Deer Valley or Durango, Colorado?

Neither is a place to swim, but the summer water differs. Near Deer Valley, the Jordanelle state park has a sandy shoreline on a boating reservoir, which is the nearest thing to a beach afternoon.

In Durango the classic dip is floating the Animas on an inner tube right through town, with Lake Nighthorse and Vallecito as quieter lake options. The water stays cold, so it's a quick refresher rather than a lazy afternoon.

Food is roughly equal, but the two styles are quite different. Deer Valley and Park City lean upmarket: polished lodge dining, steakhouses, sushi and modern American bistros, with the base-area turkey chili as the skiers' ritual.

Durango is more casual and more regional, with green-chile Southwestern plates, Colorado lamb and trout, and hearty breakfast cafés. Its craft breweries give evenings a social, after-the-ride feel. In Park City, drinking mostly happens over dinner, with Utah's liquor rules in the background.

Durango has more to see, although neither town holds much. The town grew up around its 1880 railway, and the steam depot, roundhouse museum, brick Victorian streets and the college's Southwestern and Native American collection give it a clear story.

Deer Valley is a purpose-built resort, so its history is borrowed from Park City: the mining-era Main Street, headframes on the slopes, the city museum and the Olympic Park's ski-jump towers. That fills an afternoon and covers similar mining-boom ground, but with less to look at.

Both towns are quiet after dark, and the difference is mainly in who's out. Park City's Main Street fills with an après-ski crowd in cocktail bars and saloons on winter weekends, so it feels busiest in ski season.

Durango's evenings centre on brewery taprooms, patio pints and an old saloon with a piano player, with college students keeping a few bars going. In both, almost everything winds down well before midnight.

Both are excellent mountain bases, and the choice depends on the season. Deer Valley is better for skiing: its own groomed runs, the huge Park City Mountain next door and Alta and Snowbird about an hour away, plus lift-served biking and hiking trails through aspen in summer.

Durango is wilder and more of a summer place. The San Juans and the Weminuche Wilderness rise to peaks above 4,000m, the Colorado Trail starts just north of town, singletrack begins at the edge of town, and rafters run the Animas through the centre. Winter here means a single resort half an hour away rather than a cluster of famous mountains.

Durango is far stronger for day trips. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings, the narrow-gauge steam train up the canyon to Silverton, Ouray beneath its cliffs and the Puebloan ruins at Aztec and Chimney Rock would fill a week, as long as you have a car.

From Deer Valley the main outing is Salt Lake City, with Temple Square and its museums, plus smaller trips to Swiss-styled Midway, the Heber Valley steam railway and Sundance. These are pleasant, but none compares with Mesa Verde.

Families who ski have it slightly easier in Deer Valley, where the ski schools, beginner terrain without snowboarders and slopeside lodging are hard to beat. The Olympic Park adds tubing and an alpine coaster.

Durango appeals more to families who like a mix of activities: the steam train, gentle rafting and tubing, and climbing ladders at Mesa Verde. Neither has much for a rainy day. Altitude affects small children in both, and the long drives in Durango and the high costs in Deer Valley each add up.

Getting around is easier in Deer Valley. Fare-free buses link the base areas with Park City's Main Street and the neighbouring resort, and many lodges are on the slopes, so the car can stay parked for a ski week. Leaving the area still means driving.

Durango's centre is compact and flat, with a riverside trail and a trolley along the main corridor. Beyond that, trailheads, the ski area and Mesa Verde all need a car, and most visitors rent one.

Park City's Main Street caters for a well-off ski crowd, with art galleries, Western boots and hats, upmarket clothing boutiques and serious mountain gear. There's also an outlet centre at Kimball Junction for bargains. For anything broader, you'll need to go to Salt Lake City.

Durango's Main Avenue is plainer and has no luxury or fashion shopping. Its Navajo and Pueblo silver, turquoise jewellery and rugs give it a regional character that Park City lacks, and its outdoor shops stock bikes and fishing and climbing gear.

This is the widest gap between the two. Deer Valley is among the most expensive places to ski in the world, with luxury slopeside lodging and costly lift access, lessons and meals. Even summer is only somewhat cheaper, and staying in the Heber Valley or Salt Lake City is the usual way to save.

Durango is far easier on the budget, although rooms are still tight in peak seasons and a hire car is usually needed. Its trails, river and views are free, and spring and late autumn bring prices down further.

Deer Valley has something on stage all year. The restored 1920s Egyptian Theatre on Main Street puts on plays, comedy and small concerts even in winter, and in summer the Utah Symphony's outdoor festival at Snow Park draws people to picnic on the grass.

Durango's best evenings are folksier and limited to summer: a Victorian-style melodrama where the audience boos the villain, cowboy music over a chuckwagon supper and a chamber music festival. The college concert hall brings in touring acts, but outside summer there's little on most nights.

For relaxation, the two are close, but they offer different things. Deer Valley is about polished hotel spas, hot tubs on snowy terraces and fireside lodges, with the Homestead Crater's warm spring inside a limestone dome as an unusual outing.

Durango's strength is natural hot springs: mineral pools a few minutes north of town, plus the terraced pools at Pagosa Springs and those at Ouray. Its spas are simpler, but a public soak after a day outdoors is much easier to arrange.