Colorado Springs or Durango, Colorado?

Neither town is for swimming, and the gap between them is small. In Colorado Springs, water time means a pool, a cold reservoir, or a drive out to raft the Arkansas River.

Durango does a little better in summer. Lake Nighthorse has a swimming area, Vallecito Lake has a few sandy edges, and on hot afternoons people float the Animas through the middle of town on inner tubes.

Both towns eat in the same way: green chile, brewpubs and casual American plates. Colorado Springs has the bigger city's spread of Mexican and Asian places along its main roads, plus the formal dining rooms of the Broadmoor at the top end.

Durango is smaller but more focused. A few kitchens off Main Avenue cook with Colorado lamb, trout and local farm produce, and the town has an unusual number of breweries for its size.

Colorado Springs has slightly more to see, though its sights are spread out. The aluminium spires of the Air Force Academy chapel, the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, the Fine Arts Center and the Pioneers Museum in the old courthouse are each a separate drive.

Durango's culture fits into one walk. It covers the steam depot and roundhouse museum, the brick and sandstone historic district, and the Southwestern collection at the college on the mesa. The bigger story, the ancestral Puebloan sites, lies out in the surrounding country.

Colorado Springs gives you a bit more of a night out. A few blocks of Tejon Street mix sports and cocktail bars with a handful of dance spots, and they fill at weekends with students and young soldiers from the bases.

Durango's evening is a patio pint on Main Avenue or a drink in an old saloon with a piano player. There is almost no dancing, and with so many visitors up early for the trails, the town goes quiet sooner.

Both towns are serious mountain bases, and they differ in character. Colorado Springs has Pikes Peak right above it, red sandstone climbing in Garden of the Gods, waterfalls in North Cheyenne Cañon and the punishing Incline. Its dry climate keeps the trails open for much of the year.

Durango sits under the wilder San Juans. Singletrack starts at the edge of town, the Colorado Trail begins nearby, and the high peaks of the Weminuche Wilderness are close. It also has a river for rafting and fly-fishing, and skiing on its doorstep in winter.

Durango has the more memorable day trips. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings, the steam train up the canyon to Silverton, Ouray beneath its cliffs, and the Puebloan ruins at Aztec and Chimney Rock are each a strong reason for a day out.

From Colorado Springs, the options lean more urban. Denver and Boulder are within reach for museums and a city day, alongside the gold-mining towns of Cripple Creek and Victor and the Royal Gorge. In both places you will need a car.

Colorado Springs gives children more to do. There is hand-feeding giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the cave tours, the cliff dwellings at Manitou and a Christmas-themed amusement park, plus the Olympic museum for older children.

Durango is a safe, easy small town with a riverside path, tubing, and summer ziplines and an alpine coaster at the ski area. But it has no zoo or big museum to fall back on, and family days rely more on long drives.

Durango is the easier place to be without a car, at least in town. You can walk the flat centre from the depot to the top of Main Avenue in a quarter of an hour, a river trail links the neighbourhoods, and a trolley runs along the main corridor.

Colorado Springs spreads its sights along the foothills and up mountain roads, with a thin bus network. Only downtown, Old Colorado City and Manitou are good for walking. Both need a hire car for anything further out.

There is little to choose between them, and neither has fashion or luxury shopping. Colorado Springs splits its shopping between the old storefronts of Old Colorado City and Manitou, with gem shops and Western wear, and the malls and outlets along the highways.

Durango keeps everything on Main Avenue. Navajo and Pueblo silver, turquoise and rugs are the things worth looking for there.

Colorado Springs is the somewhat cheaper stay. Chain hotels and motels along the interstate keep rooms reasonable, and Garden of the Gods and the canyon parks cost nothing.

Durango is a resort town with limited rooms, so prices climb in summer and at the peak of the ski season. Paid extras like the steam train and guided rafting also add up. Coming in spring or late autumn eases the cost noticeably.

Colorado Springs has a little more on, all year round. A philharmonic plays its season at the Pikes Peak Center, the Fine Arts Center has a theatre company, and in summer touring bands play the arena and the amphitheatre.

Durango's stage life is mostly a summer affair, but it has charm. There is a long-running chamber music festival, a Victorian melodrama where the audience boos the villain, and cowboy music with a chuckwagon supper. Out of season, the choice is thin.

For soaking, Durango is clearly ahead. Spring-fed pools sit a few minutes up the valley, with Pagosa Springs' terraced pools and Ouray's within a drive, so you can end a day of riding or skiing in hot water.

Colorado Springs has its spa history in Manitou, with carbonated fountains and one small soaking spa, and the most complete resort spa at the Broadmoor. Its proper hot springs are more than two hours away.