This seldom-visited carbonated "soda" springs is located on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island about 12 miles southeast of Craig. Access is by boat. Rubber boots are advised for this hike. This is bear country; exercise caution, particularly when salmon are spawning. The springs are reached by walking up a nameless creek that has its outlet in a small inlet on the south shore of the bay. The springs flow into the creek about a mile upstream. The first sign of the springs are 2 giant golden steps. These are banks of yellow tufa formed by the constant runoff from the springs. Tufa is a geological term referring to a concretionary sediment of silica or calcium carbonate deposited near the mouth of a mineral spring or geyser. The 4- to 5-acre area around the bubbling, hissing springs features lunar-like mounds and craters, splashed with colors ranging from subtle yellow to iron red. The springs originate in muskeg, then the mineralized water meanders about 100 feet, forming a deep crust of tufa in which there are hundreds of small vents with escaping gas and bubbling water. The highly carbonated water is described as having "a sharp, pleasant taste" and has no unpleasant odors. Although water from other carbonated springs in Southeast has been bottled and sold in the past, Trocadero water has never been commercially marketed.
