Bend or Las Vegas?

Neither city has a coast, but Bend has the better natural water. You can float an inner tube down the Deschutes through town and take a cold, clear swim in Elk Lake or Sparks Lake in August.

In Las Vegas, swimming means resort pools with sand-lined wave pools and lazy rivers, or Lake Mead's gravel shore with no shade. Neither city is worth choosing for swimming, but Bend's river afternoons feel more like a real outing.

Eating and drinking in Bend centres on beer: brewpubs with big menus, food-cart pods with fire pits, and early coffee before the trail. There are some good farm-to-table kitchens downtown and in the Old Mill District, but international food and fine dining are scarce.

Las Vegas has far more range. The Strip has chef outposts, steakhouses and tasting menus, and the more rewarding eating is kilometres of Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants on Spring Mountain Road, many of them open late.

Neither city is a destination for sightseeing, and each takes about an afternoon or an evening. The difference is in kind. Bend's best stop is the High Desert Museum, with live animals, Indigenous heritage and pioneer life, plus a few brick downtown blocks and the restored Tower Theatre.

Las Vegas offers the city as spectacle: themed resorts, the fountain show and the canopy of lights over Fremont Street. Its real history is told in the Neon Museum's yard of old casino signs and in the Mob Museum, housed in the old federal courthouse.

The two cities are very far apart here. Bend's evenings are taprooms and fire-pit courtyards full of people still in their hiking gear, and most of the town is quiet by the time Las Vegas gets going.

Las Vegas runs around the clock, with DJ residencies in resort clubs, pool parties during the day and drinks you can carry along the Strip. For something cheaper and more local, the dive bars and cocktail lounges around Fremont Street and the arts district are a good alternative.

Both sit in spectacular desert country, but Bend has more of it, and it is usable for more of the year. Volcanic peaks, the Three Sisters Wilderness, a big ski mountain half an hour away, mountain-bike trails from the edge of town and the climbing at Smith Rock let you ski and bike on the same day in spring.

Las Vegas has Red Rock Canyon's sandstone cliffs, the flame-coloured rock of Valley of Fire and pine forest on Mount Charleston. However, summer heat rules out desert hiking for months, and the winter skiing there is small by comparison.

Both cities are isolated, and their best excursions are long drives to landscapes such as Crater Lake from Bend or the Grand Canyon and Zion from Las Vegas. Where they differ is in the shorter outings. Bend offers small places: the western main street of Sisters, the nature centre and observatory at Sunriver, and the tribal museum at Warm Springs.

Las Vegas has a single big landmark instead. Hoover Dam and orderly Boulder City make one strong half day out.

Bend is much the better choice with children. River floats, the Lava River Cave, the otters and raptors at the High Desert Museum, the lawns of Drake Park and a beginner ski school all suit a family that likes to be active. You will need a car, though, and there is no zoo or theme park.

Las Vegas has more attractions built for children, including an indoor amusement park, a shark aquarium and a children's museum. But the route to almost everything goes through casino floors and past adult advertising, so most families treat the city as a stop on the way to the national parks.

Bend's riverside core between downtown and the Old Mill District is easy to walk and pleasant to cycle. Beyond it, the buses are of little use, and the lakes, trailheads and Smith Rock all need a car.

Las Vegas is easier without a car. A monorail, buses that run day and night, and plenty of taxis cover the Strip and downtown, although the huge resorts and the summer heat make distances on foot much longer than they look. You will still want a car or a tour for the desert.

Bend's shopping is practical. Its strength is outdoor gear: good ski, bike and climbing shops and consignment stores for used equipment, plus a few independent boutiques downtown and chain stores in the Old Mill District. Oregon's lack of sales tax helps a little.

Las Vegas is much stronger. The arcades at Caesars Palace and the Venetian hold the major fashion and jewellery houses, two large outlet centres draw bargain hunters, and the malls stay open late. Like Bend, though, it has no markets and little local craft.

Neither city is cheap, and the costs come in different places. In Bend, rooms are expensive in summer and on ski weekends, and nearly everyone needs a hire car, although the trails, rivers and food carts cost little.

Las Vegas can have surprisingly cheap rooms from Sunday to Thursday, but weekend rates, resort fees and the price of drinks, shows and Strip dining soon add up. In both cities, staying midweek is the easiest way to save.

Bend's live music is mostly a summer affair: touring rock and country acts at the riverside amphitheatre in the Old Mill District and free concerts in the parks. For the rest of the year there are comedy and small productions at the Tower Theatre.

Las Vegas has dozens of shows on any given night, from water-based acrobatics and magicians to long star residencies in purpose-built theatres. The Smith Center adds touring Broadway musicals, ballet and the city's philharmonic.

Las Vegas has the bigger spas. The resort spas are among the largest in the country, with thermal circuits, salt and ice rooms and long treatment menus, but the casinos around them are noisy all day and night, so the calm only lasts as long as the spa visit.

Bend offers less in the way of facilities: day spas, resort spas at Sunriver, and primitive hot springs at Paulina Lake that you reach on foot. The town itself is quieter, though, with sunny riverside lawns and a hot tub after a day on the trail.