Deer Valley or Steamboat Springs?

Neither is a place to swim, and in both, summer water time comes down to mountain reservoirs in July and August. Deer Valley's Jordanelle has a sandy state-park shoreline a short drive below the resort. Steamboat's lakes stay colder, and the real local pastime there is floating down the Yampa on a tube right through town.

Park City gives Deer Valley the deeper choice of restaurants. Main Street has steakhouses, sushi, modern American bistros and après-ski grills, and the mountain lodges keep their long-standing turkey chili ritual. It is upmarket rather than adventurous, though, with no markets or street food.

Steamboat's Lincoln Avenue offers less, and the cooking leans toward ranch country: Colorado lamb and beef, casual Mexican, pizza and a few breweries. It is hearty and satisfying after a day outside, but on a week's stay you will work through the options much faster.

Neither is a sightseeing trip, and an afternoon covers either one. What differs is the story. Park City is a restored silver-mining town with old headframes on the slopes and the Olympic Park from the 2002 Games. Steamboat's past is homesteaders and ranchers, told at the Tread of Pioneers Museum, with Howelsen Hill's long ski-jumping tradition in the middle of town.

Both towns wind down early, and Park City's Main Street and Steamboat's Lincoln Avenue play the same role: après-ski first, then saloons and bars. Park City has more cocktail bars and fills up on ski weekends, though Utah's liquor rules are always in the background. Steamboat's evenings revolve around brewpubs and western saloons, and outside the peak weeks the town is quiet well before midnight.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, so the choice is about style. Deer Valley gives you perfectly groomed runs next door to Park City Mountain's huge terrain, with Alta, Snowbird and the other Cottonwood Canyon resorts about an hour over the ridge for deep powder.

Steamboat is one mountain with Champagne Powder and tree skiing through aspen glades, set in wilder country: backcountry terrain on Rabbit Ears Pass, alpine lakes in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, and elk and moose as common sights. In summer both turn into large networks of biking and hiking trails.

Deer Valley comes out clearly ahead, mainly because Salt Lake City is so close, with Temple Square, the State Capitol and proper museums. The Swiss-styled village of Midway, the Heber Valley steam railway and Sundance add easy half-day outings.

From Steamboat, the nearby towns are small ranching communities worth a coffee stop, and Vail or Denver mean two to three hours of mountain driving. Outings there head into the hills rather than to other towns.

Both work well for families who ski, with strong ski schools and gentle beginner terrain. Deer Valley is smoother on the mountain, thanks to its skiers-only slopes and ski-to-the-door lodging, and Salt Lake City's zoo and museums are within reach for a day off. Steamboat answers with the Old Town Hot Springs pools, slides and climbing wall, tubing on the Yampa and the rodeo, all in a small, relaxed town where restaurants are used to children.

In both places, slopeside lodging and town buses mean the car can stay parked for days. Park City's fare-free buses link Deer Valley with Main Street and the neighbouring resort, and Salt Lake City's major airport is close enough for a shuttle.

Steamboat is split between its downtown and the ski base, with a town bus joining the two. The hot springs, waterfalls and passes all need a car, though, and you arrive either through the small Hayden airport or by a long drive over the mountains from Denver.

In both towns shopping is a pleasant stroll rather than a reason to go, mostly galleries, outdoor gear and western boots and hats. Park City adds upmarket clothing boutiques and the outlet centre at Kimball Junction. Steamboat's Lincoln Avenue has more of a ranch feel, anchored by a family western outfitter that has traded there since the early twentieth century.

Neither is cheap, but Deer Valley is in a class of its own. Slopeside lodging is mostly luxury, lift access is priced at the very top of the North American market, and lessons and rental come on top of that.

Steamboat charges resort prices too, especially at Christmas and during the spring school breaks. Its self-catering condos, free trails and cheaper spring and autumn shoulder seasons leave a budget more room, though. In both places summer is the gentler season for your wallet.

Both come alive musically mainly in summer, in different ways. Deer Valley hosts the Utah Symphony's outdoor festival, where people picnic on the Snow Park lawn, and the restored 1920s Egyptian Theatre keeps plays and concerts going all year. Steamboat has the long-running Strings Music Festival, which puts jazz and bluegrass alongside chamber music, plus student theatre and dance at Perry-Mansfield, but in winter there is little beyond bands in the bars.

Steamboat is built around hot water in a way Deer Valley is not. The spring-fed pools in town are used all year, and about 11km up a mountain road, the rock-lined pools at Strawberry Park sit in a wooded creek valley. A soak there on a snowy evening is the highlight of many trips.

Deer Valley's comfort comes from its hotels: polished spas, fireplaces and hot tubs on snowy terraces. Its only natural soak is the Homestead Crater in Midway, about half an hour away.