Big Sky or Taos?

Neither town has anywhere to swim. Both are high and far inland, and their rivers are for rafting, not swimming. The difference is in what replaces a beach: in Big Sky it is a quick paddle in a pond or a picnic beside the icy Gallatin, while in Taos it is a warm soak in the hot springs at the bottom of the Rio Grande gorge.

Taos eats better, mainly because it has a cuisine of its own. Posole, carne adovada and blue-corn dishes come smothered in red or green chile at old family-run places around the plaza and on the road to Ranchos, and horno bread from the Pueblo adds something you won't find elsewhere.

Big Sky serves hearty resort food: bison, elk, trout and huge breakfasts before a ski day, spread across the three villages. Choice is narrow, prices are high and some kitchens shut between seasons. For more variety you have to drive an hour to Bozeman.

Culture is where Taos pulls furthest ahead. Big Sky was built as a ski resort from the 1970s on, and apart from the log cabins of the Crail Ranch homestead in Meadow Village it is made of lodges and condos.

Taos has Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage site whose adobe houses have been lived in for about a thousand years, and the San Francisco de Asís church painted by O'Keeffe. There are also the Harwood and Millicent Rogers museums and the old houses of the art colony, enough for two or three unhurried days.

Both are quiet towns where evenings end early, and neither has a club. In Big Sky going out means après-ski in ski boots on the sunny decks at the base of the lifts, then perhaps pool in an old Gallatin Canyon saloon. Taos is more of a sit-down evening, with a margarita in an adobe hotel bar off the plaza, a brewery taproom or a local band, and Big Sky goes almost completely silent outside the ski and summer seasons.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, but Big Sky has the edge in scale. Lone Peak rises above one of the largest ski areas in North America, and summer lifts carry hikers and mountain bikers towards the Spanish Peaks and the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. The Gallatin is a well-known fly-fishing river, and Yellowstone's geysers and wolves are only an hour away.

Taos offers a different landscape, high desert plateau against mountain. Taos Ski Valley is known for steep runs, Wheeler Peak tops 4,000m, and the Rio Grande gorge brings rafting through the Taos Box and rides along the West Rim.

Taos has far better day trips. The High Road to Santa Fe winds through old Hispanic villages such as Truchas and Las Trampas to the sanctuary at Chimayó, and O'Keeffe country at Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch, or Bandelier's cliff dwellings, fill other days.

From Big Sky most outings head into the wild, and the towns within reach are modest. Bozeman has the Museum of the Rockies and its dinosaur fossils, while the gold-rush boardwalks of Virginia City are a long two hours away.

Big Sky is the better choice with children because the resort is built around them. In summer the base area turns into an adventure park with zip lines, ropes courses, a climbing wall and gondola rides, and in winter there are gentle beginner slopes. The base area sits at about 2,300m, though, slightly higher than Taos, so small children may tire at first.

Taos has float trips on the Rio Grande, horse riding and a public recreation centre with a pool, and children are welcome everywhere. But nothing there is made for them, and every outing means time in the car.

Big Sky is a little easier to manage without driving. A free bus links the canyon, Meadow Village, Town Center and Mountain Village along its 15km of road, many lodgings are ski-in, ski-out, and Bozeman airport is about an hour away by shuttle.

In Taos you can walk the plaza area, but the Pueblo, the gorge bridge, the ski valley and the trailheads are scattered across a wide valley. Most visitors land in Albuquerque and drive for two and a half hours, so a hire car is all but required.

For buying something to take home, Taos is the clear choice, as long as you like art and craft. Galleries line the lanes off the plaza and Kit Carson Road, and turquoise jewellery, micaceous pottery, Rio Grande weaving and carved santos are local specialities, some bought straight from the makers at the Pueblo. Big Sky is the place to replace gloves, buy a fly rod or look at wildlife paintings. For anything more, people head to Bozeman.

Taos is much easier on the wallet. Big Sky's slopeside lodging, lift passes, ski school and guided fishing make it one of the most expensive places to stay in the American West, and staying cheaper in the canyon means more driving.

Taos has fairly priced motels and New Mexican diners, though historic inns and ski-valley lodging charge resort rates in high season. In both towns the quiet months between ski season and summer are the cheapest time to go.

Neither town has much of a stage, and what each offers is different in kind. Big Sky's performances are organised around the resort seasons: touring acts and chamber music at the small arts centre in Meadow Village in winter, and free outdoor concerts on the Town Center lawn in summer.

Taos also has a summer chamber music festival, but its most memorable performances are the traditional dances at Taos Pueblo on feast days such as San Gerónimo. You may watch them only in quiet respect and without cameras.

Taos is the better place to unwind. Ojo Caliente, about fifty minutes away, has outdoor pools fed by several different mineral springs beneath the cliffs, and there are primitive hot springs beside the Rio Grande, reached on foot. Yoga studios and retreat centres build on the valley's long spiritual reputation.

In Big Sky, relaxing means a hot tub on the deck and a massage at a lodge spa after skiing. The nearest natural springs are an hour away towards Bozeman.