Bend or Salt Lake City?

Neither city has a coast, but Bend's water is closer to hand. The Deschutes runs right through town, so on a summer afternoon you can tube past the Old Mill District and finish on a riverside lawn, and Elk Lake and Sparks Lake give cold, clear swims within easy reach.

In Salt Lake City the water takes more effort. The Great Salt Lake is worth one visit to float in the brine, but the muddy shore and summer flies send most people back. For a proper swim you drive up to Jordanelle, Deer Creek or Pineview in the Wasatch.

The two are about level, and both are pleasant rather than a reason to travel. Bend centres on beer: brewpubs with big patios, walking or cycling routes between them, and food-cart pods with fire pits, with some decent Pacific Northwest farm-to-table cooking downtown but little international range.

Salt Lake City has more personality on the plate and more variety. You can try fry sauce, fried scones and dirty sodas, and the best meals come from the Mexican, Pacific Islander, Peruvian and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street. The trade-off is drinking, as Utah's rules make wine and cocktails thinner than Bend's easy-going taprooms.

Salt Lake City has far more to see. Temple Square alone, with the granite temple, the domed Tabernacle and its organ, and the Beehive House nearby, is a morning, and the State Capitol, the painted Cathedral of the Madeleine and the Natural History Museum's dinosaurs take up a second day.

Bend's culture comes down to the High Desert Museum, a good half day of natural history and Indigenous heritage with live animals, plus the logging story at the old stone schoolhouse museum. The brick downtown and the mill smokestacks round it off in an afternoon.

Both towns go to bed early, and the nights are much the same size. Bend's evenings are brewpubs and taprooms full of people still in their ski or hiking gear, with a short run of cocktail and dive bars and almost nowhere to dance.

Salt Lake City has a little more range: a few dance clubs downtown and in the Granary District, and a long-standing gay bar scene. Utah's liquor laws keep drinks and closing times in check, though.

Here the two are equals, both with first-rate mountains on the doorstep. Bend's landscape is volcanic. The Three Sisters and Broken Top fill the skyline, Mount Bachelor is half an hour away, Smith Rock is one of the country's great climbing areas, and lava flows, obsidian and caves lie around Newberry. Singletrack starts at the edge of town, and in the shoulder seasons you can ski and bike on the same day.

Salt Lake City has the bigger ski choice. Four resorts in the Cottonwood Canyons are under an hour away, Park City is just over the ridge, and the dry powder is famous. To the west it adds something Bend lacks: bison on Antelope Island and the white expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Salt Lake City has the better towns for a day out. Park City's steep Victorian Main Street is worth a wander in any season, Midway and Heber sit in the next valley, Ogden's old railroad 25th Street fills half a day, and the Golden Spike site is there for railway history.

Bend's outings are mostly into scenery. Sisters makes a pleasant western main street, Sunriver has its nature centre, and the Warm Springs museum covers the region's tribes, but the other nearby towns are working ranch centres. In both places the famous parks, Crater Lake or Zion and Arches, are long trips.

Salt Lake City is built around children in a way few American cities are. Restaurants expect them, and there is a zoo, an aquarium, the Discovery Gateway museum, a planetarium, Tracy Aviary and the Lagoon amusement park, so rainy days and tired legs are covered.

Bend is safe and relaxed but works for a narrower kind of family. Floating the river, exploring the Lava River Cave with a lantern and meeting the otters at the High Desert Museum are great days out, but there is no zoo or amusement park, and active, outdoorsy children get the most from it.

Salt Lake City is the easier place to manage without a car, if only up to a point. TRAX light rail links the airport, downtown and the University, and FrontRunner trains reach Ogden and Provo, though the wide streets and long blocks stretch every walk.

Bend's core is small and walkable, and the riverside path and quiet streets make cycling a pleasure. Beyond town, buses are of little use and a car is needed for the lakes, trailheads and Smith Rock. Most visitors arrive through the small airport at Redmond.

Both are best for outdoor gear, with excellent ski, bike and climbing shops. Salt Lake City adds more general shopping: City Creek Center's department stores beside a running creek, the old streetcar barns of Trolley Square and the independent and vintage shops around 9th and 9th and Sugar House.

Bend has chain stores in the Old Mill District's converted buildings and a few downtown streets of boutiques and galleries. Its consignment shops for used equipment and Oregon's lack of sales tax are small advantages.

Salt Lake City is somewhat easier on the budget. Downtown hotels are reasonable outside big events, light rail is cheap, and everything on Temple Square is free. The costs come with the ski resorts and Park City lodging.

Bend prices like a resort town, with rooms climbing steeply in summer and on ski weekends, and it is hard to manage without a hire car. Free trails and rivers, food-cart meals and the absence of sales tax help, and spring or autumn midweek stays are the gentlest on the wallet.

Salt Lake City is well ahead. Hearing the Tabernacle Choir rehearse or perform with the great organ is a memorable free evening, and the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West and touring Broadway shows give the city a full season.

Bend's stage life is mostly a summer thing, with touring rock, folk and country acts at the riverside amphitheatre and free concerts in the parks. The rest of the year falls to the Tower Theatre and the brewpub bands, and there is no opera or professional orchestra.

In both, rest is a reward after a hard day outdoors rather than the point of the trip. Bend's version is a hot tub after skiing, resort spas around Sunriver, and the primitive Paulina Lake hot springs reached on foot in the Newberry caldera.

Salt Lake City's most memorable soak is about an hour away at the Homestead Crater in Midway, warm mineral water inside a limestone dome. Park City's resort spas cover the rest.