It’s not really fair to judge a town by just one brief trip down its main street, but a walk down the main drag in Skagway reminds us of a story we once read about the famous Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota. In this story, the author said in part, “If you like motorcycles, Sturgis is the third week of August. If you don’t like motorcycles, Sturgis is the third week of August.”
Skagway has little to nothing to do with motorcycles, other than a motorcycle rental shop in town, but the story seems to apply. The difference is that in Skagway, it applies to jewelry stores. It seems like about 70% of the businesses we saw in town were in fact some kind of jewelry store. Diamonds International—the chain that seems to haunt all cruise ship destinations—has no less than two stores in town.
So, a slightly modified phrase seems to apply to Skagway:
If you like shopping for jewelry, Skagway has an abundance of jewelry stores. If you don’t like shopping for jewelry, Skagway has an abundance of jewelry stores.
Of course, shopping for diamonds isn’t the only thing to do in Skagway. On a trip here a few years ago, we rode the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad for a brief adventure up into the mountains. Great scenery and views of the town from above. We recommend it if you’re coming through on a cruise.
Here are some of the images we shot as we ambled our way around town, avoiding the jewelry stores:
