Kingston is an underrated town when it comes to tourism. The 340+ year-old town is the epicenter…read morefor tours of the Thousand Islands, has the famed Fort Henry, is the hometown of Canada's first Prime Minister (John A. Macdonald), and has some of Canada's best fresh-water sailing. Luckily for the town, it has a gift shop like Waterfront to ensure one doesn't forget about this great place.
First of all, we were sucked in by happenstance ... or very clever marketing ... as we had to go in the get our tickets for the Thousand Island Discovery Cruise inside the gift shop. That being said: Once you go in, there is an abundance of cool, high-quality stuff.
I would hazard a guess that Waterfront has the city's best collection of Kingston-based apparel ... I draw this conclusion because since it has a deeper collection of gift-shop wares than the Kingston Visitor Info Centre (reviewed here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kingston-visitor-information-centre-kingston). Hoodies, t-shirts, glasses, mugs, hats, boxer shorts, and the rest.
You'll also find plenty of nautically themed stuff from shirts to lighthouses to books to model sailboats.
To call it a "gift shop" would be an insult as they have so much fancy stuff: Scrubs, soaps, candles, watches, purses, wallets, jewelry, scarves, frou-frou gift baskets, high-end greeting cards (including some that are hand-drawn), and the rest.
There are several high-quality brands including the sock puppets and stuffed animals of Cate & Levi; the hemp-heavy and fair-trade fashion of Ark Imports; the beauty and personal care products of Walton Wood Farm; and the vegan, eco-friendly, and cruelty-free skincare products of Kingston's own Shiva's Delight.
And, oh, don't worry: PLENTY of maple.
And #2: If you're into stuffed moose, I don't think you'll find a better selection in the Great White North :)
So stop in ... even if you have to!