Beaver Creek or Jackson Hole?

Neither place is for swimming, but Jackson Hole at least has real lakes. By late summer, shallow, sandy-bottomed String Lake beneath the Tetons warms enough for a proper swim after a hike. In Beaver Creek the water is mostly heated hotel pools. The small, chilly beach at Nottingham Lake down in Avon is the only outdoor alternative.

The food in the two is on a similar level, but the character differs. In Beaver Creek, dinner is part of the resort experience: refined menus of elk and Colorado lamb, and mountain lodges you reach by chairlift or snowcat sleigh. For cheaper, everyday meals you go down the valley to the taquerias and brewpubs of Avon and Edwards, or over to Vail.

Jackson feels more like a real town with a flavour of its own. It has bison and trout with huckleberries, steakhouses and saloon burgers around the Town Square, bakeries for early starts and a summer farmers' market. Neither offers much variety or anything cheap.

Jackson Hole gives a curious visitor a good day's worth. The National Museum of Wildlife Art looks out over the elk refuge, the boardwalks and antler arches shape the town centre, and inside the park are the Mormon Row barns and the log chapel whose window frames the peaks.

Beaver Creek was built as a ski resort around 1980 and has no history of its own. Its stone-and-timber plaza with outdoor art takes about an hour to see, and real Rockies heritage means driving to the old mining towns.

Both valleys go to bed early, but Jackson Hole has more going on before that. Après-ski bars at the base of Teton Village fill noisily when the lifts close, and the saloon with its country dance floor is a proper night out. Brewpubs and cocktail bars around the square carry on a little longer.

Beaver Creek was designed to be quiet. Evenings are a drink by a plaza fire pit and a hotel lounge after dinner. Anyone wanting more drives over to Vail.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, and Jackson Hole goes further. The Tetons rise with no foothills in between, two national parks are within reach, and wildlife from moose and bison to grizzlies and bald eagles is part of daily life. In winter the Teton Village tram climbs above some of the steepest lift-served terrain in North America.

Beaver Creek's skiing is gentler and famously uncrowded, with long groomed cruisers that suit mixed-ability groups and Vail's vast terrain close by. Summer brings the Holy Cross Wilderness, the Gore Range, gold-medal fly-fishing and Glenwood Canyon.

Beaver Creek has proper towns to visit. Vail's Tyrolean-style pedestrian village is about twenty minutes away. Leadville's Victorian silver-mining streets, Breckenridge's gold-rush centre and the old spa town of Glenwood Springs each take about an hour.

From Jackson, outings head into the landscape rather than to other places. The Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass, and the ranch towns of Pinedale and Star Valley, make pleasant drives but rarely fill a day.

Both work well for families, in different ways. Beaver Creek is built around the ski school. It has gentle children's terrain, an ice rink, escalators up from the car parks, cookies when the lifts close and a car-free plaza where older children can roam. Summer adds ropes courses and mini golf on the hilltop.

Jackson Hole is better for children who love animals. They can spot bison from the car, earn Junior Ranger badges, ride a sleigh through the elk herd and watch the summer rodeo and the staged shootout. Days there involve more driving, and neither place has much to offer on a rainy day.

Beaver Creek is far easier without a car. Escalators and free shuttles link the village, hillside lodges and Avon, valley buses run to Vail, and Eagle airport is about half an hour away. The catch is Denver, around two hours away over passes that storms can close.

Jackson's town centre is compact and walkable, and the airport is a short drive north. A bus covers the 20km to Teton Village. But there is no public transport into the parks, so for trailheads and wildlife at dawn you need your own wheels.

Jackson is the better place to browse. Its boardwalks are lined with galleries of Western and wildlife art, and it sells handmade cowboy hats, boots, turquoise jewellery and serious mountaineering gear, with a few smart boutiques for the valley's residents. Beaver Creek's shops are a small, expensive cluster around the plaza, mostly ski wear, leather and bronze-sculpture galleries. For everyday shopping you go down to Avon.

Both rank among the most expensive vacations in the United States, and neither can be done on a budget. The difference is where the money goes. In Beaver Creek, slopeside luxury lodging, lift tickets and ski school drive the cost, and the only real savings come from staying in Avon or Edwards or visiting in summer.

In Jackson the bed is the big expense. Once you are there, the trails, viewpoints and roadside wildlife cost little beyond modest park fees. Sleeping over the pass in Idaho or coming in late spring or autumn lowers the bill.

Beaver Creek has the fuller stage. The intimate Vilar Performing Arts Center in the village runs a season of touring concerts, comedy, dance and family shows in both winter and summer, so even a ski week can include an evening out. Summer is the peak, when Bravo! Vail brings leading American orchestras to the open-air amphitheatre in Vail, twenty minutes away, alongside the Vail Dance Festival and a jazz series.

Jackson's highlight is the Grand Teton Music Festival, held for several summer weeks in its timber hall at Teton Village. The rest has a Western flavour, with chuckwagon dinner shows and country bands in the saloons. Once the festival season is over, Jackson has little beyond community theatre and bar bands.

Beaver Creek is the more restful choice. Its large resort spas, among the biggest in the Rockies, have steam rooms and outdoor hot tubs in the snow, and the car-free village stays quiet at night. The historic Glenwood Springs pool is about an hour west.

Jackson's strength is wilder. Its natural hot springs include a canyon pool reached in winter by snowmobile or dog sled, and soaking pools on the banks of the Snake. Beyond those, rest mostly means the hotel spas.