Copper Mountain or Durango, Colorado?

Neither place is for swimmers, but Durango at least has somewhere to get into the water. Lake Nighthorse has a small swimming area, Vallecito Lake has a few sandy edges, and on hot afternoons people float the Animas through town on inner tubes. At Copper Mountain the snowmelt reservoirs are too cold for bathing and are used for boating, so swimming means a heated lodge pool.

Durango feeds you noticeably better. Main Avenue offers green-chile Southwestern plates, steakhouses, breakfast cafés and a few kitchens cooking with Colorado lamb and trout, and the town has an unusual number of craft breweries for its size.

Copper Mountain is resort eating: burgers and chilli in the mid-mountain lodges, pizza and pub food in the village, and a lot of condo self-catering. For a more interesting dinner you drive to Frisco or Breckenridge.

Copper Mountain is a purpose-built lift village with no museums or historic buildings of its own. The area's mining heritage belongs to Breckenridge and Leadville.

Durango has a modest but genuine list. The railway founded the town in 1880, and steam trains still leave from the old depot on Main Avenue, with a roundhouse museum beside the yard. There are also a few blocks of brick and sandstone Victorian buildings and a respected Native American collection at the college. That is an hour or two of sightseeing rather than a full day, but it is far more than Copper has.

Both places go quiet early, but Durango keeps going a little longer and all year round. Brewery taprooms, patios on Main Avenue and old saloons with a piano player fill the evenings, and students keep a few bars busy at weekends.

At Copper Mountain the fun happens in the afternoon. Après-ski bars at the base fill with people still in their boots, then most of them head back to their condos. Outside ski season the village goes almost silent.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, and the difference is the season each is built for. Copper Mountain is first of all a ski area. It has treeless bowls above 3,600m, and Vail and several other Summit County resorts are close enough to ski a different mountain each day. In summer the Colorado Trail and the paved path over Vail Pass take over.

Durango sits lower and is at its best in the warm months. Singletrack starts from the edge of town, the Animas offers rafting and fly-fishing, and the Weminuche Wilderness has peaks above 4,000m. It also has a full ski resort about half an hour north for winter visits.

Durango has the more memorable days out. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings, the narrow-gauge steam train up the canyon to Silverton, and the ancestral Puebloan ruins at Aztec and Chimney Rock are things you would plan a trip around.

From Copper Mountain the outings are pleasant rather than remarkable. You can visit the Victorian main street at Breckenridge, the silver-boom streets of Leadville, the Georgetown railway, and Denver's museums if traffic on I-70 allows.

Copper Mountain does more of the work for parents. The village core is car-free, children's ski school is a central part of the resort, and tubing, a mountain coaster and an indoor centre with foam pits are all on site. The one real drawback is the altitude of nearly 3,000m.

Durango gives children memorable outings, such as the steam train, tubing on the river and climbing ladders at Mesa Verde. Those outings involve long drives, though, and when it rains there is little to fall back on.

Once you arrive, Copper Mountain is easier. Walkways, lifts and a free shuttle link the resort, and free county buses run to Frisco, so a car can sit untouched for days. Getting there is the hard part: about two hours by road from Denver's airport, often on a snowy I-70.

Durango's centre is small, flat and walkable, with a river trail and a trolley along the main corridor. Everything else, including trailheads, the ski area and Mesa Verde, needs a car.

Durango's Main Avenue makes for a good browse. It has Navajo and Pueblo silver, turquoise and rugs, Western boots and well-stocked outdoor shops. Copper Mountain's village sells little beyond rental gear, sunglasses and resort-branded clothing, so visitors drive to the Silverthorne outlets or Breckenridge's galleries.

Durango is the gentler place on the budget, although it is still an American mountain town with full restaurant prices and a hire car to cover. Its trails, river and views cost nothing.

Copper Mountain carries the full cost of a big Colorado ski area: lift access, slope-side lodging, rental and resort meals. A condo kitchen, or staying in Frisco or Silverthorne, softens the bill.

Durango has a small stage scene with real character. There is a summer chamber and orchestral festival, touring acts at the college concert hall, a Victorian melodrama where the audience boos the villain, and chuckwagon cowboy shows. Copper Mountain offers summer plaza concerts and acoustic sets at après-ski, and for anything more you drive to Breckenridge.

Durango has natural hot springs a few minutes north of town, which are ideal after a ride or a ski day. The terraced pools at Pagosa Springs and Ouray's spring-fed pools are both within reach for an outing.

At Copper Mountain, relaxing means an outdoor hot tub looking up at the slopes, or a massage at the athletic club. The nearest hot springs are a long drive away, and the high village can disturb your sleep for the first nights.