Breckenridge or Sun Valley?

Neither is a place to swim, but Sun Valley at least has a summer lake shore. Redfish Lake under the Sawtooths has sand, even though the water stays cold, and heated outdoor pools are easy to find.

Breckenridge has less. Lake Dillon is for sailing and paddling, the snowmelt lakes up the Blue River valley are bracing at best, and swimming mostly means the town's indoor pools.

These are two resort dining scenes of much the same size, both serving elk, lamb and trout to hungry skiers. In both, some kitchens close in the quiet spring and autumn months.

The difference is in character. Breckenridge leans on its own beer, a local whiskey and breakfast burritos with green chile. Ketchum has a few ambitious kitchens cooking for a wealthy second-home crowd, plus a summer farmers' market and patio dining.

Breckenridge has more to walk through. Its 1859 gold-rush district is one of the largest in Colorado, with painted Victorian storefronts and miners' cabins across several streets. A gold-mine tour and the remains of the old river dredges fill in the rest of the story.

Sun Valley's history is shorter. The Union Pacific railroad built it in 1936 with the world's first chairlifts, and film-star photographs line the corridors of the Lodge. Hemingway's grave and memorial are in Ketchum. An afternoon covers either town, but Breckenridge's afternoon is the fuller one.

Breckenridge is clearly livelier after dark. Après-ski spills out of the bars at the lift bases and along Main Street. On a winter Saturday, the brewpubs, saloons in Victorian buildings and a couple of dance bars keep going past midnight.

Ketchum's après-ski is smaller: a handful of saloons, wine bars and hotel lounges, the odd band and a couple of loud western bars. Neither town has clubs, and both go quiet in spring and autumn.

Both towns have serious mountains right above them, but they differ in kind. Breckenridge's ski area spreads across five peaks of the Tenmile Range, with Keystone, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin and Vail close enough to try different resorts. In summer, Quandary Peak and trails from the edge of town are the draw, though the height of almost 3,000m calls for a gentle first day or two.

Sun Valley is built around one big mountain, Bald Mountain, with long, steep runs straight down the hill. Beyond it the country is wilder: backcountry ski touring, the jagged Sawtooths an hour north, rafting on the Salmon River and fly fishing on Silver Creek.

Breckenridge has real places to visit. Leadville, with its silver-boom centre and national mining museum, is under an hour away over Hoosier Pass. Georgetown has its narrow-gauge railway and Vail Village is under an hour west. Denver is about two hours away when I-70 allows.

From Sun Valley, most outings head into wild country rather than to towns. Stanley, a log-cabin outpost beyond the Sawtooths, is worth the drive for its setting. Hailey has a small historic main street, and Shoshone Falls is about two hours south.

Breckenridge does more for children. Ski schools take them very young, the beginner slopes are wide, and the free gondola from Main Street makes winter days easier. In summer the mountain turns into an activity park with an alpine coaster, climbing walls and mazes, and the town has pools and an ice rink.

Sun Valley is calm and safe, with a beginner hill kept apart from the main mountain. Still, nothing there is built just for children, and rainy days are hard to fill. Altitude can trouble small children in both places, but more so at Breckenridge, which is higher.

Breckenridge's free county buses run as far as Frisco, Dillon, Keystone and Copper Mountain. That makes a week without a car realistic, even if you want to ski more than one resort. In town, a free gondola rises from the edge of Main Street to the ski base.

Sun Valley's free bus covers only Ketchum, the village and the lift bases, and trailheads, hot springs and the Sawtooths all need a car. Getting there is awkward in both places. Breckenridge is about two hours by road from Denver's airport. Sun Valley has a small airport in Hailey, and the larger ones are a long drive away.

Both offer a short resort shopping street with high prices and no department stores. Breckenridge's Main Street courtyards lean towards ski gear, Western landscape art and sweet shops, with outlet malls a short drive away in Silverthorne. Ketchum's few blocks are more upmarket, with fine art galleries, fly-fishing shops and cashmere boutiques aimed at second-home owners.

Breckenridge gives you more ways to cut the cost. Summer and the quiet spring and autumn months are much cheaper, staying in Frisco or Silverthorne helps, and the free buses and gondola cost nothing. The ski season, especially Christmas, New Year and spring break, costs as much as skiing anywhere.

Sun Valley offers fewer ways out. Its wealthy second-home community sets the prices, and there is little budget lodging anywhere in the valley. Midsummer is as dear as the peak ski weeks, so staying down the valley or coming in the quiet months only softens the bill.

Both towns come alive for music only in summer, each with an orchestra in an open-sided venue. Breckenridge's Riverwalk Center by the Blue River also hosts an academy of young professional musicians. A small theatre company stages plays and musicals for much of the year.

Sun Valley's festival orchestra plays free on the lawn by the lodge, and people picnic on the grass to listen. On summer evenings, star figure skaters perform on the outdoor rink. Outside summer, the valley has almost nothing on.

Sun Valley is the more restful place. The pace slows once the lifts close, and the resort's heated pools steam under falling snow. Up the Warm Springs valley there are natural hot springs beside the creek, rough soaks reached by a dirt road.

In Breckenridge, wellness mostly means the condo hot tub and a massage after skiing. The nearest hot springs are about an hour away in Idaho Springs, and the early starts and thin air leave many visitors tired rather than rested.