The Best Places to Shop in Alaska
What’s the best way to feel like you’ve never left Alaska? Bring a piece of it back home with you! No matter your taste or budget, whether you’re looking for souvenirs or one-of-a-kind items, you have plenty of choices. In fact, with so many options, it’s hard to know where to begin—which is why we’ve listed our favorite places to shop below.
So what can you find? Unique crafts, for starters—items that capture the spirit of this wild, untamed country—like paintings, prints, and woven baskets, along with carvings and sculptures made from ivory, bone, and soapstone. Shop for real Alaskan gold, or for qiviut, a fabric made from the undercoat of the Arctic musk ox. You’ll find ulu knives, invented by Eskimos. And food, of course: salmon (fresh or smoked), king crab legs, scallops, shrimp, and reindeer sausage. Be sure to look for the Made in Alaska logo before you buy. And most everything can be shipped home for you. Above all, let your own taste and style guide you to those things that will most remind you of your magical time in Alaska.
Show Map
Shopping
Reasonably priced gifts for friends, family and office mates, or a just a delicious snack for the plane ride home. Almost three quarters of the shop consists of foods and accessories that were made, caught or picked in Alaska — from smoked salmon, reindeer sausage and jerky to jams, syrups or Ketchikan-made Ravens Brew Coffee.
This downtown shop and café is a little glimpse into old Anchorage — a city that wasn’t completely about logging, fishing and tough guys. Built in 1915, the Kimball building, on Town Square Park at the corner of 5th and E, is a stop on the historic walking tour and still has antique fixtures and flooring. It’s eclectic, “quaint-meets-cool” gift and tea shop is an extension of a famed dry goods and sewing notions store that has been in business… ...more
Discover something truly unique to bring home at this one-of-a-kind gallery that carries only work by Alaskan artists. Shop for high-quality glass, metal, and wood art; jewelry; mittens; handbags; scarves; handmade soap; journals and notebooks; photography; watercolor prints; cards; stickers and more.
The only specialty cheese shop in Anchorage is also a can’t‑miss café. It’s the only place in Anchorage to purchase specialty cheeses sourced from across Europe and the U.S. But it’s also a hip, casual spot with a great lunch menu that mixes artisan cheeses with high-quality fast food. Some people come just for the cookies!
The Ulu Factory makes high-quality ulus that are practical in the kitchen, as well as custom-made birch wood salad grabbers. Watch skilled craftsmen carry on this tradition at the Factory near Ship Creek.
Alaska Wild Berry Products has two convenient locations. One, inside the 5th Avenue Mall in the heart of downtown Anchorage. The other is just a brief 10-minute drive from downtown. The shop itself features great Alaskan gifts like Alaskan jelly, salmon, meats, and chocolate.
This unique market is located in Wasilla, about 60 miles north of Anchorage. You’ll find creations of over 80 Alaskan artists and chefs that make for perfect souvenirs or gifts for friends back home.
When your Alaska travel plans include outdoor activities (and they should!), gear up with affordable, high-quality equipment rentals from local experts. Alaska Outdoor Gear Outfitter & Rentals will pull together what you need for everything from a summer campout to a winter snowshoe or aurora viewing expedition. So get out there!
In the winter, Powder Hound is filled with all kinds of the latest ski equipment in toddler to adult sizes. You can ski in and out, and will find boots, ski, jackets, goggles, helmets and more. Skiers may howl when the snow leaves, but Powder Hound can deck you out with essential items that will keep you comfortable and busy all summer. They offer all types of bike rentals, from hybrid style touring bikes to all mountain and downhill bikes. You ...more
Whether it’s shirts, pajamas, slippers or stuffed animals (bear fans, meanwhile, while find a few PJs and trinkets as well). You can also choose among gifts such as quirky magnets, notepads and water bottles that make great portable gifts.
Variety of dining choices, movie theaters with recliners, a bowling alley, and an ice rink, it provides enjoyment for the whole family.
The oldest retail store on 6th Avenue is a tourist favorite offering “Everything for your Alaskan Adventure!” Fishing gear or winter rentals, plus the Outlet Upstairs for inexpensive items and a great outdoor store staff by Alaskans sincerely interested in you having your best trip! Stop by and see why 6th Avenue Outfitters Co-op remains a downtown icon people love.
Authentic Alaska art shows both incredible craftsmanship — and also a soul. This longtime gallery in downtown Anchorage has established a great reputation for providing a direct link between the Native Alaskan art community and art lovers who want to embrace both the beauty and traditions within a piece.
