Alta, Utah or Breckenridge?

Neither place is anywhere near a coast, and swimming plays no real part in either. In Alta it stops at a lodge pool or hot tub, and the Great Salt Lake below is too shallow and salty for bathing. Breckenridge at least has Lake Dillon a short drive north for sailing and paddling, though it is too cold to swim in, and there are indoor pools at the town recreation centre.

Breckenridge gives you a real choice of where to eat. Main Street and its lanes hold steakhouses, wood-fired pizza, sushi and Mexican kitchens, and a few chef-led places cook Colorado elk, trout and bison. The town brews its own beer and distils whiskey. It is resort food rather than a culinary destination, but you can eat somewhere different every night.

In Alta most meals happen in your lodge: often half board, served at long communal tables, with lunch in slopeside cafeterias. There is no restaurant street, and Utah's liquor rules shape how drinks are served. For variety you have to drive down the canyon to Salt Lake City.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Breckenridge has more to look at. Its 1859 gold-rush historic district is a grid of painted Victorian storefronts and miners' cabins, and you can join a mine tour and pan for gold, which fills a pleasant afternoon.

Alta's history as a silver camp that became one of the West's oldest ski areas survives only as old mine workings on the slopes, with no museums or buildings to visit. Anyone wanting culture goes to Salt Lake City.

Breckenridge has a real night out, at least in winter. Après-ski crowds pack the bars at the lift bases, and on Saturdays the brewpubs, old saloons and a couple of dance bars keep going past midnight. Expect a small-town scene that goes very quiet in spring and autumn.

Alta's evening is a drink in the lodge bar and bed, which is exactly how its regulars like it. For anything livelier you head to the neighbouring resort or down to Salt Lake City.

Both are outstanding mountain destinations, but they suit different skiers. Alta is about powder: storms off the Great Salt Lake bury its steep terrain, the mountain is for skiers only, and serious backcountry touring heads into avalanche-prone bowls. In summer the draw is Albion Basin's wildflowers, the walk to Cecret Lake and moose on the trails.

Breckenridge offers breadth instead. There are five peaks above town, with Keystone, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin and Vail all close, plus groomed Nordic trails. In summer you can climb Quandary Peak or cycle the paved path to Frisco and Lake Dillon for paddling, which Alta cannot match. It also sits higher, at almost 3,000m, so allow time to adjust.

The two offer much the same amount of choice, but different kinds of outing. From Alta the big draw is a real city: Salt Lake City, with Temple Square and the State Capitol, is under an hour away when the canyon road is open. Park City's mining-era Main Street is another easy day.

From Breckenridge the outings are old mining towns: Leadville with its national mining museum, Georgetown's narrow-gauge railway and the hot springs at Idaho Springs. Vail is under an hour away. Denver, about two hours off, is a much longer trip than Alta's run down to Salt Lake.

Breckenridge is much the easier place to bring children. A free gondola runs from town to the wide beginner slopes, and in summer the mountain becomes an activity park with an alpine coaster, mazes and climbing walls. The town adds playgrounds, pools and an ice rink, although its greater altitude can bring on altitude sickness in the first days.

Alta works only for families who ski. Ski school and gentle terrain near the base are about all there is. On storm days, guests can be kept indoors while avalanche control goes on.

Breckenridge is easier to manage without a car. The centre is walkable, the gondola and town buses are free, and county buses link Frisco, Dillon, Keystone and Copper Mountain, although the drive from Denver's airport takes about two hours on I-70.

Alta is closer to its airport, about 50km from Salt Lake City, and many lodges are ski-in, ski-out. Everything depends on the single road up Little Cottonwood Canyon, though. It jams on powder mornings and closes after storms, and outside the ski season you need a car.

Breckenridge offers an evening browse along Main Street, with galleries selling Western landscapes, a few boutiques, sweet shops and well-stocked outdoor stores, and the Silverthorne outlets are a short drive away. In Alta, shopping means ski rental and tuning shops and some branded souvenirs, so anyone who wants to shop goes to Salt Lake City or Park City.

Both are expensive in the ski season, and neither is clearly cheaper than the other. In Alta the cost comes from scarcity: beds are in a handful of lodges, often with dinner included, though lift tickets are fairly moderate. If you are on a budget, stay in the Salt Lake valley and take the bus up each day.

Breckenridge's bills come from condos, lift tickets, lessons and meals out, and the Christmas, New Year and spring-break weeks are the dearest. Staying in Frisco or Silverthorne helps, the buses and gondola cost nothing, and summer is much cheaper.

Breckenridge has a real summer music season. The open-sided Riverwalk Center by the Blue River hosts a festival orchestra and a national orchestra academy through July and August, and a local theatre company stages plays for much of the year. In winter there are mainly bands in bars.

Alta has no stage of any kind, and anyone who wants a concert or a play drives down to Salt Lake City.

Both offer the same kind of post-ski unwinding, so the difference is in mood. Alta wins on calm: the tiny village and silent evenings, with snow muffling everything on storm days, make for real rest, though its lodge spas are small.

Breckenridge has fuller spas in its resort hotels and natural hot springs about an hour away at Idaho Springs. The busy winter days and thin air leave many visitors tired rather than rested, though.