the Pacific razor clam, which typically grows 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) long. The clams draw both recreational and commercial diggers, chiefly during the fall-to-spring digging season. Today Mocrocks is one of five razor-clam management zones the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife oversees on the outer coast; the state caps the daily take (currently 15 clams per digger, kept regardless of size) and opens the beach only after marine-toxin testing confirms domoic acid levels are safe. Public access points at 2nd Street in Moclips, Andalyde Road in Pacific Beach and Roosevelt Beach at Seabrook remain open year-round, though closures can follow erosion or flooding. Read more here and here. Explore more of Moclips and Mocrocks Beach here: