Hoko River starts in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains at an elevation of roughly 1150 feet (351 m) and flows generally north for 25 miles (40 km), draining a rugged heavily logged watershed of 48,000 acres (19,425 ha) to Kydaka Point on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Neah Bay and 3.3 miles (5 km) northwest of Sekiu, Washington. The Olympic Mountains form the core of the Olympic Peninsula which is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and on the east by Puget Sound. The name Hoko is from the Makah language and refers to the large projecting rock at the river mouth. The watershed is formed by a geological sequence starting with the Crescent Formation at higher elevations consisting of pillow lava and breccia that developed during the Eocene and progressing through the Aldwell, Hoko River, Makah, and the Pysht formations that developed between the Oligocene and Miocene and consist mostly of sandstone and siltstone. Kydaka Point is formed by sandstone in the Pysht Formation.

The Hoko River is generally considered to be the boundary between early historic Makah and S’Klallam territories; however, this is mostly based on the conditions observed by Euro-American settlers in the mid-19th century and were likely a result of treaties negotiated in 1855 by Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens. Historically, Makah and S’Klallam peoples occupied adjacent territories along the northern margin of the Olympic Peninsula with Makah Territory extending from the Strait of Juan de Fuca westward to Cape Flattery and south along the outer coast beyond Cape Alava. S’Klallam Territory begins extends eastward along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and reaches northern Puget Sound. Makahs spoke a Wakashan language and are the southernmost members of a broad group of related peoples who occupy the west coast of Vancouver Island and nearby portions of the central coast of British Columbia. Alternatively, S’Klallams spoke a Salish language and are closely related to other Salish speakers in the Puget Sound Basin of western Washington and the Strait of Georgia in southwestern British Columbia.

Historically, the Hoko watershed supported a coniferous forest with a few patches of red alder. About 95% of the old-growth has been converted into commercially managed tree farms, and nearly all of the basin has been harvested at least once down to the streambanks. Riparian forests are now dominated by red alder. The Hoko River is brushy and full of snags creating dark tannin-stained water that flows through abundant spawning and potentially high-quality fish habitat. The watershed currently supports Chinook, chum, coho, and winter steelhead, with over 48 miles (77 km) of spawning habitat. The watershed is greatly impacted by a dense network of logging roads with hundreds of separate landslides associated with logging and clear cuts created since the 1950s. A restoration project was conducted between 1994 and 1998 that included removing culverts, removing landfills that blocked access to salmon habitat on tributary streams, and removing log bridges that restricted streamflow. Eelgrass is still present in the estuary and provides essential fish habitat at the river mouth. About 500 acres (202 ha) along the lower mainstem are currently used for agriculture. The Lower Hoko also has several hundred acres of non-forested state parkland which is managed for wildlife and human uses. Water withdrawals for several communities result in low summer stream flows. Read more here and here. Explore more of Hoko River and Kydaka Point here: