Canmore or Kelowna?

This is where the two towns differ most. Canmore has no beach to speak of. Quarry Lake and a few other mountain lakes give a cold, quick plunge on a hot afternoon, and the snowmelt keeps them chilly even in July.

Kelowna is a proper lake resort in summer. Okanagan Lake warms enough for long swims, with sandy beaches at City Park, Gyro and Rotary, and paddleboarders and windsurfers out on the water. The season is short, though, and the beaches near downtown fill up on summer weekends.

Neither is a restaurant city, but Kelowna has the stronger table. Canmore does hearty breakfasts, bakeries and après-hike brewpub meals well, with a few kitchens cooking Alberta beef, bison and game, and little range beyond that.

Kelowna's eating comes from the valley around it: winery terraces above the lake, summer farm stands piled with cherries and peaches, cideries and distilleries. Away from the wine country, downtown is limited and the highway strips are chains, so the best meals here involve a drive.

Culture is thin in both, and neither is worth choosing for it. Kelowna has a little more, with the Okanagan Heritage Museum on Syilx Okanagan and settler history, a small art gallery and the 1860s log buildings of Father Pandosy Mission. Canmore's story is coal mining, told by a small museum, miners' cottages and the old police barracks, and for anything more it sends you to the museums in Banff.

Kelowna has more of a night out. In summer the patio bars and taprooms on Bernard Avenue fill with students, stag and hen groups and lake-weekend crowds, and there are a couple of clubs, though it all goes quiet once the season ends.

Canmore's evenings are a pint in a brewpub with climbers and locals, maybe with a band, and most places close well before midnight. Anyone wanting a later night has to head up the valley to Banff.

Canmore has the more dramatic landscape. The Three Sisters and Mount Rundle stand right above the streets, elk and bighorn sheep wander through town, and real hiking, scrambling and climbing start at the edge of town. Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and the Icefields Parkway are within reach, and in winter there is ski touring and ice climbing.

Kelowna's outdoors is gentler and centred on the water: boating and kayaking on the lake, the short climb up Knox Mountain and the ride across the Myra Canyon trestles. It has good mountain biking and Big White's powder snow in winter, but in some years late-summer wildfire smoke can cut outdoor days short.

Kelowna has the slightly wider choice of outings, nearly all of them wine country. Penticton and the Naramata Bench, the vineyards around Oliver and Osoyoos, the Nk'Mip desert centre and O'Keefe Ranch make a pleasant circuit by car.

From Canmore the choice is narrower but has more character: Banff with its hot springs and Whyte Museum is twenty minutes away, and Calgary, a little over an hour east, offers proper museums, Heritage Park and the Stampede. After that it is mostly mountains.

Both suit families who like being outdoors, and neither has a zoo or theme park. The difference is the kind of day. Canmore gives you short walks to waterfalls, elk sightings, riverside bike paths and sledding in winter, with bears to keep in mind on the trails.

Kelowna is built around summer at the lake, with shallow beaches, playgrounds, mini-golf and pick-your-own orchards, and Big White's ski-in, ski-out lodgings in winter. Its attractions are spread out along the highway, so expect more driving.

Canmore is the easier of the two without a car. Its compact centre is walkable, local buses cover the town, a regional bus runs to Banff, and seasonal shuttles reach the busiest lakes. Kananaskis and the Icefields Parkway still really need a car, and winter mountain roads need care.

Kelowna's walkable part is limited to downtown and the waterfront, plus a cycle path to the beaches. The rest of the city sprawls along Highway 97, and the wineries, Myra Canyon and the ski hill all depend on driving or a tour.

Nobody travels to either for shopping, though Kelowna has a little more. Bernard Avenue has a few independent boutiques, Orchard Park mall has the usual chains, and the most rewarding buys are wine from the cellar door, cider and fruit preserves. Canmore's Main Street is mostly outdoor gear, gift shops and galleries selling mountain landscapes and Indigenous art, handy for replacing a waterproof.

Both are costly, but Canmore usually more so. Its rooms are priced like those of a resort next to a famous national park, and most visitors also pay for a hire car and park passes. Self-catering condos and visits in spring or late autumn help.

Kelowna is expensive in July and August, when tastings, boat rentals and car hire all add up. Outside summer, apart from ski weeks, its rooms ease off more noticeably.

The two are much the same here, with enough to fill an evening but rarely worth planning a trip around. Canmore's highlight is a single event, its long-running Folk Music Festival in August, with the Banff Centre's concerts and Mountain Film Festival up the valley. Kelowna has a steadier year-round programme, including the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, community theatre and touring acts at the arena, plus music on winery patios in summer.

Canmore is the better place to rest. The quiet streets and mountain views set a slow pace, the historic Banff Upper Hot Springs are about half an hour away, and Kananaskis Village has a large Nordic-style spa with outdoor pools beneath the peaks.

Kelowna has no hot springs and depends on hotel and day spas. Its kind of relaxation is long vineyard lunches and calm mornings on the lake, and it is easiest outside the peak summer weeks.