Beaver Creek or Sun Valley?

Neither resort is a place to swim. Sun Valley is only slightly better, thanks to Redfish Lake under the Sawtooths, about an hour north, which has a sandy shore but cold water. Beaver Creek's nearest equivalent is the small snowmelt-fed swimming area at Nottingham Lake down in Avon, so in both places a heated outdoor pool is the realistic swim.

Both feed you the way wealthy ski resorts do, with trout, lamb and elk from capable kitchens and no regional cooking behind it. The real difference is where you eat. Beaver Creek's memorable dinners are up on the mountain, at lodges you reach by chairlift or snowcat sleigh, and the cheaper taquerias, diners and brewpubs are down the valley in Avon and Edwards.

In Sun Valley you eat in Ketchum, an old town where pizza places, après-ski grills, early breakfast spots and a summer farmers' market are all a few blocks apart, although some kitchens cut their hours in spring and autumn.

Sun Valley has the better story. The Union Pacific railroad built it in 1936 with the world's first chairlifts, and the Sun Valley Lodge's corridors of film-star photographs keep that era alive. Hemingway's grave in Ketchum and his memorial by Trail Creek give a quiet afternoon some purpose.

Beaver Creek only dates from around 1980. You can see its stone-and-timber village and the sculpture around the plaza in an hour, and any real history means driving out to the mining country.

Nights end early in both, and both start with après-ski. Beaver Creek keeps it polished, with drinks by the fire pits on the plaza and a few hotel lounges in a resort designed to be calm, and anyone after more noise drives to Vail. Sun Valley is rougher round the edges: Ketchum's saloons and wine bars, a band on a busy winter weekend and a couple of old western bars that stay loud until closing time.

Both are first-rate mountain destinations, and the choice comes down to the kind of mountain you want. Beaver Creek has long groomed cruisers, glades and famously uncrowded slopes linked to Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead, with Vail's vast terrain a short ride away. Sun Valley's Bald Mountain is steeper and more direct, with runs falling straight down to Ketchum, plus Nordic trails and backcountry touring in the Boulder and Smoky Mountains.

In summer, Beaver Creek relies on lift-served hiking and biking, the Gore Range and gold-medal fishing on the Eagle and Colorado. Sun Valley feels wilder, with dense singletrack, the spring creek at Silver Creek and the alpine lakes of the Sawtooths about an hour north.

Beaver Creek has far more choice, because it sits among a string of Colorado mountain towns. Vail is about twenty minutes away, Victorian Leadville and gold-rush Breckenridge are about an hour off, and old Glenwood Springs is an hour west. They are similar in character, but you get a different place for each rest day.

Sun Valley's surroundings are much emptier. Hailey's short main street and the log-cabin outpost of Stanley are about all there is nearby, Shoshone Falls is two hours south, and most excursions head into the mountains rather than to towns.

Beaver Creek is clearly the more child-friendly resort. Older children can roam its car-free plaza, escalators carry everyone up from the car parks and the ski school is large. Children remember the warm cookies handed out when the lifts close, and in summer there is a hilltop adventure area with ropes courses and climbing.

Sun Valley works for families who already ski or cycle, with its separate beginners' hill and quiet streets, but there is less laid on just for children, and teenagers who don't ski may find it slow. Neither has a zoo or an aquarium for a bad-weather day.

The two work much the same way: getting around the resort is easy, and anything beyond needs a car. Beaver Creek has a pedestrian village with outdoor escalators, ski-in ski-out lodging and free shuttles. Eagle airport is about half an hour away, while Denver means two hours over passes that winter storms can close.

Sun Valley relies on Ketchum's flat, walkable grid, a free bus and a paved bike path down the valley, which is enough for a ski week without a car. Its airport at Hailey is small, and the trailheads, hot springs and the Sawtooths can only be reached by long valley roads.

Sun Valley is the better place to browse. Ketchum's few blocks have serious fly-fishing and outdoor gear shops alongside the galleries and cashmere boutiques, and the evening gallery walks in season make shopping an outing in itself. Beaver Creek's plaza is smaller and more uniform, mostly technical ski wear, luxury outerwear, western boots and bronze sculpture. Prices are high in both, and everyday shopping means going down the valley.

Neither is a place to save money, and Sun Valley is only slightly kinder. Beaver Creek's slopeside luxury hotels, lift tickets and ski school put it among the most expensive vacations in North America, and staying in Avon or Edwards, booking passes early or coming in summer only helps a little.

In Sun Valley, prices are set by the second-home owners. You can save a little by staying further down the valley, using the free buses and coming in the quiet spring or autumn months.

Summer classical festivals are at the heart of both. Beaver Creek is slightly better outside summer, because the Vilar Performing Arts Center in the village puts on concerts, comedy and dance in winter too. In summer, Bravo! Vail orchestras and the Vail Dance Festival are twenty minutes away.

Sun Valley's festival is more relaxed: a professional orchestra plays in an open-sided pavilion by the lodge, admission is free, and people picnic on the lawn. Figure skaters also perform on the outdoor rink on summer evenings, but out of season there is very little.

Both rely on hotel spas and outdoor hot tubs in the snow, and the difference lies in the hot springs. At Beaver Creek the large resort spas are on your doorstep, and the big pool at Glenwood Springs, used since the 1880s, is about an hour away, so a polished spa day is easy to put together.

Sun Valley's soaks are wilder: natural pools beside the creek up the Warm Springs valley, reached by a dirt road, and a simple hot springs pool north of town. They suit someone who prefers wild water to treatments.