61 Best Places to Shop in Alaska, USA

If you're looking for brand names like Pendleton, Simms, and Filson, this locally owned store is your place. It is pretty much fly-fishing central in Anchorage, and you can find expert advice and guidance for your prospective fishing and hunting adventures. There's also an excellent book section that covers all sorts of outdoor activities in Alaska.

A Tlingit family owns this crowded shop that specializes in traditional Northwest Coast artworks, from carved silver bracelets to high-end masks. They also have a second location across the street. 

The company manufactures equipment and clothing for commercial fishermen. Its Homer shop sells PolarFleece garments and other rugged outerwear, plus duffels, rain gear, and children's clothing.

Owner Thomas Cumps has made a name for himself with his hot-smoked white king, red king, and sockeye salmon, along with a local favorite, cold-smoked black cod. It's best to call ahead to make sure Cumps will be around before you stop by. You can take your fish with you or have it shipped.

The knowledgeable staff and impressive collection of Alaska titles make a visit to Old Harbor a pleasure. The Backdoor Café ( sitkabackdoor.com), a cozy politically progressive hangout behind the bookstore, serves excellent espresso and fresh-baked pastries.

The Alaska Native–owned cooperative Oomingmak sells items made of qiviut, the ultra-soft and warm undercoat of musk ox, from inside one of the few small houses remaining in Downtown. Scarves, shawls, hats, and tunics are knitted in traditional patterns by women in villages across Alaska.

A book lover's bookstore with creaky floors and cozy quarters, Parnassus stocks many Alaskan titles.

A cooperative gallery, Ptarmigan shows photographs, paintings, pottery, jewelry, woodworking, and other pieces by local fine and craft artists.

If you get to Alaska and discover you've left some critical camping or outdoor recreation gear behind, REI rents camping, skiing, and paddling equipment. It also gives regular seminars on season-specific outdoor topics. The salespeople are very knowledgeable about local conditions and activities and the gear required to get you out and back safely.

Rie Muñoz, one of Alaska's best-known artists, was the creator of a stylized, simple, and colorful design technique that is much copied but rarely equaled. This gallery run by her son is located in the Mendenhall Valley, a 10-minute walk from the airport.

Created by two sisters who grew up harvesting seafood on Alaska commercial fishing boats, Salmon Sisters is an all-woman-run shop where you can stock up on your filleted, smoked, jarred, or frozen wild Alaska salmon and halibut. They also sell fishing gear and Alaska-made cards, books, and clothing.

In business since 1972, Scanlon carries the prints of well-known Alaska artists, including Byron Birdsall, John Fehringer, Barbara Lavallee, Rie Muñoz, and Jon Van Zyle. The gallery also exhibits jewelry, glasswork, and pottery.

On the Front Street side of the Walter Soboleff Building, Juneau's regional Alaska Native arts and cultural center, this shop and gallery sells work by Northwest Coast and Alaska Native artists from Seattle to Yakutat and farther north. Here you'll find a wide range of items, from moderately priced earrings and T-shirts to high-end, one-of-a-kind art pieces.

Find Alaska-made crafts for every budget—from glasswork to jewelry to notecards—at this bright, welcoming studio, owned by painter and printmaker Katie Sevigny. 

Off an alley in a big, beautiful white house that served as a boardinghouse for fishermen and schoolteachers, this shop stocks books on Alaska, best sellers, cards, and gifts.

In an 1895 Victorian next to the Bishop's House, the gallery, Sitka's most charming shop, sells Alaskan paintings, sculptures, Native art, and jewelry.

This small but quaint bookstore carries Alaska titles, children's books, magazines, maps, and gifts. Its moniker is a throwback to the town name's former spelling. The owner, Jeff Brady, ran the local newspaper, the Skagway News, for more than 30 years.

Design, art, clothing, and collectibles can all be found at stylish Soho Coho. Also here are T-shirts featuring the work of owner Ray Troll—best known for his wacky fish art—and works by other Southeast artists.

This shop and tearoom blends its own teas and spices, and also sells a range of Alaska-made groceries from spruce tip jelly to kelp-and-cayenne chocolate bars.

A tiny gallery tucked next to the bookstore, Taiya River is operated by a multigenerational family of artists who create one-of-a-kind carvings and jewelry in wood, silver, and other materials. The black-and-white "Made in Skagway" sign in the window here and elsewhere makes it easy to support local artists and businesses.

At the south end of town near the cruise-ship docks and Mt. Roberts Tramway, Taku Store processes nearly 6 million pounds of fish a year, mostly salmon. The smoked sockeye fillets make excellent gifts. You can view the smoking procedure through large windows, and then purchase the packaged fish in the deli-style gift shop or have some shipped back home.

Taylor's uses gemstones mined in Alaska and creates unique gold designs.

Owners Yolande Fejes and Ron Veliz take the "Alaska" in their gallery's name seriously; almost everything here is made in the state (with a few Canadian artists represented). Visit this hand-built log house for fine art and souvenirs made with regional pride. The gallery is also a worthy stop during the monthly First Friday showcase of local artists and their works.

Located in the belly of Bunnell, Fringe is a used and new clothing boutique. Its biggest draw are the locally made wearable art pieces that range from groovy hats to clever, funky dresses and linens.

One of Alaska's most popular tea companies, the Kobuk serves up a variety of classic and unique teas, including their signature Samovar tea (a samovar is a traditional Russian container used to brew tea). Pastries, coffee, fine china, and other gifts are also for sale.

Alaska authors line the shelves at this cozy literary café, a neighborhood gathering place that's both a bookstore and coffee shop. The busy events calendar showcases local artists of all stripes, including spoken word performances, art openings, and book launches.

Easily the largest independent bookstore in Alaska, Title Wave Books fills a 25,000-square-foot space in the Northern Lights Center. The shelves are filled with nearly half a million used books, CDs, and DVDs across more than 1,600 categories, including a large section of Alaska-focused books. The staff is very knowledgeable, and the store hosts regular game nights and children's story times. Anyone can bring in used books and trade them for store credit.

Sample smoked or canned halibut and salmon at Tonka Seafoods, located in the old Mitkof Cannery building. Be sure to taste the white king salmon—an especially flavorful type of chinook that the locals swear by. Tonka will also ship.

Haines's most charming gallery displays attractive jewelry, prints, and fashion wear created by owner Fred Shields and his daughter Melina. Other local artists are also represented. The gallery is just up from the cruise-ship dock, and its summer gardens alone are worth the visit.

The colorful and scented soaps sold at this shop near St. Michael's Cathedral are handcrafted on the premises.