Deer Valley or Monterey?

Neither is a beach destination, but Monterey at least has a real coast. Del Monte Beach, Carmel's white sand and the Asilomar dunes are lovely for walking and picnics, even if the cold Pacific and rip currents rule out long swims.

Deer Valley is deep in the mountains, so swimming means a reservoir beach at Jordanelle or Deer Creek on a hot midsummer afternoon, or, more often, the hotel pool.

The two eat about equally well, in different ways. Deer Valley's dining is resort food and Park City's steakhouses, sushi and après-ski grills, unusually plentiful for a small mountain town but almost all at the upscale end.

Monterey cooks from what's around it: squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs from the bay, artichokes and greens from the Salinas Valley, and Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Skip the chowder bowls on the wharf and eat in Old Monterey, Pacific Grove or Carmel.

Monterey has much more history to explore. As the capital of Spanish and Mexican California, it keeps a walkable cluster of adobes including the Custom House and Colton Hall, and the Carmel Mission is only ten minutes away. Cannery Row adds the world of John Steinbeck.

Deer Valley is a purpose-built resort, so its sightseeing is borrowed from Park City: the restored silver-mining Main Street, its museum in the old city hall, and the Olympic Park from 2002. Expect it to fill an afternoon, no more.

Both are quiet after dark, and neither has much in the way of clubs. Deer Valley's evenings mean crossing to Park City's Main Street, where saloons and après-ski bars fill with skiers on winter weekends, all under Utah's liquor rules.

Monterey's scene is a short run of pubs, wine bars and brewpubs on Alvarado Street, with students from the language and naval schools in the crowd. Both towns are mostly asleep before midnight.

Both are outstanding, and Deer Valley has the slight edge as a pure mountain base. In winter there are several major ski areas within an hour, and in summer hundreds of kilometres of lift-served biking and hiking trails through aspen, plus fly-fishing on the Provo River and the Uinta high lakes.

Monterey's outdoors is about the ocean and its wildlife: whales over the submarine canyon, otters in the kelp, diving and kayaking from town. On land there's the cliff walking at Point Lobos and the redwoods of Big Sur.

Monterey has the better choice of outings. Carmel-by-the-Sea, Victorian Pacific Grove, the Carmel Valley wineries, Steinbeck's Salinas and the mission at San Juan Bautista are all close, and Santa Cruz's boardwalk is under an hour away.

From Deer Valley, Salt Lake City's Temple Square and museums are the main trip, with the Swiss-styled village of Midway, the Heber Valley steam railway and Sundance nearer by. The grandest things within reach are landscapes rather than towns.

Monterey has a bit more for most families. The aquarium alone can fill a day, and the otters, sea lions, tide pools and whale-watching boats are easy wins with children, though the cold water means beach days are for sandcastles.

Deer Valley is excellent for families who ski, with strong children's ski schools, gentle runs and no snowboarders, plus coasters and tubing at the Olympic Park. Away from the slopes there is little for children, the altitude can tire them, and lessons and lift access add up quickly.

Deer Valley is the easier of the two without a car. Fare-free buses link its base areas to Main Street, Park City Mountain and Kimball Junction, and ski-in lodging lets the car sit idle, though anything beyond town means driving on winter roads.

In Monterey, the flat coastal trail makes the waterfront from the wharf to Pacific Grove easy on foot or by bike. The local buses are slow, though, and Carmel Valley, the 17-Mile Drive and Big Sur all need a car.

Monterey offers a little more browsing, mostly thanks to its neighbours. Carmel's small streets of galleries and independent boutiques and Pacific Grove's antique shops beat the taffy and otter souvenirs of Cannery Row.

In Deer Valley, shopping happens on Park City's Main Street, where the strength is mountain gear, along with western boots, galleries and the outlet centre at Kimball Junction.

Neither is cheap, but Deer Valley is in a class of its own. Luxury slopeside lodging, lift access at the very top of the market and ski school costs make a winter stay very expensive, and summer only softens that a little. Staying in the Heber Valley or Salt Lake City is the usual way to save.

Monterey is costly too, especially on summer weekends, but the highway motels in Seaside and Marina, midweek or winter stays, and free pleasures like the coastal trail and tide pools keep a trip much more manageable.

The two offer about as much, but in different styles, and in both the best of it comes in the warmer months. Deer Valley's highlight is the Utah Symphony's outdoor summer festival at the Snow Park amphitheatre, classical and pops with picnics on the grass. The restored Egyptian Theatre on Main Street keeps plays and small concerts going year round.

Monterey leans towards jazz and early music, and it has the deeper history. The Monterey Jazz Festival has filled the fairgrounds every September since 1958, on the same ground as the landmark Monterey Pop Festival. In summer the Carmel Bach Festival plays in the peninsula's churches, and the Forest Theater stages plays under the pines.

Deer Valley is the more comfortable place to unwind. Fireside lodges, hot tubs on snowy terraces and some of the best hotel spas in the mountain West are built into the stay, and the warm spring inside the Homestead Crater at Midway makes an unusual soak half an hour away.

Monterey relaxes you through its pace, with fog lifting off the bay and evening walks in Pacific Grove. It has spas at the Carmel Valley and Pebble Beach resorts, but summer weekends bring crowds and traffic.