Colorado Springs or Jackson Hole?

Neither city is a place to swim, but Jackson Hole does have a natural swim. By late summer the shallow, sandy-bottomed String Lake below the Tetons warms enough for a proper dip after a hike. In Colorado Springs, swimming mostly means pools or a cold reservoir, and a day on the water usually means rafting on the Arkansas River.

The two eat at a similar level but in very different styles. Colorado Springs is casual and broad: brewery taprooms with food trucks, green chile, barbecue, and Mexican and Asian kitchens along the main roads. The best places are spread across Tejon Street, Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs.

Jackson is smaller and more polished, with more chef-led dining rooms than a mountain town usually has, and almost nothing cheap. Its menus lean on elk, bison, trout and huckleberries, mostly within a few blocks of the Town Square.

Colorado Springs has more to see indoors, though it is spread out. Its sights include the aluminium spires of the Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy, the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, the Southwestern collection at the Fine Arts Center and the Gold Rush history in the old courthouse.

Jackson's culture fits into a single day. It has the antler arches on the square, the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge, and the barns of Mormon Row and the log chapel framing the Tetons. Those last two are memorable, but small.

Both towns go quiet early, but their evenings feel different. In Colorado Springs the nights centre on Tejon Street, where sports bars, cocktail bars and a few dance spots fill with students and soldiers at weekends.

Jackson's nights follow the seasons. In winter there is loud après-ski at Teton Village, and all year there is the old saloon with saddles for bar stools and a country dance floor. In spring and autumn the bars can be close to empty.

Both are excellent mountain bases, but Jackson Hole is in another league for wilderness. The Tetons rise with no foothills in between, Grand Teton National Park starts minutes from town, and Yellowstone is about an hour and a half away. The wildlife includes grizzlies, moose and the thousands of elk that winter beside town. In winter, Teton Village has steep lift-served skiing.

Colorado Springs offers its outdoors from a city doorstep. You can climb Pikes Peak by trail, road or cog railway, explore the red rock of Garden of the Gods, tackle the Manitou Incline and ride excellent mountain-bike trails that stay open through the dry winters. The ski resorts are about two hours away.

Colorado Springs is much better for days away. Denver's museums are a little over an hour north, and Boulder is a bit further. The gold-mining streets of Cripple Creek and Victor and the Royal Gorge are each about an hour away, and longer drives reach Breckenridge and Salida.

From Jackson, nearly every excursion goes into the parks rather than to another town. The drive over Teton Pass to Victor and Driggs in Idaho is pleasant, but neither town fills a day.

Both reward outdoor families, and Colorado Springs has a slight edge because it has more set attractions. Children can hand-feed giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and there are Cave of the Winds, the cliff dwellings and a small Christmas-themed amusement park, which help on a day of bad weather.

Jackson's appeal lies in spotting animals from the car, earning Junior Ranger badges, riding a winter sleigh through the elk herd and going to the summer rodeo. The town is small and easy, but there is little to do indoors.

You need a car in both places, but Jackson is the easier of the two. Its town is a few compact blocks around the square, a bus runs to Teton Village and the airport is a short drive away.

Colorado Springs spreads along the foothills and has a thin bus network. Downtown, Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs are each walkable, but they are separate pockets with driving in between.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the difference is mostly in kind. Colorado Springs has rock and gem shops, Western wear and outdoor gear in the old storefronts of Old Colorado City and Manitou, with outlets and malls for practical buying.

Jackson is more concentrated and more upmarket. Its covered boardwalks are lined with galleries of Western and wildlife art, along with shops selling handmade cowboy hats, turquoise jewellery and high-end ski equipment.

This is where the two differ most. Colorado Springs is moderately priced by American standards, with reasonable hotels along the interstate and free parks and trails. Car hire is the main extra cost.

Jackson Hole is among the most expensive places to stay in the country. Rooms are scarce in summer and ski season, and meals, lift tickets and guided trips all cost resort prices. Staying over the pass in Idaho, or coming in late spring or autumn, eases the cost.

Colorado Springs has the steadier year-round programme. There is the Philharmonic at the Pikes Peak Center, the Fine Arts Center's theatre company, university concerts and touring bands at the outdoor amphitheatre in summer.

Jackson has one genuine draw: the Grand Teton Music Festival, which brings orchestral players to Teton Village for several summer weeks. Add the chuckwagon shows and saloon country bands, and summer is lively. Outside that season there is very little.

The two are close, and both offer water from the ground. Manitou Springs has free carbonated mineral water from public fountains, a small outdoor soaking spa and the grand spa at the Broadmoor.

Jackson has real hot springs. One is a pool in a forested canyon, reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter, and another is a riverside soaking park near town. The valley's early nights make a soak after a ski day feel natural.