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Salt places to visit · Goderich, Ontario

Goderich: the salt mine under Lake Huron

By The Salt AlmanacUpdated November 8, 2026

A Lake Huron town that went looking for oil in 1866, struck salt instead, and now sits beside one of the world's largest salt mines.

Old photograph of salt works buildings on the Lake Huron shore at Goderich
Salt works on the Lake Huron shore at Goderich, Ontario, 1908 (catalogued as “Goderich Salt Mine”).Photo: Charles F. Mensing. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Image source

At a glance

WhereHuron County, Goderich, Ontario
Type of placeSalt town
Salt connectionThe Sifto mine works rock salt about 550 metres (1,800 feet) below Lake Huron and is often described as the largest underground salt mine in the world.
How it startedIn early 1866, Samuel Platt was drilling for oil near the Maitland River and struck salt at 960 feet.
VisitingThe mine is a working industrial site, not a tourist attraction, so enjoy the salt story from the town and its Lake Huron waterfront.

The salt story

Platt's discovery at Saltford, just east of Goderich, set off a string of salt works along the Lake Huron shore, the kind pictured in the 1908 photograph above. They led eventually to the Sifto mine, whose tunnels now run far out under the lake.

Hours, seasons and prices change. Check with the site before you travel.

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Cite this page

For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.

The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Goderich: The salt mine under lake huron. https://saltalmanac.com/places/goderich-ontario

Original sources

  1. Wikipedia. Saltford, Ontario. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltford,_Ontario
  2. WorldAtlas. Where is the world's largest underground salt mine? https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/where-is-the-world-s-largest-underground-salt-mine.html