This paper presents the ongoing work aimed at developing the material point method (MPM) to solve geomechanical problems. Although MPM is usually classified as a mesh-free method, it might rather be classified as a method in between the well-known finite element method (FEM) and true particle-based methods. MPM uses two different discretizations. One is the Lagrangian discretization and the other one is the Eulerian mesh. The advantages of both frames are exploited by mapping the appropriate data between them. The problem of mesh distortion, found with the Lagrangian FEM is eliminated. MPM proved to be a powerful tool for the simulation of large deformation problems, especially those involving complex geometries and contact boundaries. An important issue of this work is the coupling of hydraulic and mechanical aspects. Results in the context of a few idealized geotechnical problems are presented in this work in order to test the presented formulation.