Copper Mountain or Salt Lake City?

Neither is a place for swimming. Copper Mountain has only cold, snowmelt-fed reservoirs and heated lodge pools.

Salt Lake City at least has something to try. You can float without effort in the Great Salt Lake off Antelope Island, and on hot July days the Wasatch reservoirs such as Jordanelle and Pineview have paddleboards and sandy patches of shore.

Copper Mountain feeds skiers. You get burgers and chilli at the mid-mountain lodges, pizza and pub food in the village, and a condo kitchen for the rest, and anyone who wants variety drives to Frisco or Breckenridge.

Salt Lake City has more to explore, from fry sauce and fried scones with honey butter to the Mexican, Pacific Islander, Peruvian and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street, plus breweries and coffee roasters in Sugar House. Even so, Utah's drinking rules keep its wine and cocktail culture thin.

Copper Mountain is a village of condos and lodges at the foot of the lifts, with no museums or historic buildings. The region's mining-era heritage belongs to the towns around it.

Salt Lake City's list is modest but real. Temple Square has the granite temple and the domed Tabernacle, and beyond it are the painted interior of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the State Capitol on its hill and the dinosaur halls of the Natural History Museum. Two days covers it comfortably.

Evenings end early in both places. At Copper, going out means drinks in ski boots at the base bars on winter afternoons, and the village goes silent once the season is over. Salt Lake City has more range: bars, breweries and a few dance clubs around Main Street and the Granary District, a long-standing gay bar scene and the pubs of Sugar House, though the liquor laws keep things restrained.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, and the difference lies in how you reach the mountains. At Copper you sleep at the lifts, at about 2,960m, with treeless bowls above you, the Tenmile Range all around, and Vail and other Summit County areas a short drive away.

From Salt Lake City, the Wasatch rises at the edge of town, and the Cottonwood Canyons lead to the dry powder of Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude in under an hour. The city also has landscapes Copper cannot match: bison on Antelope Island and the white Bonneville Salt Flats to the west.

Copper Mountain is the better base for outings, because its neighbours are towns worth seeing. Breckenridge's Victorian main street and the weathered silver-boom town of Leadville are each about half an hour away, Vail is over the pass, and Georgetown's narrow-gauge railway lies toward Denver, which itself makes a day out when the interstate is clear.

From Salt Lake City you have Park City's steep Main Street, Midway and Ogden's 25th Street, but the list thins quickly after that. Utah's famous red-rock parks are too far for a day.

Copper Mountain works well for a family focused on skiing. It has a car-free core, a strong children's ski school, snow tubing, a mountain coaster and a trampoline centre. The catch with small children is the altitude of nearly 3,000m, and there is little beyond the resort itself.

Salt Lake City gives families more variety from day to day: Hogle Zoo, the aquarium, Discovery Gateway, the Clark Planetarium, Lagoon's roller coasters and the dinosaur halls, all at a gentler height. You will need to drive between them.

Copper can only be reached by car or airport shuttle. It is about two hours by road from Denver's airport along I-70, which is slow when there is snow on the passes and heavy with weekend traffic. Once you arrive it is easy. Walkways, lifts and a free shuttle link its villages, and free county buses run to Frisco, so the car can stay parked for days.

Salt Lake City works the other way round. TRAX light rail runs from the airport to downtown and the University, and FrontRunner trains go north to Ogden and south to Provo. You need a car mainly beyond the centre. The wide grid makes even short walks feel long, and the zoo, the canyons and the other towns are spread across the valley.

At Copper, shopping means rental counters, outdoor gear and resort-branded clothing, and the outlet mall at Silverthorne is the nearest step up. Salt Lake City offers much more: City Creek Center with its creek, the shops in the old streetcar barns at Trolley Square, vintage stores around 9th and 9th, and excellent local ski and climbing shops.

Copper Mountain is an expensive stay, especially in winter, when slope-side lodging, lift access and resort meals all add up. Condos with kitchens and beds in Frisco or Silverthorne make it easier.

Salt Lake City costs less day to day, with reasonable downtown hotels, free entry to Temple Square and cheap light rail. A ski week from the city, with lift tickets and a hire car, closes much of the gap. In both places, summer is far kinder to the budget.

Copper has summer bands on the village plaza and acoustic sets at après-ski, and Breckenridge's summer classical season is the nearest real programme. Salt Lake City has a full calendar. The Tabernacle Choir and the great organ are open to the public, with daily organ recitals, and the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall, Utah Opera, Ballet West and touring shows at the Eccles Theater add more.

At Copper, unwinding means an outdoor hot tub looking up at the slopes or the athletic club's pools. The nearest hot springs are a long drive away, and the altitude can disturb sleep for the first nights. Salt Lake City has the edge thanks to the Homestead Crater in Midway, about an hour away, where you soak in warm mineral water inside a limestone dome, along with smaller springs and the spas of Park City.