The Banff shopping is quite diverse, ranging from upscale boutiques to interesting gift stores, to cheap and cheerful souvenir shops. There are a few Banff galleries and quite a number of arcades, so if it’s freezing outside, these can be a nice spot to hibernate.

Banff Ski Shops

For such a ski and snowboard oriented town, the Banff ski shops are somewhat disappointing. There are various Banff ski shops with an emphasis on equipment rentals, but when it comes to retail, the choice is a little limited. There is an emphasis on general outdoor clothing and grungy streetwear, rather than quality performance oriented apparel and gear.

Monod Sports (129 Banff Ave) is a stand-out Banff ski shop, with a comprehensive range of gear spread across three floors. The shop has a large range of hardwear, apparel from quality brands, ski and snowboard accessories, and a decent variety of backcountry equipment.

Snowtips Bactrax (225 Bear St) is mostly focused on rentals with only a small retail section, but this Banff ski shop also has a small range of backcountry equipment.

Canmore has a better range of large outdoor and sports stores.

Banff Shopping - Souvenirs

The Powderhounds have awarded Banff with a Best Canada Ski Resort award for the souvenir shopping, and for good reason. There are a plethora of Banff shops selling Canadian and Banff souvenirs, and a variety of all sorts of keepsakes either with the Canadian flag, the maple leaf, or “Canada” or “Banff” sprawled across it. There are lots of cheap and cheerful souvenir shops as well as some tasteful upscale gift shops.

The Banff shops have clothing such as caps, beanies, hoodies, jackets, socks, polar-fleeces, neck-warmers, pyjamas and T-shirts. It seems compulsory to have boasting rights to your visit to Banff and Canada by displaying this on some piece of clothing. The common T-shirts available that have the slogan “I love big dumps” must make some mother really proud!

The shops in Banff also sell many other souvenirs including keyrings, stickers, glasses, pins, mugs, playing cards, and the list goes on. Banff has made the most of fantastic marketing opportunities as the profile of the area as a holiday or ski destination is heightened through free advertising.

There are also shops selling maple syrup and maple syrup products. We purchased some as a gift, but it didn’t make it home! There are also lots of candy shops in Banff.