Breckenridge or Deer Valley?

Neither town is for a beach vacation, but Deer Valley at least allows a swim. Jordanelle Reservoir has a sandy shoreline in a state park, and its water is pleasant on hot July and August afternoons.

Breckenridge's Lake Dillon is good for sailing and paddling but too cold to swim in, and the snowmelt lakes are colder still. In practice that leaves the recreation centre's indoor pools.

The two eat at a similar level, but the character differs. In Breckenridge the tastes are Colorado ones: green chile, breakfast burritos, elk and trout, with beer brewed in town and a local whiskey.

Deer Valley's best food is up on the mountain, at polished lodges known for their turkey chili, while Park City's Main Street has more bistros and sushi than a small town would usually support. Utah's liquor rules mean drinking happens over dinner rather than in a café or wine culture.

Breckenridge has slightly more to see on foot. Its gold-rush historic district is one of the largest in Colorado, and you can pan for gold on a mine tour and see the old dredges in the Blue River valley. Deer Valley is a purpose-built resort, so its history comes from Park City's restored silver-mining Main Street, the Park City Museum and the Olympic Park's ski jumps. In both towns this fills an afternoon, not a vacation.

Evenings run later in Breckenridge. Après-ski crowds spill out of the base bars onto Main Street, and on winter Saturdays a couple of dance bars and saloons in Victorian buildings stay open past midnight.

Deer Valley itself goes quiet by the fire once the lifts close. Anyone wanting a night out takes the bus down to Park City's cocktail bars and saloons, which close earlier and operate under Utah's liquor rules.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, but the mountains feel different. Breckenridge sits higher, close to 3,000m, with five peaks right above the town, terrain above the treeline and Quandary Peak, one of Colorado's highest summits, a short drive south for a summer climb. Keystone, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin are all close by.

Deer Valley is lower, around 2,000m at the base, so the altitude is easier on newcomers. Its draw is immaculate, skiers-only grooming, with the huge Park City Mountain next door and the deep powder of the Cottonwood Canyons about an hour away. Summer adds lift-served mountain biking, fly-fishing on the Provo River and the lakes of the Uintas.

Breckenridge has the more rewarding drives, mostly into old mining country. Leadville, with its silver-boom streets and national mining museum, lies over Hoosier Pass, and Georgetown's narrow-gauge railway and the hot springs at Idaho Springs are on the way to Denver.

Deer Valley has a real city just forty minutes away, with Temple Square and the State Capitol in Salt Lake City. Beyond that, Midway, Sundance and Ogden are pleasant but small.

Both work well for families who ski, each in its own way. Breckenridge has a free gondola from town to the base, a recreation centre with pools, and an ice rink, though its greater altitude is harder on small children in the first days. Deer Valley keeps snowboarders off its gentle beginner runs, often lets you ski to the lodge door, and puts Salt Lake City's zoo and children's museums within a short drive, at a noticeably higher cost for lessons.

Breckenridge is easier to get around once you are there. The compact Victorian grid, a free gondola from Main Street and free county buses to Frisco, Keystone and Copper Mountain let many visitors spend a week without a car.

Deer Valley's lodges are spread across steep hillsides where walking is rarely practical, and outings beyond Park City need a car. It is much quicker to reach, though: forty minutes from the airport, compared with roughly two snow-prone hours over I-70 to Breckenridge.

Shopping is limited in both, and both towns are strong on mountain gear. Breckenridge's Main Street courtyards sell Western landscape art and souvenirs, and the Silverthorne outlets are a short drive away. Park City's Main Street leans more upmarket, with western boots, hats and smarter boutiques, plus an outlet centre at Kimball Junction and Salt Lake City nearby for anything else.

Both are expensive, but Deer Valley is at the very top of the ski market, from its luxury slopeside lodging to its lift access. Even summer there is only somewhat easier, and the usual way to save is to sleep in the Heber Valley or Salt Lake City.

Breckenridge leaves more room to economise. Local transport is free, the trails cost nothing, summer and the shoulder seasons are much cheaper, and a bed in Frisco or Silverthorne cuts the bill further.

Both towns save their best for summer, and the setting is what differs. Breckenridge has a festival orchestra and a national academy of young players at the open-sided Riverwalk Center beside the river. At Deer Valley the Utah Symphony plays to picnickers on the grass of the Snow Park amphitheatre, and Park City's restored 1920s Egyptian Theatre keeps plays and small concerts going through the winter.

Deer Valley is the place to unwind. The resort is built around comfort, with fireside lodges, terrace hot tubs and some of the most polished hotel spas in the mountain West. The Homestead Crater's warm spring, inside a limestone dome, is only half an hour away.

Breckenridge offers a condo hot tub in the snow and a few resort spas, but days there start early and the thin air at that height wears visitors out. The nearest natural springs are about an hour's drive away.