Deer Valley or Jackson Hole?

Neither is a place to come for swimming, and both offer only a few warm weeks in midsummer. Deer Valley's options are reservoirs below the resort, Jordanelle and Deer Creek, with sandy state-park shorelines shared with motorboats. Jackson Hole swims in natural lakes at the foot of the Tetons, where shallow String Lake warms up by late summer while Jenny Lake stays bracing. The lake swim is wilder, and the reservoir beach is easier to reach.

The two eat at much the same level, with plenty of upscale dining for small towns and little that is cheap or casual. Deer Valley's choice is broader but less local: lodge food on the mountain, the base-area turkey chili, and sushi, steakhouses and modern bistros along Park City's Main Street. Drinks mostly come with dinner or from a few local distilleries.

Jackson has a stronger regional flavour. Elk, bison and Rocky Mountain trout are on most menus, huckleberries appear in everything from jam to cocktails, and you'll find coffee roasters, early bakeries, a few serious wine lists and a summer farmers' market on the Town Square.

Neither has much to see, and either can be covered in an afternoon or a day. Deer Valley's history is industrial and sporting: Park City's silver-boom storefronts, old mine headframes on the slopes and the Olympic Park built for the 2002 Games. Jackson's sights lean towards art and landscape. The National Museum of Wildlife Art looks over the elk refuge, and the Mormon Row barns and the log chapel frame the Tetons, which makes them more memorable as views than as history.

Both are small-town scenes that peak in ski season and close early, with no real clubs. In Deer Valley you go down to Park City's Main Street for saloons and cocktail bars, with Utah's liquor rules always in the background. Jackson splits its evenings between loud après-ski at the Teton Village base and the town's classic saddle-stool saloon with a country dance floor, which gives a night out more Western character.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, but Jackson Hole goes further. Deer Valley's strengths are skiing and summer trails. Its immaculately groomed runs sit next to Park City Mountain, the powder of Alta and Snowbird is about an hour away, and in summer hundreds of kilometres of bike and hiking trails wind through the aspen.

Jackson adds a national park on the doorstep and Yellowstone within a drive. The tram reaches 3,185m above steeper terrain, and the wildlife is the real difference: moose, bison, bald eagles, bears, and thousands of elk wintering beside town. Nothing at Deer Valley matches that.

Deer Valley has far more to do away from the resort. Salt Lake City is about forty minutes off, with Temple Square, the Capitol and good museums. Nearer by are the Swiss-styled village of Midway, a historic steam railway in the Heber Valley and the arts village at Sundance.

From Jackson, nearly every outing goes into the parks rather than to another town. Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass, or the ranch towns to the south, make pleasant drives but not full days out.

Both suit active families well and offer little for children beyond the outdoors. Deer Valley is the smoother choice for families who ski, with skiers-only beginner runs, ski-to-the-door lodging and tubing and a coaster at the Olympic Park. It also helps that Salt Lake City's zoo and children's museums are within reach.

Jackson is better for children who love animals. They can spot moose and bison from the car, earn Junior Ranger badges, ride a sleigh through the elk herd and watch the summer rodeo. The catch is long drives and little to do on a rainy day.

Deer Valley is much easier without a car. Fare-free buses link its base areas with Main Street, Park City Mountain and Kimball Junction, much of the lodging is ski-in, and Salt Lake City airport is a short shuttle ride away. You only really need to drive for trips further out.

Jackson's town centre is walkable, and a bus covers the 20km to Teton Village. Beyond that, the parks, trailheads and dawn wildlife drives all depend on a car or a guided tour.

Jackson gives shoppers more reason to browse. Its boardwalks around the Town Square are lined with galleries of Western and wildlife art, from bronzes to landscape painting, alongside handmade cowboy hats, leather goods and turquoise jewellery. Park City's Main Street has galleries and western boots too, but the range is narrower and leans towards ski and outdoor gear. Its practical advantage is the outlet centre at Kimball Junction, for anyone after bargains rather than craft.

Both are among the most expensive mountain stays in the United States, but Deer Valley is the harsher of the two. Its slopeside lodging is almost all luxury, lift access is priced at the very top of the market, and ski school adds more on top.

Jackson's rooms and meals are just as steep, but its best experiences cost little once you are there: trails, viewpoints and roadside wildlife are free, and park fees are modest. Staying over the pass in Idaho or coming in the shoulder months saves the most. At Deer Valley, the equivalent is staying in the Heber Valley.

At both, live performance belongs to summer, and both have a classical festival. Deer Valley's is relaxed, with the Utah Symphony playing outdoors at Snow Park while audiences picnic on the grass, and the restored 1920s Egyptian Theatre stages plays and comedy all year. Jackson's Grand Teton Music Festival brings orchestral players to a timber concert hall in Teton Village, and the town adds chuckwagon dinner shows and country bands, though the off-season is thin.

Deer Valley is the more restful stay. It is built around comfort, with quiet lodges, fireplaces, hot tubs on snowy terraces and some of the most polished hotel spas in the mountain West. The Homestead Crater's warm spring pool in Midway is a short drive away.

Jackson's strength is natural hot springs: a forested canyon pool reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter, and soaking pools on the Snake River. Beyond those and the resort spas, there is less dedicated to rest.