Big Bear Lake or Huntington Beach?

Huntington Beach is a real beach destination and Big Bear Lake isn't. The coast is a long run of flat sand from the dog beach in the north past the pier to the state beaches, with volleyball, fire rings and a path the whole way along. The surf and rip currents mean swimmers stay near the lifeguard towers, and the calmer coves of Newport and Laguna are close by.

At Big Bear, swimming means a quick dip in a cool mountain lake. Most of the shore is rocky, and only Meadow Park has a lifeguard. People go out on the water in kayaks and boats rather than lying on the sand.

Big Bear Lake eats like a ski resort: big breakfasts in log-cabin diners, burgers, barbecue and Mexican plates, then a brewpub pint after the slopes or trails. It is filling, but there is no local cooking to seek out, and many visitors simply stock up at the town supermarkets and cook in their rented cabin.

Huntington Beach gives you far more to eat, largely thanks to Little Saigon a short drive inland, where the pho houses and banh mi bakeries of Westminster and Garden Grove are worth an outing of their own. In town, eating is casual and mostly outdoors, with fish tacos near the pier, surfers' breakfast spots and seafood with an ocean view along the coast highway. For a more serious dinner, people head to Newport Beach or Costa Mesa.

Neither town is worth a trip for its sights. Huntington Beach has slightly more: the pier, the International Surfing Museum and the Surfers' Hall of Fame tell the story of surfing, and Los Angeles's museums are an hour away. Big Bear has its Discovery Center on the forest and a dirt-road drive past old gold-rush cabins in Holcomb Valley.

Huntington Beach has an actual night out, though only on one strip. Main Street's sports bars, rooftop decks and a few dance spots fill with a young local crowd on Friday and Saturday, and close at 2am. In Big Bear, the evening usually ends with a little après-ski in winter and a soak in the cabin's hot tub. There are no clubs and nothing stays open late.

This is Big Bear Lake's strongest suit. It's a proper mountain base, with forest around the lake, skiing in winter, mountain-bike trails and the Pacific Crest Trail in summer, the San Gorgonio Wilderness next door and bald eagles over the water in winter.

Huntington Beach's outdoors is the ocean: surf breaks either side of the pier, paddling in the harbour channels and excellent birding at the Bolsa Chica wetlands. For hills you have to drive to Crystal Cove or the Santa Ana Mountains, because the land around the town is flat and built up.

Huntington Beach is far better placed for outings. Los Angeles is about an hour away, and Laguna Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano are closer still. Ferries reach Catalina Island, and San Diego works as a long day.

Big Bear sits at the end of slow, winding mountain roads. Lake Arrowhead, the orchards of Oak Glen and Riverside's Mission Inn are the realistic trips. Most visitors who go there simply stay on the mountain.

Huntington Beach is the stronger family base. Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are close inland, the Long Beach aquarium makes an easy morning, and at home there are wide beaches and the pelicans at Bolsa Chica. The surf suits boogie-boarding children better than toddlers.

Big Bear Lake offers something the coast can't: snow. Children get sledding hills, ski lessons and the small Alpine Zoo, and in summer there's an alpine slide and pedal boats. Altitude and weekend traffic are the drawbacks.

Both towns need a car, but Big Bear Lake is slightly easier once you're there. Its Village can be walked, and a local bus and seasonal trolley run out to the ski areas, although the drive up can need snow chains and crawls at busy weekends. Huntington Beach has a walkable downtown and a flat beach path that's ideal for a bike. Every bigger outing, though, means a busy freeway.

Huntington Beach gives shoppers much more to do. Main Street is lined with surf shops and board makers, and the surf brands and boards are the most characteristic things to take home. South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, with the major fashion houses, is about twenty minutes away. Big Bear's Village is a pleasant hour of fudge, bear souvenirs and ski and lake outfitters, and little more.

Neither is cheap, but Big Bear Lake can be stretched further. A shared cabin midweek or out of season, with its own kitchen, keeps a group or family's costs down, though winter weekends and lift tickets push prices up sharply.

Huntington Beach's beachfront hotels and sit-down meals cost a lot, and a hire car with parking is close to essential. The free beach, the inland motels and the county's Vietnamese and Mexican cooking help to balance it.

Huntington Beach has the better access to a real stage programme, though not in town. In nearby Costa Mesa, the Segerstrom Center hosts the Pacific Symphony, ballet, opera and touring Broadway shows, and South Coast Repertory runs a respected theatre season. Big Bear has a community arts centre, free summer concerts by the lake and Bavarian bands at its autumn Oktoberfest.

The two are on a par, and neither has thermal baths or a destination spa. The difference is the setting. At Big Bear you unwind in the cabin, with a wood stove, a deck among the pines and a private hot tub, best on a quiet midweek stay. At Huntington Beach it means yoga on the sand, a sunset walk on the pier and an evening by a beach fire.