Bend or Sun Valley?

Neither town is a beach destination, but Bend makes more of its water. The Deschutes runs right through town, so floating past the Old Mill District or paddling by Drake Park on a summer afternoon takes no planning. Elk Lake and Sparks Lake are close enough for a cold August swim.

Sun Valley's best swimming is at Redfish Lake under the Sawtooths, about an hour's drive away, and the water is chilly even in midsummer. Closer to town, the heated outdoor pools are the most reliable option, since the Big Wood offers only eddies.

Bend has the livelier and broader choice of food and drink. Its breweries and food-cart pods with fire pits can shape whole days and evenings, and there are cheaper meals alongside the farm-to-table restaurants downtown.

Ketchum aims higher at the top end, with kitchens cooking Idaho trout, lamb and elk. Otherwise the choice is narrower, cheap food is scarce, and some places shorten their hours in the quiet seasons. Neither town has a local cuisine to seek out.

Both towns are short on sights, and an afternoon covers either one. Bend does have one stop that can fill half a day, the High Desert Museum, with Indigenous and pioneer history and live animals. Sun Valley's history is more a matter of stories: the 1936 lodge built around the world's first chairlifts, the film-star photographs in its corridors, and Hemingway's grave in Ketchum.

Bend has more going on after dark, though it is still an early town. Its taprooms and food-cart courtyards fill up with people coming straight off the trail, and downtown has a short run of cocktail and dive bars that stay busy on summer weekends.

In Sun Valley, a night out means après-ski in a few Ketchum saloons, wine bars and hotel lounges, and a couple of western bars stay loud until closing. Outside the ski season and midsummer, most nights end soon after dinner. Neither town has clubs.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, so the choice comes down to the kind of terrain you want. Bend sits at the edge of the volcanic Cascades. That gives it lava canyons, the caves and obsidian fields of Newberry, sport climbing at Smith Rock and the open slopes of Mount Bachelor, and in spring you can ski and bike on the same day.

Sun Valley is steeper and wilder. Bald Mountain's long, direct runs start right in Ketchum, and the jagged Sawtooths an hour north have alpine lakes and long hikes. The Big Wood and Silver Creek draw fly fishers, there is rafting on the Salmon River, and the aspens turn gold in autumn.

Sisters, half an hour northwest of Bend, is the best town outing either place has to offer: a western-style main street of galleries and bakeries under the mountains. Bend also has Sunriver's nature centre and observatory to the south, and the tribal museum at Warm Springs adds some depth.

Sun Valley has less to choose from. There is Hailey's small historic main street, the log-cabin outpost of Stanley beyond the Sawtooths, and a long drive south to Shoshone Falls. Boise is too far for an easy day, so most outings here head into the mountains.

Bend gives children more variety. River floats, the Lava River Cave, the otters and raptors at the High Desert Museum and the lawns of Drake Park make for easy summer days, and Mount Bachelor has its own beginner area for winter.

Sun Valley works well for families who ski, with a separate gentle hill and a well-run ski school. Beyond that, little is aimed at children, rainy days are hard to fill, and the midwinter cold and altitude can be hard on toddlers. Neither town has a zoo or a theme park.

Sun Valley is easier to manage without a car, at least within the resort. A free bus links Ketchum, the village and the lift bases, so a ski week can pass without driving, and a paved path runs the length of the valley.

Bend's compact centre and riverside path are good for walking and cycling, but its buses are of little use to visitors, and almost every trailhead, lake or climbing area needs a hire car. In both places, getting out into the wider mountains means driving.

Shopping is a minor part of a trip to either town, and the main difference is price. Bend is practical, with chain stores in the Old Mill District, independent boutiques downtown and consignment shops for used ski and bike gear, and Oregon's lack of sales tax helps a little.

Ketchum's shopping is smaller and pricier. It leans towards fine and western art galleries, fly-fishing shops and cashmere boutiques for second-home owners, and the galleries hold evening walks in the main seasons.

Neither town is cheap. Bend is a fairly expensive resort town, and its rooms climb steeply in summer and on ski weekends, which are its two main seasons. Most visitors also need a hire car. Even so, it is the easier of the two on the budget. Trails, rivers and parks are free or cheap to use, Oregon has no sales tax, and spring or autumn midweek stays cost noticeably less.

Sun Valley is a heavier spend all year round. Its wealthy second-home community sets the price of rooms, restaurant meals and lift access, and there is little budget lodging anywhere in the valley. Staying further down the valley or coming in the quiet spring and autumn months helps, but only so much.

Touring rock, folk and country acts fill Bend's riverside amphitheatre in the Old Mill District through the summer. Sun Valley's season is classical: the Sun Valley Music Festival puts a professional orchestra in a pavilion on the lawn by the lodge for weeks of free concerts, and people picnic on the grass to listen.

Away from summer, Bend still has something on, because the restored Tower Theatre keeps comedy, film and visiting musicians going all year. Sun Valley adds its long tradition of star skaters performing on the outdoor rink on summer evenings, but off-season visitors will find almost nothing there.

Sun Valley is the better place to unwind. Its resort spas and steaming outdoor heated pools are made for the end of a ski day, and the rough creekside hot springs up the Warm Springs valley are a short drive from Ketchum.

Bend has day spas in town and larger resort spas around Sunriver. Its natural soak, at Paulina Lake in the Newberry caldera, means walking to primitive pools, and the town leans towards activity rather than rest.