Big Bear Lake or Sonoma?

Neither is a beach destination, but Big Bear Lake at least has water on the doorstep. You can swim from the shore in July and August, and the supervised swim beach at Meadow Park is the safe choice with children. Even so, the lake is mostly for boats, kayaks and paddleboards.

Sonoma has no water of its own. The coast around Bodega Bay is well over an hour away and too cold and rough for swimming, so a swim means a hotel pool or a summer drive to the gravel beaches of the Russian River.

The gap here is wide. Big Bear Lake feeds skiers and hikers with diner breakfasts, burgers, barbecue and brewpub pints, and many visitors simply cook in their rental cabins.

In Sonoma, eating and drinking are the reason to come. There are tasting rooms around the plaza, wineries from the Carneros hills up to Glen Ellen, and seasonal Californian cooking with local cheese, olive oil and oysters from the coast. Choice is limited to what a small town can offer, but the quality is what people travel for.

Of the two, only Sonoma has real history. There is the plaza where the Bear Flag Revolt broke out in 1846, the last of California's Franciscan missions, the adobe barracks and General Vallejo's Gothic-style house, which together make a good half day. Big Bear Lake has a forest discovery centre, a small museum and a dirt-road drive past the gold-rush remains of Holcomb Valley, and very little else.

Both towns go quiet early and neither has a club, but their evenings differ. At Big Bear Lake, nights out mainly happen in ski season, with après-ski in the bars near the slopes and the Village pubs before most people head back to the hot tub. Sonoma's evenings centre on dinner, with a few wine bars and saloons on the plaza and warm summer nights on the square.

Both are good places to be outdoors, but Big Bear Lake is the true mountain base. It has skiing and sledding in winter, mountain-bike trails on the summer slopes, a lake for kayaks and sailing boats, the Pacific Crest Trail along the north shore and the San Gorgonio Wilderness close by.

Sonoma's landscape is gentler: vineyards between the Mayacamas range and the Sonoma Mountains, trails that climb from the plaza, and redwoods and views at Sugarloaf Ridge and Jack London park. It suits cycling among the vines and spring wildflowers more than hard days in the hills, and summer heat or fire-season smoke can get in the way.

Sonoma is far better placed for day trips. San Francisco is about an hour away, Napa's wine towns are just across the hills, and Healdsburg, Petaluma and Sausalito all make easy outings, even if many of them are more wine country.

Big Bear Lake sits at the end of slow, winding mountain roads. Lake Arrowhead and the orchards of Oak Glen are the realistic outings, and Palm Springs or Los Angeles mean a long day at the wheel.

With children, Big Bear Lake is the clear choice. Snow play and beginner ski lessons in winter, the alpine slide, mini-golf and pedal boats in summer, and the rescued bears and bobcats at the Alpine Zoo keep them busy, and roomy cabins with kitchens make the practical side easy.

Sonoma is calm and safe but built for wine tasting. The playground on the plaza, the miniature railway park and the African wildlife park near Santa Rosa are enough for a day or two. After that, children are left waiting through tasting rooms and long lunches.

In both places you will want a car, and in both the walkable area is small. Big Bear's Village is easy on foot, and a local bus and seasonal trolley reach the ski areas. Getting there, though, means steep mountain highways, snow chains in winter and slow weekend traffic.

In Sonoma, a cluster of tasting rooms lies within a few blocks of the plaza, and the flat valley roads are good for cycling to nearby wineries. Beyond that the buses are of little use, so most visitors hire a car or book a driver, which also settles who drives after the wine.

Sonoma is the better place to browse. Its arcades off the plaza hold independent boutiques, galleries and kitchen shops, and you can take home wine, cheese and olive oil bought direct from the producers. Big Bear's Village is a few blocks of fudge shops, bear-themed souvenirs and outfitters renting ski and lake gear, and an hour there is plenty. Neither has fashion or department stores worth the journey.

Big Bear Lake is the cheaper of the two, and the gap is widest for families and groups. A cabin split several ways, meals cooked in its kitchen and days on the trails or the sledding hills cost little. A winter weekend changes that, once lift tickets and ski hire for everyone are added to weekend cabin rates.

In Sonoma, the costs come at every step. A harvest weekend means a small inn room at peak rates, a long lunch at a plaza restaurant and a fee at each winery, plus a driver if nobody wants to stay off the wine. Sleeping in a larger town nearby and picnicking among the vines lowers the bill, but Sonoma is still the more expensive trip.

Sonoma has more on stage, though mostly in summer. There are Broadway-style concerts among the ruins at Jack London park, concerts at the wineries and the 1930s theatre on the plaza, and half an hour away the Green Music Center's concert hall draws touring orchestras. Big Bear Lake has a small community arts centre, free summer concerts by the lake and the Bavarian bands of its autumn Oktoberfest.

Sonoma is the better place to unwind properly. Mineral water from Boyes Hot Springs has fed a historic resort spa for over a century, and day passes are sold to non-guests. Calistoga's mud baths are an hour away, and the town's slow mornings and silent evenings make resting easy.

At Big Bear Lake, relaxing happens in private: the hot tub on the cabin deck, a wood stove and the quiet of the pines midweek. There are a few day spas but no springs, and crowds on winter weekends break the calm.