Walking into this store is a fun experience! I thought of the toy store featured in "Home Alone"…read morehaha. This store is mostly an ornament store, though there are many types of ornaments to select. I do wish there were some more Christmas cards or other Christmas items. Value is okay, and staff could be a little friendlier.

We recently went to this Christmas store in Banff. It is located on the Banff ave. Banff itself is…read morea beautiful place to visit, however when we entered this store, it felt like being in a magical wonderland. Surprisingly it's a big store and they have various sections like white Christmas, sports theme, superhero theme and many more to choose from. There is so much to explore, very colourful and vibrant store, we spent like an hour inside. Even our 7 month old baby loved it, she was just looking around with sparkle in her eyes. We bought few ornaments from there, can't wait to hang them on our Christmas tree this year.

If you're looking for ammolite (which is moving to become recognized as the official gemstone of…read moreAlberta), Rock Paper Silver has the best selection in terms of small "stone" samples, jewelry, and "rock" pieces. In general, they have nearly everything relating to stones, crystals, and fossils in a variety that stretches from the regular souvenir stuff (wire-wrapped crystal necklaces and bead bracelets) to jewelry-grade stones and actually jewelry to decorative house pieces, statues, and wall pieces. The storefront is smaller than the actual store, which stretches REALLY far back. Very well organized with clearly marked sections for the different kinds of stones. Employees are extremely helpful and knowledgeable and were pretty open about admitting to their stuff being a bit upmarked. They even recommended other locations for some possibly cheaper, specific types of fossils. Not only were they very informative when we asked about specific crystals and rocks, and this included where they'd gotten everything. Canada is famous for being a rockhound's dream, with its amazing and numerous mineral and precious metal deposits. However, Rock Paper Silver also provides specific other kinds of crystals from other parts of the world. There are a number of souvenir and rock/crystal/fossils places along Banff Avenue. However, Rock Paper silver is right at the center of the main cluster of restaurants and gift shops. The closest parking (besides the minimal street parking when the road isn't blocked off) is the Bear Street Parking Lot, an open parking lot that (like the street parking) has an hourly rate of $3 per hour from 8 AM to 8 PM. If you manage to park there, you can cut through Park Avenue Mall's backdoor (southeast corner of the lot) straight to Banff Avenue. The other main parking area is the Bear Street Parkade. First floor has the same hourly rate as mentioned before with the second floor up completely free. We mostly used the parkade and the only drawback is that so do most people. Be sure to check the counter they have at the entrance for if there are still spaces available on the upper floors. Would absolutely recommend dropping by here to browse. Especially if you're interested in rocks, crystals, and fossils. While there are a lot of pricier items, there are a variety of other more affordable products that make for a great unique souvenir!

I always spend way too much in here. They have such a…read morehuge, beautiful inventory. Almost too much for one person to take in. I always have something in mind before I arrive. The polite staff are quick to serve. I am a gemologist, so I know a thing or two about rocks, gems and jewelry. I am very impressed with their abundance of product knowledge. Really amazing. It's pretty expensive, but the quality is fabulous. Call me a sucker.

It's highly recommended to visit here. People are nice, products are nice and I appreciated them…read morebeing a part of history in Banff and letting me experience that. There are two sections on this place. One section in a front sells arts and crafts, the second back house, that's attached, sells the First Nation dresses and shirts and other warm clothes. If you look up in the second housing, there are many taxidermy animals, one of which was my favorite, a 38 lbs fish caught in 1928. This place has been in a business easily over 100 years. There stands a sad bear that it's claws were ripped off by this particular communist nationalities...why did they do such a thing? Now this bear has claws glued back on but not original ones. Do not touch those animals but to observe and appreciate them. It's a important piece of a Banff's history and those original residents. They have a small parking. Behind this shop is where the First Nation museum is located which is currently closed till March.

