Big Bear Lake or Page, Arizona?

Page is the better place to swim by a wide margin. By midsummer Lake Powell is warm enough for long swims, and Lone Rock Beach has open sand. Boat days into the sandstone coves, jumping straight off the rock into deep water, are a highlight of a trip there. There are no lifeguards, though, and the beaches shift as the lake level rises and falls.

At Big Bear the water stays cool even in high summer, and much of the shore is rocky, so swimming is a short break from boating and paddling. Its one advantage is the supervised swim beach at Meadow Park, the safer choice with small children.

Neither town is worth travelling to for the food, and both rely on diners, barbecue, pizza and Mexican plates. Big Bear's Village has more choice, a few lakeside tables and brewpubs for après-ski, and many visitors cook in their cabins. Page has the one dish with real local roots, the Navajo taco of frybread with toppings, sold on the reservation, but the town stops serving early.

Neither is a culture destination, but Page has a little more to show. The Glen Canyon Dam and its visitor centre tell a real engineering story, and the John Wesley Powell museum covers the mapping of the Colorado. The Navajo Nation around the town gives the area a living culture that Big Bear lacks.

In Big Bear there is less: the Discovery Center on the forest and its wildlife, a small history museum, and a dirt-road drive past the gold-rush remains in Holcomb Valley. The chalet-style Village is modern rather than historic.

Both towns go quiet early, so nightlife shouldn't decide between them. Big Bear has a little more life in ski season, with après-ski bars near the slopes and pubs in the Village. In Page the best evening is just outside town under an exceptionally dark, starry sky, before an early start for the canyons.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but Page's landscape is on another level. Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Canyon slot canyons are minutes from town. Lake Powell is a maze of flooded red canyons leading to Rainbow Bridge, and Lees Ferry is the starting point for Grand Canyon rafting trips, with the Vermilion Cliffs and the Wave within reach.

Big Bear Lake offers forested alpine country instead: skiing in winter, mountain biking and paddling in summer, a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail and bald eagles in winter. It has something to do in every season, while Page's summer heat leaves hiking to spring and autumn.

Day trips are limited from both, though Big Bear has slightly more towns within reach. Lake Arrowhead's lakeside village is about an hour away along the Rim of the World road, and Oak Glen's apple orchards lie down the eastern side. Riverside, with the Mission Inn, is about an hour and a half away.

From Page the outings are mostly about history set in the landscape: the pioneer buildings at Lees Ferry, the cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument and the old Western town of Kanab. Monument Valley is a longer drive.

Big Bear Lake is built for families in a way Page is not. Snow is the big draw for children, with sledding hills and ski lessons. In summer the Alpine Zoo, the alpine slide, mini-golf and pedal boats fill the days, and cabins give everyone room.

Page works for families who are happy outdoors, and a lake day at Lone Rock or a short Antelope Canyon tour goes down well. But it has nothing made for children, the summer sun is harsh, and the cliff edges at Horseshoe Bend are mostly unfenced.

You need a car for both, but Big Bear is easier once you arrive. The Village is walkable, and a local bus and a seasonal trolley reach the ski areas and parts of the shore. Getting there can mean snow chains and slow mountain roads in winter.

Page has no useful public transport, its sights lie outside town, and the nearest major airports are hours away. In practice it works only as a road trip.

Shopping is a minor part of a trip to either place. Big Bear's Village has fudge shops, bear-themed souvenirs, a few antique stores and outfitters that sell and rent ski and lake gear. Page has the one thing really worth buying: Navajo silver, turquoise, rugs and pottery from trading posts and roadside stalls, often straight from the maker.

Neither is cheap, but the costs come from different places. In Big Bear it depends on timing: a shared cabin midweek is reasonable, while winter weekends bring high room rates, lift tickets and equipment hire.

In Page, guided Antelope Canyon tours and boat rentals add up, and rooms are scarce in the busy months. Camping at Lone Rock or Wahweap, or coming in winter, keeps the cost down.

Big Bear's stage life is small-town and seasonal: free concerts by the lake in summer, local theatre and the odd touring act at a community arts centre, and Bavarian bands in the beer hall at its long-running autumn Oktoberfest. Page has something closer to the land around it, with Navajo cultural presentations and traditional dance put on for visitors. Both are thin on stage, so a show is a pleasant extra in either town rather than a reason to choose one.

Big Bear is the better place to slow down. Many cabins come with a private hot tub, a wood stove and a deck among the pines, which makes doing very little easy. There are also a few day spas, though no thermal springs, and winter weekends bring crowds.

Page's restful side is its wide views and quiet desert evenings. Days there are built around early canyon tours and long drives, and beyond hotel and motel pools there is little to relax in.