Copper Mountain or Estes Park?

Neither place has a beach, and both are more than a day's drive from any coast. Their lakes are snowmelt-fed and cold even in July. At Copper, swimming means a heated lodge pool or a hot tub after the slopes. Estes Park has a town indoor aquatic centre, and its lakes are for paddling and fishing.

Neither is a food destination, and the difference is mostly in kind. Copper eats like a ski resort: burgers and chilli in mid-mountain lodges, a few pizza and Mexican places in the village, and a lot of cooking in condo kitchens. For more choice, people drive to Frisco or Breckenridge.

Estes Park has the menu of a gateway town, with elk and bison, big diner breakfasts before the trail, craft breweries and the taffy and fudge shops on Elkhorn Avenue. It has more character, but many kitchens close early or cut back outside summer.

Copper Mountain has almost nothing to see in the village itself. It is condos and lodges around the lifts, and the region's mining heritage belongs to neighbouring towns such as Breckenridge and Leadville.

Estes Park has more to offer, even though it is modest. The Stanley Hotel, the white hotel built by F.O. Stanley that inspired The Shining, can be toured with its ghost stories. The town museum on homesteading and the working MacGregor Ranch below Lumpy Ridge fill a rainy afternoon.

Both are quiet after dark, with no clubs, but the rhythm differs. Copper's moment is winter après-ski, with bars at the lift base full of skiers in boots and music on the plaza on busy weekends. The village goes very quiet out of season, and Breckenridge's main street is half an hour away for a later night.

In Estes Park, evenings mean a brewery taproom or a saloon-style bar on Elkhorn Avenue, and little goes on much past ten all year, because most visitors are up before dawn.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, but for different mountains. Copper is ski terrain at the foot of the Tenmile Range, with bowls above 3,600m and several other Summit County ski areas nearby. In summer, the Colorado Trail, the path over Vail Pass and fourteen-thousand-foot peaks such as Mount Elbert take over.

Estes Park is the doorway to Rocky Mountain National Park. It offers Trail Ridge Road over the tundra, Longs Peak, and lakes such as Bear, Dream and Emerald. Wildlife is the extra: elk in town, bighorn sheep, moose, and the autumn rut at dusk. It has no skiing, so winter there means snowshoeing.

Copper has the richer set of outings, and they are close. Breckenridge's Victorian main street and weathered Leadville are each about half an hour away, Vail is just over the pass, and Georgetown's narrow-gauge railway lies on the way to Denver.

From Estes Park, the outings mean driving down the canyons to the plains. Boulder's Pearl Street and Fort Collins's Old Town are each about an hour away. Grand Lake on the park's western side is a summer-only drive over Trail Ridge Road.

Both work well for families, in different ways. Copper revolves around children's ski school, snow tubing, a mountain coaster and an indoor action-sports centre with trampolines and foam pits, all within a car-free village. Its altitude of nearly 3,000m is harder on small children, though.

Estes Park sits lower and suits families who like being outdoors. There are elk wandering through town, junior ranger activities in the park, short flat walks around Sprague and Bear lakes, and the aerial tramway up Prospect Mountain. Rainy days are the weak spot in both places.

Copper is the easier place to be without driving. Walkways, lifts and a free shuttle link the resort, and free county buses run on to Frisco, Breckenridge and Keystone. Getting there is the harder part: Denver airport is about two hours away, and winter on I-70 can be slow.

Estes Park's downtown is compact and easy on foot, and summer shuttles reach the Bear Lake corridor. For trailheads, Trail Ridge Road and the towns on the plains, though, you really need a car, and town traffic gets heavy on summer weekends.

Estes Park is the better place for a browse. Elkhorn Avenue has western wear, taffy makers, outdoor gear and galleries of wildlife photography and Native American-style jewellery, enough for a pleasant hour. Copper's village sells little beyond rentals, sunglasses and resort-branded clothing. Its shoppers drive to the Silverthorne outlets or Breckenridge's boutiques.

Estes Park is the easier on the wallet, and the two are expensive in opposite seasons. Copper is at its dearest in winter, when lift access, slope-side lodging and equipment rental pile up. Staying in Frisco or Silverthorne and visiting in summer both soften the bill.

In Estes Park, summer and early autumn are the expensive months. Winter and spring rooms are far cheaper, and the park itself costs only the entrance fee, though most visitors also need a rental car.

There is little to attend in either place, and what there is happens mostly in summer. Copper has band weekends on the village plaza and acoustic sets at après-ski, and Breckenridge's summer classical season is nearby. Estes Park has free concerts at its riverside performance park, music evenings at the Stanley Hotel and the Scottish-Irish Highland Festival with its pipe bands each September.

Neither has hot springs or a spa culture, so relaxing in both comes down to mountain air and quiet evenings. At Copper, that means an outdoor hot tub facing the slopes and the pools and massages of the athletic club, though the greater altitude can spoil sleep for the first nights. Estes Park is the calmer retreat: a cabin by a river, elk at dusk and a handful of lodge spas, especially peaceful outside summer.