INTERESTING LOCAL BANFF HISTORY…read more The Banff Indian Trading Post is a lot more than a souvenir tourist shop. Located near Banff Ave, this unassuming log cabin is an important part of Banff's local history as we learned during a Town Walking Tour hosted by the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. In the early 1900s, a man named Norman Luxton settled in Banff after coming to the hot springs to recover from a failed attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean in a two man boat. He started a newspaper and set up the trading post from which he traded with the local Indigenous nations. Luxton operated the store with a partner - today the the Trading Post is owned by the partner's daughter who had to agree to Luxton's request that the store be preserved as it has always been. On display inside the Trading Post is a mummified creature named Herman the Merman who also has an interesting backstory. Luxton wanted to start a canoe club on Lake Minnewanka but no one was interested in coming to the haunted lake. Luxton purchased Herman, a "Fiji Mermaid" that was a taxidermy sideshow hoax - the torso of a monkey was attached to the body of a large fish. Luxton staged a struggle with this mer-man as a successful exorcism of the lake. Aside from Herman the Merman, the Trading Post houses a large taxidermy collection including a huge brown bear. The Trading Post also features Indigenous artwork and crafts, many of which are for sale. Next door is the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum, another venture started by Luxton - it is currently operated by the Buffalo Nations Cultural Society.

They had the most beautiful things along with amazing clothing for a reasonable price. The material…read morefor the clothing wasn't the cheap feel. I wish I had bought more while I was there. It sucks that they dont have an online shop . But I truly enjoyed myself shopping there

One of our favorite stores while shopping for touristy stuff in Banff. I love their selection of…read moretshirts, candies, and generally everything touristy. The cashier gave us free gifts each time we visited (3 times in one week). Very friendly staff.

I bought the cutest sweatshirt and water bottle stickers for my boys. Prices are what you would…read moreexpect from a typical souvenir shop. They have a great selection of tee-shirts, sweats, maple syrups stuff, stickers, Keychain, socks, everything! Tip: ALWAYS select local currency (Canadian) when paying by creditcard. Your credit card company will give you a better exchange rate.

I love this place! I was looking for a shirt to take home as a souvenir for my time in Banff. We…read morehappened to come across this gift shop that had the best shirt designs at the best prices in Banff and Canmore! I was also impressed by the wide selection of other souvenirs that you would typically expect, all at affordable prices. I highly recommend anyone to check out this place if you're looking to take something home for yourself, or to buy gifts to give to your family and friends.

A beautiful store filled with great hoodies and jackets. I bought two of their reversible jackets…read morefor me and my husband, and we love them. we shopped around at a few different stores looking for jackets and they had the best quality jackets for the best price. The store is filled with very polite and helpful staff that helped us find everything we needed.

If you want a hoodie as a male never go to this place. It's an absolute joke they may have 3 male…read morehoodies that are plain or ugly. Then they have about 11 female hoodies that looked like they had more thought put into them. I was really hoping to get a hoodie as a souvenir but unfortunately they don't care enough to actually stock good male hoodies.

This is my absolute favourite store to go looking for what my future house will look like. It's in…read moreCanmore, you say? Doesn't matter, I've been known to drive out to Stonewaters on day trips by myself, just so I can explore every wooden inch of this store. You have another question? No, of course I can't afford anything in it. That's why I call it the house of my dreams. I have money in my dreams you see, lots of money. And anytime I need to go dream-shopping, I always make sure I go to Stonewaters first! I mean how can I not? This place is where log-cabins get envious. Nate Berkus probably steals his designs from here and tourists, well it helps tourists think that we all live in houses decorated like this store. Nothing wrong with this. I always say that Banff is for the tourists and Canmore is for Calgarians. Stonewaters is a secret best not shared with a lot of people and that's why it so!

Such a beautiful store. This store is 1000% my taste and I understand why it's priced the way it…read moreis: quality, family owned, and locally made. I can't wait to come back here again when I'm ready to decorate my future home.

I really enjoy coming to this thrift store! It's very well-organized, which makes hunting for items…read moreso much easier. Like any good thrift store, it can get a little dusty at times, but overall it's pretty clean and well-kept. The prices are very fair, and the employees are always friendly and welcoming. Definitely worth a stop if you love thrifting!

Such a well organized and stocked store! They have two sections, one with clothes and another with…read morebooks and home goods. I wish I needed some books because they were plenty stocked and had one of the best inventories I've ever seen in a thrift store. I didn't find anything in either part, as some others have said, prices were a bit inflated but nothing unreasonable. There's a garden center or something of the like next door and when we were walking in it smelled like manner so that threw off my vibe completely.