Pat's is a simple gas station and convenience store located in the quaint mountain town of Waterton Lakes National Park. It's actually right in the heart of all the action. I give them credit. It's sort of a "throwback" type of gas station that....is inviting to the eye and makes you want to go inside and check out what they offer. I did buy a couple of keychains, magnets and postcards from them.
Waterton is this little secluded vacation spot that's part of the Glacier-Waterton Cooperative International Peace Park.
Once you arrive here, it's sort of a backdoors getaway that has a flavor of its own. Reason why I'm mentioning this is because...Pat's is the only place in town you can find gas.
They also sell supplies, snacks and the little extras. Always a plus to offer the basic necessities.
Though...their main form of business was renting bicycles! Let me explain...
For my first time visiting Waterton last month.....I had learned and overheard that there had been a breakout fire in the area and a few of the natural attractions to explore were off limits to automobiles.
Ah so....although a few of the touristy sights wouldn't allow for cars, bicycles were permitted (along with walking and hiking if you cared to trek so far).
And this is why Pat's offered what seemed like an infinite amount of bicycles for rental.....and why bikes were being checked out quite quickly. By the time I grasped onto what was going on....there were only so many bikes left available.
Here's a few details from my experience...
2 specific attractions (due to fires) were only permitting bicycles for passageway...
Akamina Parkway and Red Rock Parkway.
Both these roads, situated in and around the outskirts of Waterton were each roughly 8 - 9 miles (one way), scenic roads that lead to beautiful surroundings as you made your way towards the end of both parkways.
From there, you could explore the picturesque conditions and appreciate the views from all different directions. From Akamina Parkway...Cameron Lake was mentioned as quite the spot to walk around and relax.
Since 8 - 9 miles each way negates really hiking these parkways, ...bicycles were the only form of transportation. So I went with the herd and rented a mountain bike for the first day of my visit here.
I left my car in a free parking lot across the street from Pat's.
I then rented a bike...though I didn't know how long it would take me to navigate either of the parkways. The employee inside Pat's said well...it's $60 - Canadian to have the bike for the entire day. No problem....when I paid w/ credit card.....it came to $47 - US dollars.
Yeah, I must admit...I used the bike to ride around town taking in the sights which was quite nice. But then I rode just out of Waterton and started navigating Akamina Parkway.
Wow....what a mistake!!! Not only was Akamina Parkway totally going uphill the entire way....but the wind was against me and quite ferocious. Oh my....countless times I got off the bike and walked. It was a struggle to say the least! After maybe 7 miles and wasting 2.5 hours going one way on Akamina Parkway.....I said enough and turned around. Now going back downhill and with the wind......I barely pedaled and returned back to town in about 15 minutes!
During my experience riding the bike....other tourists and visitors stopped me and told me I rented the wrong bike!
They said I needed to rent an E-BIKE! Yes an E-BIKE! It has a built in motor that assists you while pedaling and makes for any ride or commute quite easy. Wow what was I thinking? Though Pat's never mentioned to me anything about an E-Bike! Literally, I haven't rode a bike in about 25 years. What did I know about new technology?
Anyways, when I finished my rental for the day...I asked back at Pat's how much an E-Bike cost to rent.
They mentioned it was $30 for the 1st hour...and $20 each additional hour. And...they don't offer all day rentals on these e-bikes like they do for mountain bikes.
Unfortunately although I was spending a 2nd day at Waterton...I considered an E- Bike...but didn't want to be pressed for how much time I would need to use it.
Ultimately, I just passed. I tried walking Red Rock Parkway but that was quite a mistake. Oh well, I guess nature does have its drawbacks and fires is one of them. I had to accept I couldn't explore everything I had intended on.
Just a few things...my mountain bike rental for the day, wow...the SEAT was so UNCOMFORTABLE my "undercarriage" hurt for days. I had trouble walking that's how unbearable the bike ride was.
Also, Akamina Parkway was quite disappointing in terms of scenery. It wasn't pretty at all and although I never made it to Cameron Lake, my whole ride offered virtually nothing exciting.
Hopefully for 2020 and beyond, both Akamina and Red Rock Parkways will be passable for cars. Then I can't imagine Pat's bicycle rentals being popular whatsoever. It'll just remain a straightforward quick stop gas station in the center of Waterton. read more
