Big Bear Lake or Keystone?

Neither is a beach destination, but Big Bear Lake at least lets you swim. In midsummer the lake is cool rather than cold, and the supervised swim beach at Meadow Park gives children a safe place to splash between rocky stretches of shore.

At Keystone, Dillon Reservoir is cold snowmelt and mostly closed to swimmers. Getting in the water there means a hotel pool or a hot tub.

Eating out is much the same in both places: comfort food and a beer after the slopes, with many visitors cooking in their own cabin or condo. The difference is flavour. Big Bear Lake sticks to diner breakfasts, barbecue and Mexican plates in the Village. Keystone puts Colorado lamb, elk and trout on its menus, has a gondola-reached dining room at the summit, and lets you drive to Frisco or Breckenridge for more choice.

Neither place has much in the way of sights, and both have modern resort villages. What history there is comes from mining in both cases. Big Bear has its gold-rush remains along a dirt-road drive through Holcomb Valley. Keystone has old cabins above Montezuma, and the Victorian streets of Breckenridge are near enough to fill the gap.

Both go quiet early. Keystone's après-ski is the livelier moment, with the decks at River Run full of skiers still in their boots, and Breckenridge's Main Street is a bus ride away if you want more. Big Bear's evenings are a brewpub or sports bar, then back to the cabin fire.

Both are proper mountain bases, but Keystone works on a larger scale. It has three peaks of its own, bowls above 3,600m, Arapahoe Basin up the road and Vail within an hour, all on dry, reliable snow. Summer brings 14,000ft summits and alpine tundra over Loveland Pass.

Big Bear Lake's two ski areas are smaller and lean on snowmaking. Its strengths are the lake itself, the forest, the Pacific Crest Trail along the north shore and the bald eagles that winter around it.

Keystone gives you far more to do on days off the mountain. Breckenridge is about half an hour away, and the silver towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume, with their loop railway, lie across the Divide. Leadville's mining-boom streets and Denver's museums are both within a manageable drive.

From Big Bear, the winding roads make most outings slow. Lake Arrowhead and the Oak Glen orchards are pleasant, but anything bigger means two hours or more each way.

Big Bear Lake works best for families from the lowlands who want snow for a day or two and a cabin with room to spread out and a kitchen, at a lower cost. It also keeps children busier once the snow has gone, with an alpine slide, mini-golf, go-karts and fishing from the shore in summer.

Keystone is the more complete family resort for anyone whose trip is built around skiing, from first lessons to full days on the mountain. Off the snow there is less to offer: paddle boats, bike trails and easy hikes in summer, and little made for children beyond that. It also sits about 800m higher, so altitude and winter cold hit young children harder.

At Keystone you can manage without a car once you arrive. Free shuttles link the resort's bases, and free county buses reach Frisco, Dillon and Breckenridge. The weak point is the I-70 drive up from Denver.

Big Bear needs a car almost the whole time. The Village is walkable and a trolley runs in season, but cabins are spread out on hilly forest roads, and the highways up the mountain can crawl on busy weekends.

Keystone has the edge here because of the large outlet centre in Silverthorne, about ten minutes away, which is good for brand-name clothes and outdoor wear. Big Bear's Village offers fudge shops, bear-themed souvenirs and a few antique stores, which is fine for an hour but has no real clothing shopping.

Big Bear Lake is the cheaper of the two by a clear margin. Midweek and shoulder-season cabins can be reasonable for a group, and the lake, trails and sledding cost little, although winter weekends push prices up.

Keystone is expensive throughout ski season, with lifts, slopeside lodging, ski school and resort meals all costing a lot. The free buses and self-catering condos help, and summer is easier on the wallet, but there is no budget version of a Keystone trip.

Keystone, with its neighbours, offers noticeably more. In summer there are festival stages in the village, concerts at Dillon's lakeside amphitheatre and Breckenridge's classical music festival. Silverthorne also has a professional theatre company that plays all year round.

Big Bear has a small community arts centre, free summer concerts by the lake and the brass bands of its autumn Oktoberfest.

Relaxation looks much the same in both places: a private hot tub after a day outdoors, a few spas, and no real bathing tradition. Keystone's resort spas are geared to sore skiers, and the hot springs at Idaho Springs are over the pass. Big Bear's calm comes from the cabin itself, with a wood stove, a deck among the pines and quiet midweek days.