Goderich

John Galt of the Canada Company laid Goderich out in 1827 around an octagonal central square with eight streets radiating from it, a plan unusual in North America and still intact; the courthouse stands in the middle. Beneath the town and running out under Lake Huron is the largest underground salt mine in the world, working a bed found in 1866 while drilling for oil, with tunnels extending kilometres offshore. The town markets itself as the prettiest in Canada, a phrase attributed to a royal visitor. A tornado struck the square directly in August 2011, killing one person and destroying much of the tree canopy, which has been replanted.

What you actually see

• The octagonal square - an eight-sided centre with radiating streets from 1827.
• The salt mine - the world's largest, running out under Lake Huron.
• The Lake Huron sunsets - west-facing beaches and a long boardwalk.
• The replanted canopy - trees put back after the 2011 tornado.

When to go

May to September for the beaches and boardwalk; sunsets over Lake Huron are the town's calling card in any season. The mine is a working operation and not open to the public.

Honest expectations

The salt mine cannot be visited; it is an active industrial site. The 2011 tornado damage is still visible in the young trees. The town is quiet outside summer.

Nearby

Pinery Provincial Park lies south; Sauble Beach is north.