Longtime Alaskan Heather Robuck makes modern gold prospecting easy: Their collections of handmade gold-in-quartz jewelry — a rare combination — are crafted into rings, necklaces, and bracelets. Also, check out their extensive collection of natural, unaltered gold nuggets.
Drop by this Anchorage store and discover a wide selection of unique jewelry made from gold and minerals mined right here in Alaska or hand-selected from around the world. Find natural gold nugget jewelry, a dazzling selection of diamonds, jasper, agates, jade, thunder eggs, petrified wood, and fossils — set beautifully in rings, chains, pendants, charms, earrings, and more.
Sample delicious syrup and sweets made from birch trees at Kahiltna Birchworks in Talkeetna — the world’s largest producer of birch syrup. Stop in to shop, or for a tour of the facility at mile 1.1 of the Talkeetna Spur Rd, just off the Parks Highway. You’ll also find Alaskan food products (many wild harvested), botanicals, and functional art like pottery, tiles, birch bark and wood crafts. Products are also available online.
Talk about one-stop shopping: At 14,000 square feet, this Anchorage store is Alaska’s biggest gift shop. Run by the Green family — a local family that has been active in Anchorage retail for about as long as Anchorage has existed — Polar Bear makes legitimate claims for having the biggest selection and lowest prices of all the gift shops in the state.
Named after the insect that, some joke, could be Alaska’s state bird, the bookstore also makes a great stop for travelers who’ve just landed in Alaska. You can pick up guidebooks, regional maps, hiking trail maps, or even a nice journal to log your travels or wildlife sightings.
Watch craftsmen turn birch logs into heirloom bowls, browse some 1,500 Made in Alaska products or custom design your own laser engraved bowl while at the Great Alaskan Bowl Company. Started over 20 years ago, this family-run business is one of the last operational bowl mills in America, and it thrives because of the quality products and large selection.
One of the most original gifts you can find in Alaska is a piece of clothing made from the undercoat of the musk ox, called “Qivuit.” What’s so special about this fabric? It’s finer than cashmere, eight times warmer than wool (and not scratchy like wool), and extremely light. Pick up some items made from this rare, lustrous fiber when you’re downtown at the co-op; you’ll have a rare treasure that can be found nowhere else in the world.
This downtown shop doesn’t just offer ready-made gifts and souvenirs — though it does have plenty of those, including jewelry, medallions and watches emblazoned with Alaskan images such as bears, wolves and even Iditarod champions. One of the most popular items here are gold-nugget necklaces, rendered from piece of gold brought in by modern-day prospectors. The store’s other claim to fame is being the starting point for the Iditarod and Fur… ...more
Shop for unique Alaskan-made art, jewelry, and much more at this one-of-a-kind log-cabin gift shop in Cooper Landing. Conveniently located just 90 miles from Anchorage and 50 miles from Seward, you can also try your hand at gold panning right outside the store.
Set in downtown Anchorage, Wild Starr is not only a place to discover gorgeous creations from Alaskan artists — it’s also a community gathering space that hosts fun events focused on creating your own works of art.
Bringing the right gear for a vacation in Alaska can seem daunting. This independent store, in the Spenard area of Anchorage, offers both an affordable way to buy anything from rain pants to a mountain bike once you get here — as well as an efficient way to sell that same gear when it’s time to go home. Essentially a consignment store, Hoarding Marmot lets folks buy and sell gently used gear — the ultimate in good recycling.
This Anchorage institution has a great slogan: “If you don’t know furs, know your furrier.” The furs themselves come from Alaska and other parts of the world — such as Scandinavia and Russia — and come from mink, beaver, lynx, and fox, to name a few. Go upstairs to see how they make everything from coats to slippers, mostly by hand.
Locals know this Homer institution as the place that has everything — from sporting goods to oil for your car, art supplies to prescription medications. While it has a staggering amount of variety, it maintains a charming mom-and-pop vibe.
It’s Christmas year-round in North Pole, Alaska at the Santa Claus House, just 20 minutes from Fairbanks. The Santa Claus House is a frontier general store and post office turned holiday shop. The postal tradition lives on — official letters from Santa are postmarked from the North Pole and stamped with an official Santa seal. The store also has live reindeer, a coffee shop, holiday gift items, the world’s largest Santa statue and, in summer ...more
The store works with local artists and sells authentic Alaskan art, but you can take a smaller taste of Alaska with you. As a nice alternative to the usual airport candy, pick up a made-in-Alaska chocolate bar for your on-the-go snack.
This gift store sits 1,800 feet above Juneau, at the top of the Goldbelt Mount Roberts Tramway. So while you peruse one of the city’s best selections of Alaska Native artwork, you can also take in some amazing views. It’s why this is the place to “shop at the top.”