Bend or Monterey?

Neither place is a beach destination, and they offer different kinds of water. Bend is inland, so summer means floating on inner tubes down the Deschutes through the Old Mill District and taking cold, clear swims in Elk Lake or Sparks Lake in August.

Monterey has the real coastline: the white sand at Carmel, the dunes at Asilomar and Del Monte Beach. But the bay is too cold for long swims, and rip currents are common, so these beaches are better for walking, picnics and kayaking in a wetsuit.

The food is about equally good in both, but each town has its own focus. Bend eats and drinks around beer, with brewpubs, food-cart pods with fire pits and taps, and early coffee before the trail.

Monterey cooks from the sea and the farmland behind it: squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs, artichokes from the Salinas Valley, and Pinot Noir from Carmel Valley. Skip the chowder places on the wharf and eat in Old Monterey's side streets or in Carmel.

Monterey has much more history to see. The adobes of the State Historic Park, the Custom House, Colton Hall, where California's first constitution was written, and the Royal Presidio Chapel all go back to the Spanish and Mexican capital. The Carmel Mission is ten minutes away.

Bend is a young mill town. The High Desert Museum is very good and fills half a day, but beyond it there is only the logging story, a few brick blocks and the Tower Theatre.

Both towns go to bed early. Bend is a little more sociable: taprooms and food-cart courtyards fill up early with people still in their hiking gear, and a short run of downtown bars stays busy on summer weekends. Monterey's evenings are mostly dinner followed by a glass in a wine bar or pub on Alvarado Street. Neither has clubs worth the name.

Both are superb, but Bend has the edge because the outdoors is the whole point of a visit. Volcanic peaks, ski runs, alpine lakes, mountain-bike trails starting in town, Smith Rock's climbing and the lava fields of Newberry give it a range of activities few places can match.

Monterey's strength is the sea and its wildlife: humpbacks over the submarine canyon, otters in the kelp, kelp-forest diving, and the cliff walks of Point Lobos and Big Sur. Bend has the mountains, and Monterey has the ocean.

Monterey has far more good places within easy reach. Carmel's cottages and galleries, Victorian Pacific Grove, the Carmel Valley wineries, Steinbeck's Salinas and the mission at San Juan Bautista are all short drives, and Santa Cruz is under an hour away.

From Bend, the outings lead to landscapes rather than towns. Sisters and Sunriver are pleasant, but the ranching towns nearby have little to see, and Crater Lake is a long day's drive.

Both work well with children. The difference is that Monterey has a single big draw and Bend has a string of small adventures. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, the tide pools and the whale-watching boats make the coast easy for families with younger children.

Bend suits active families better: tubing on the river, the Lava River Cave by lantern light, the animals at the High Desert Museum and ski school on Mount Bachelor. Nearly every outing needs a car.

Monterey is a little easier without a car. The flat coastal recreation trail links the wharf, downtown, Cannery Row, the aquarium and Pacific Grove, so you can do the main waterfront sights on foot or by bike.

In Bend you can walk the compact downtown and the Old Mill District, and cycling is pleasant. But the lakes, trailheads and Smith Rock all need a car, and outside the ski shuttle the buses are of little use to visitors.

Monterey has the more enjoyable browsing, mostly just outside town. Carmel's streets of galleries and independent boutiques and Pacific Grove's antique shops are worth an afternoon, more than the taffy and otter souvenirs on Cannery Row. Bend is more practical, with chain stores in the old mill buildings, but it wins on outdoor gear and secondhand ski and bike equipment.

Bend is easier on the budget, although it is not cheap either. Prices rise on summer and ski weekends, but Oregon has no sales tax, food carts keep meals cheap, and spring or autumn midweek stays cost noticeably less.

The Monterey peninsula is priced for the Californian weekend market. Hotels in Carmel and on the waterfront are expensive, and dinner on Cannery Row is costly. Visitors on a budget stay in motels in Seaside or Marina and spend their days on free pleasures along the shore.

The two are broadly level, and both are at their best in summer. Bend's riverside amphitheatre brings touring rock, folk and country acts in summer, with free concerts in the parks. Monterey's draw is its festivals: the long-running Jazz Festival on the fairgrounds where the 1967 Pop Festival was held, the Carmel Bach Festival and plays in Carmel's open-air Forest Theater. Outside those seasons, both rely on a restored theatre downtown.

Monterey is the better place to slow down. Evening walks on the Pacific Grove shore, quiet days in Carmel and resort spas among the vineyards of Carmel Valley suit a restful stay, particularly midweek.

In Bend, relaxing usually means a hot tub after a day of activity. There are resort spas around Sunriver and primitive hot springs at Paulina Lake that you reach on foot, but most people come here to be active rather than to rest.