Banff or Jackson Hole?

Neither is a swimming destination, and in both the lakes are cold except for a few weeks in late summer. The difference is where you go. Banff's best spot is Johnson Lake, a short drive out, with a small grassy shore. In Jackson Hole you have String Lake in Grand Teton, where the water is shallow and the bottom sandy. In Banff the warm water you will actually enjoy is in the hot springs.

Jackson eats better than its size would suggest. There is enough money in the valley to support chef-led dining rooms, and the menus have a regional thread of elk, trout and huckleberries. Good bakeries and coffee roasters serve the early starters, and in summer a farmers' market runs on the Town Square.

Banff's food along Banff Avenue is mostly steakhouses, fondue and pub plates for hungry hikers. The grand hotels are the main exception, and the town has no market. In both places choice is narrow and cheap food is hard to find.

Both towns' sights fit into a single day, but Banff's tell a more connected story. You can see the cave spring where Canada's national parks began, the castle-like Banff Springs Hotel, and three small museums on mountain art, Victorian natural history and the Plains peoples.

Jackson's highlight is the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge. Its most memorable scenes, though, are in the park: the barns of Mormon Row and the log chapel with the Tetons framed in its window.

Both are small and casual, and both go quiet in spring and autumn. Banff stays up later, because its population of young seasonal workers keeps a couple of dance bars on Banff Avenue loud past midnight. Jackson's classic night is a country dance at the saloon with saddles for bar stools, or après-ski at Teton Village as the lifts close. After that the town tends to turn in early.

Here the two are equals, among the finest mountain bases anywhere, and the choice comes down to the kind of landscape you want. Banff's is glacial: the turquoise water of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, the catwalks of Johnston Canyon, the icefields along the Parkway and three separate ski areas. Elk wander across the town lawns.

Jackson gives you the Tetons rising sheer from the valley floor with no foothills in front, and Yellowstone is within a day's drive. Wildlife is richer here, with bison, moose, pronghorn and grizzlies, and in winter a sleigh takes you through the elk herd. In winter the tram climbs to 3,185m, above some of the steepest lift-served terrain on the continent.

Banff has the stronger options when you want a day away from the mountains. Canmore is a short hop down the valley, and Calgary is an easy outing for its museums, the Heritage Park historic village and the Stampede grounds. Over the Divide, the railway hamlet of Field makes a modest stop.

From Jackson, the farm towns of Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass give you a pleasant drive and a view of the range from the west, but not much reason to stay. The more substantial historic buildings are the old lodges inside Yellowstone.

Both are safe, manageable small towns where wildlife and the outdoors keep children busy, and neither has a zoo or an aquarium. Banff's pleasures are easy to reach: the gondola, the canyon boardwalk and a family soak in the hot springs pool, with Calgary's attractions in reach for a rainy day.

Jackson leans into the Wild West with the summer rodeo, the staged shootout on the square and Junior Ranger badges. The valley sits at about 1,900m, though, and the long drives into the parks can tire small children.

Banff is far easier without a car. Roam Transit buses run to the hot springs, Lake Minnewanka, Canmore and Lake Louise, and in summer park shuttles serve the busiest lakes. You only really need a car or a tour for the Icefields Parkway and Yoho.

In Jackson the bus mainly links town with Teton Village. Nothing public runs into Grand Teton or Yellowstone, so a car is close to essential. One advantage Jackson has is an airport a short drive from town, where Banff visitors make the transfer from Calgary.

The galleries are the best reason to shop in either town, and they look in different directions. Banff's handful sell Indigenous art and painting of the Rockies, which makes a souvenir with a real sense of place. Beyond them, Banff Avenue is practical: outfitters for the boots and warm shell you forgot to pack, Canadian clothing labels and fudge shops.

Jackson's dealers lean towards bronze sculpture and the wildlife tradition of the American West, and its outdoor shops stock high-end ski and mountaineering gear rather than the basics. The money in the valley also keeps a small number of smart clothing and interiors shops going, something you will not find anywhere on Banff Avenue. Both towns lack markets and department stores, so in either place shopping fills an afternoon rather than a day.

Both are expensive, but Jackson is harder on the wallet. Its rooms, rental cars and guided trips are among the dearest in the United States, and Grand Teton and Yellowstone each charge their own entry fee. The usual fix is to stay over the pass in Idaho.

In Banff, room numbers are capped inside the park, but it is more realistic to keep costs down. You can camp, stay in Canmore and get around by bus. In both places the trails and wildlife cost nothing once you are there, and the shoulder seasons help.

Banff has the steadier cultural life, thanks to the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Its theatres on Tunnel Mountain host concerts and dance through much of the year, and each autumn the Mountain Film and Book Festival gathers adventurers and filmmakers.

Jackson's highlight is the Grand Teton Music Festival, a few summer weeks of orchestral concerts in Teton Village, along with chuckwagon dinner shows. Outside summer there is little beyond bar bands.

Banff was founded as a spa town and it shows. The 1930s Upper Hot Springs pool looks across the valley, ideally with snow falling, and the grand hotels have full spas with mineral pools.

Jackson's hot springs are wilder and further out. One is a pool in a forested canyon that in winter you reach by snowmobile or dog sled, and the other is a riverside park of soaking pools. In town, relaxation is mostly resort spas and massage for sore skiers.