I love REI! This is a great place to pick up your outdoorsy supplies (if you know what you're looking for), or to go browsing around and get help if you have no idea what you're looking for. The staff are really friendly and usually really good at making recommendations for whatever you're looking for. As a newbie to most things outdoorsy, I don't feel intimidated at all going to this store since the staff are so good at helping me out.
I recently became an REI member. It's a $20 lifetime membership that pays for itself. You get dividends back every year depending on your purchases and you get invites to special REI members only sales.
I love that in addition to the big name brands (Colombia, the North Face, etc.), they have their own REI brand. I gave REI 4 stars instead of 5 because almost everything there is so darn expensive (this is coming from a self-supported college student budget). I know you can find similar items online for much more competitive pricing, but I really like the store and supporting this business. They're also eco-friendly by emailing receipts instead of printing them and reducing usage of plastic/paper store bags.