Copper Mountain or Mammoth Lakes?

Neither is a place to swim, but Mammoth Lakes at least allows a cold dip in July and August, at Horseshoe Lake in the Lakes Basin or in the slightly warmer water of Crowley Lake. At Copper Mountain the Summit County reservoirs are cold with snowmelt and used for boating, so swimming means the lodge pool or a hot tub.

Both feed skiers rather than food lovers, but Mammoth Lakes has more range: steakhouses, a few ambitious dinner kitchens around the Village and beer brewed in town. Copper Mountain has its mid-mountain lodges and a handful of pizza, Mexican and pub places in the village, and many guests cook in their condos.

A car narrows the gap. From Copper, the restaurant streets of Frisco and Breckenridge are close enough for an evening out. At Mammoth you eat in town, where some kitchens cut back in spring and autumn.

Neither town has sights of its own. Both are modern resort villages of lodges and condos. The difference is where the history lies. Mammoth Lakes has a small local museum in an old log cabin, while Copper Mountain has nothing in the village, though Breckenridge's and Leadville's Victorian streets and mine works are within half an hour.

Nights out in both mean après-ski, and neither has clubs. Mammoth Lakes has a little more going on, with brewery taprooms that draw locals as well as skiers and long ski weekends that can run late. At Copper Mountain the bars at the lift base and the village plaza are empty by late evening, and for a later night you go to Breckenridge's main street, half an hour away.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, and the difference is in kind. From Copper Mountain, several major Summit County ski areas and Vail are a short drive away, so a ski week can take in many mountains. In summer the Colorado Trail and the paved path over Vail Pass start at the door, and fourteen-thousand-foot peaks such as Mount Elbert are within an hour.

Mammoth Lakes is built around one huge mountain whose season often lasts into early summer, and its summer landscapes are more varied. There are the granite-ringed lakes of the Lakes Basin, Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls, the tufa towers of Mono Lake and, once Tioga Pass opens, Yosemite's high country. Copper's village sits higher, at about 2,960m against 2,400m, so the thin air is harder going there.

Copper Mountain is the better base for outings. Breckenridge and Leadville, each about half an hour away, have real mining-era historic districts, and Vail and Frisco are just as easy. Toward the city are Georgetown with its narrow-gauge railway and Denver with its museums, though weekend ski traffic on I-70 can make that drive much longer.

From Mammoth Lakes, places to visit are fewer and farther apart along the highway below the Sierra. Bodie's ghost town and the Manzanar internment camp are each more than an hour's drive, and winter closes the passes to the west. Most outings from Mammoth go into the mountains rather than to other towns.

Both suit families who come for snow or trails, with large ski schools, gentle terrain for beginners and snow tubing. Copper Mountain copes better with bad weather thanks to its indoor action-sports centre and mountain coaster, and its car-free core is easy with small children.

Mammoth Lakes is stronger in summer, with rowing boats, trout fishing and picnics in the Lakes Basin, plus the gondola to the summit for older children. Altitude is a concern in both places, more so at Copper, which sits over 500m higher.

Copper Mountain is easier without a car. Walkways, lifts and a free shuttle link its villages, and free county buses run to Frisco, Breckenridge and Keystone. Mammoth Lakes is spread out along a few main roads. Winter shuttles, the gondola and a summer trolley handle the ski runs and the Lakes Basin, but for the wider Eastern Sierra you need a car.

Neither town has a train. Copper is about two hours by road from Denver's airport, and I-70 is slow in snow, while Mammoth's winter roads can call for chains.

Shopping is a minor part of a trip to either town, and the difference is where it happens. Copper Mountain's village sells little beyond what gets you onto the slopes, so any real browsing means leaving the resort. The outlet mall at Silverthorne and the boutiques of Breckenridge are close enough for a spare afternoon, though.

Mammoth Lakes does better in the town itself, with specialist shops for climbers and fly-fishers that suit a summer of rock and trout streams, and galleries of landscape photography that make a better souvenir than a resort T-shirt. Nothing within easy reach matches Copper's outlets or boutique street, so what Mammoth has in town is all there is.

Both are expensive, especially in winter, when lift access, slope-side lodging and resort meals take most of the budget. They differ in how you save. At Copper, staying in Frisco or Silverthorne instead of slope-side helps. At Mammoth, summer costs little to enjoy, because hiking, the lakes and scenic drives need only a park pass. In both places, a condo kitchen and travelling in the shoulder seasons make the biggest difference.

Mammoth Lakes has a small but real stage. A resident community theatre company puts on seasons of plays on the college campus, and summer brings a long-running jazz festival, chamber music and outdoor concerts in a meadow. Copper Mountain has summer bands on the village plaza and acoustic sets at après-ski, and for theatre or classical music you drive to Breckenridge.

Mammoth Lakes is clearly the better place to unwind. Its volcanic ground feeds simple natural hot springs in the sagebrush, with the Sierra across the valley, and the big hotels add spas and massage.

At Copper Mountain, relaxing comes down to a condo hot tub facing the slopes and the pools and massages at the athletic club. The nearest hot springs are a long drive away, and the greater altitude can disturb sleep for the first few nights.