Deer Valley or Fort Collins?

Neither has a beach worth travelling for, and both offer the same thing instead: a reservoir with a sandy stretch for hot July and August afternoons. The difference is closeness. Horsetooth Reservoir sits in the foothills just outside Fort Collins, with coves full of paddleboards, while Deer Valley's guests drive down to Jordanelle or more often settle for the hotel pool.

Fort Collins has the edge, mainly because of its beer. Its big long-standing breweries and dozens of taprooms with food trucks outside can fill several days for anyone who likes craft beer, and summer farmers' markets bring Palisade peaches and local produce, though the eating itself is gastropubs and tacos rather than fine dining.

Deer Valley goes the other way. Park City's Main Street has more upscale steakhouses, sushi and bistros than a small town usually supports, and the lodges serve polished resort food, but it is pricey and has little casual or street-level eating. Drinking here centres on restaurant tables and a few distilleries.

Neither is a sightseeing trip, but Fort Collins offers a little more. Its Old Town of red-brick and sandstone around a pedestrian square is pleasant to wander, with the Museum of Discovery, the Victorian Avery House and the university's art museum close by, enough for a full day.

Deer Valley's history lies next door in Park City: a restored silver-mining Main Street, old headframes on the slopes and a museum in the old city hall, plus the ski jumps of the 2002 Olympic park. That fills an afternoon.

Fort Collins has more going on after dark. The student population keeps Old Town's pubs, rooftop patios and taprooms busy on weekends, with a few dance clubs, though weeknights and summer breaks are quieter.

Deer Valley itself goes quiet when the lifts close, and evenings mean a fireside lounge or a short ride to Park City's saloons and après-ski bars. It is fun after a ski day, but it closes early and most people are up for first chair.

Deer Valley is the stronger outdoor base, above all in winter. Its own immaculately groomed runs, Park City Mountain next door and the deep powder of the Cottonwood Canyons about an hour away make it a serious ski destination. In summer the same slopes carry hundreds of kilometres of hiking and mountain-biking trails through aspen and fir, some with lift-served downhill routes, and the high lakes of the Uintas are within reach.

Fort Collins offers a gentler outdoors instead. Foothills trails to rocky summits start just west of town, the wild Poudre Canyon has rafting and camping, and Rocky Mountain National Park is about an hour and a half away. In winter it has snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, but no downhill.

Fort Collins has a wider choice of outings. Boulder beneath the Flatirons, Denver's big museums, mining-era Golden, Estes Park and frontier Cheyenne across the Wyoming line are all within easy driving.

From Deer Valley the main outing is Salt Lake City, about forty minutes away, for Temple Square and its museums. Closer trips are smaller: Swiss-styled Midway, the Heber Valley steam railway and the arts village at Sundance.

For families who ski, Deer Valley is the better trip. The children's ski schools, wide beginner runs with no snowboarders and ski-to-the-door lodging make it easy, and the Olympic park adds tubing and an alpine coaster. The cost of lessons and the altitude are the drawbacks.

Fort Collins is the simpler, cheaper place with small children: flat river paths, the hands-on Museum of Discovery, the city farm and lazy tubing on the river. Neither has a zoo or amusement park, so both send families to the nearest big city for those.

Deer Valley lets you leave the car parked. Fare-free buses link its base areas with Main Street, Park City Mountain and Kimball Junction, and much of the lodging sits right on the slopes. Walking between lodges on the steep hillsides is rarely practical, though, and Salt Lake City, the Cottonwood Canyons and the Heber Valley all mean driving on winter roads.

In Fort Collins the bicycle does the work. Old Town is flat and compact, and with protected lanes, bike share and long off-street trails, cycling is the natural way to get between campus, breweries and parks. A rapid-bus line runs along the main corridor. Beyond the centre the suburbs spread out and buses are sparse, so the foothills and day trips need a car here too.

Shopping is small-scale in both, with a different flavour. Park City's Main Street leans upmarket, with galleries, western boots and hats, smart boutiques and serious ski gear, plus an outlet centre at Kimball Junction. Fort Collins' Old Town is more casual and independent: bookshops, vintage clothing, cycling shops and Colorado-made gifts.

This is where the two differ most. Deer Valley is among the most expensive places to ski in the world, with luxury lodging, lift access at the very top of the market and costly meals, ski school and rental on top. Summer is gentler, but many visitors save by staying in the Heber Valley or Salt Lake City.

Fort Collins is mid-priced by American standards. Chain hotels, taprooms and casual meals are reasonable, the hire car is the biggest extra, and its best trails and river paths are free.

Both have a modest programme, but at different times of year. Deer Valley comes into its own in summer, when the Utah Symphony's outdoor festival brings picnics on the grass at Snow Park, and the restored 1920s Egyptian Theatre stages plays and small concerts all year.

Fort Collins is busier during the university year, with touring Broadway, dance and the local symphony at the Lincoln Center, campus opera and theatre, and indie and bluegrass bands on small Old Town stages.

Deer Valley is the better place to unwind in comfort. Its quiet slopeside lodges, terrace hot tubs and polished hotel spas are part of the routine, and the warm spring pool inside Midway's Homestead Crater is half an hour away.

Fort Collins has only the day spas and yoga studios of any university town, and the nearest hot-spring soak is close to two hours' drive. Its calm comes from shaded river paths and an unhurried pace rather than pampering.