Deer Valley or Whitefish?

Neither is a beach destination, but Whitefish comes closer. City Beach on Whitefish Lake is at the edge of town, with a swimming dock and paddleboards, and the clear water of Flathead Lake is forty minutes away. A summer swim fits easily into the day.

At Deer Valley you have to drive down to the reservoirs at Jordanelle or Deer Creek. These are boating lakes with a strip of sand, and most guests end up in the hotel pool instead. In both places the swimming season is July and August.

Deer Valley eats better, mostly thanks to Park City's Main Street, which has more steakhouses, sushi and modern American bistros than a town its size normally supports. The mountain lodges keep the standard high too, right down to the turkey chili at the base area.

Whitefish has more local flavour, with elk and bison burgers, Montana trout and huckleberries in everything from pies to cocktails. The choice along Central Avenue is narrow, though, so a week there means going back to the same places. Neither town has street food or markets.

Silver mining against the railway: that is the difference in the stories these two towns tell. Near Deer Valley, Park City's Main Street is a restored mining town of wooden storefronts, the Park City Museum fills the old city hall, and the ski jumps from the 2002 Winter Games add a second chapter.

Whitefish has the timber-framed Great Northern depot, with its small museum of railway and logging days, and little else to seek out. In either place the sightseeing fills an afternoon, not a trip.

Both go to bed early. Deer Valley's lodges have quiet fireside lounges, and nights out happen on Park City's Main Street, where cocktail bars and saloons fill up on ski-season weekends under Utah's liquor rules. Whitefish is rougher and more local, with wooden-bar saloons, pool tables and brewery taprooms on Central Avenue, where ranchers drink alongside ski bums and summer crowds spill onto the patios.

Both are superb outdoor bases, but they are good at different things. Deer Valley is about skiing on a large scale: its own immaculate slopes, Park City Mountain next door and the powder of Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude about an hour away. When the snow melts, the ski runs become hundreds of kilometres of bike and hiking trails.

Whitefish's great asset is Glacier National Park, forty minutes away. Lake McDonald, the Highline Trail, grizzlies and mountain goats make it wilder country than anything near Deer Valley. Big Mountain gives Whitefish a full ski area as well, but Glacier's high country is reliably open only from July to September.

Deer Valley has more towns within reach. Salt Lake City, about forty minutes away, has Temple Square, the State Capitol and proper museums, and the Heber Valley offers Swiss-styled Midway, a steam railway and the arts village at Sundance.

From Whitefish the outings are smaller: the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, the galleries of Bigfork and the cherry orchards along Flathead Lake, with the mission church at St Ignatius two hours south. In both places, the best excursions are into the landscape rather than to other towns.

For families who ski, Deer Valley is the smoother choice. The children's ski schools are well run and the beginner runs are wide and free of snowboarders. For a day off the slopes, Salt Lake City's zoo and museums are within reach. Lessons and lift access cost a great deal, though.

Whitefish is a safe, easy small town. The mountain has an alpine slide and a zip line, City Beach has calm water, and Glacier has short, flat trails such as the Trail of the Cedars. Beyond that it has no zoo or museum to fall back on, and the drives into the park are long for little ones.

Deer Valley is easier to manage without a car. Fare-free buses link its base areas with Main Street, Park City Mountain and Kimball Junction, and the airport is about forty minutes away. Day trips still mean driving.

Whitefish has a walkable downtown, and long-distance trains stop at its depot, which is unusual for a mountain town. Apart from the ski-season shuttle, though, a hire car is close to essential, because Glacier, Flathead Lake and the trailheads are spread along rural highways.

Shopping in either town is a browse, not a reason to go. Park City's Main Street is more upmarket, with clothing boutiques and art galleries, and there is an outlet centre at Kimball Junction for bargains.

Whitefish's Central Avenue is homelier, with wildlife art, western boots and huckleberry jam, and there is no luxury shopping anywhere nearby. Both are good places to buy outdoor gear.

Neither is a cheap mountain town, but Deer Valley sits in a different price bracket altogether. A ski week there means a luxury lodge at the foot of the runs, lift access that costs more than almost anywhere else in North America, and lessons and hired skis on top. A summer visit takes some of the sting out without making it a bargain, and many visitors sleep down in the valley and drive up to keep the bill in check.

Whitefish asks resort-town money rather than luxury-resort money. Rooms are scarce and dear in July, August and the ski weeks, but they ease off in the quieter months. Dinner on Central Avenue costs about what it would in any American resort. The extra cost Deer Valley guests can usually avoid is a hire car, and in Whitefish that is hard to do without.

Deer Valley has the stronger summer programme. The Utah Symphony holds an outdoor festival at the Snow Park amphitheatre, with picnics on the grass and visiting headliners. All year, the restored Egyptian Theatre on Main Street puts on plays, comedy and concerts.

Whitefish's calendar is thinner. It rests on a community arts centre, a summer theatre company and the valley symphony, which plays in Kalispell, plus free outdoor concerts and bar bands on summer evenings. Neither is worth planning a trip around.

Deer Valley is the more restful stay. Its lodges are built for comfort, with hot tubs on snowy terraces and some of the most polished hotel spas in the mountain West. The warm spring pool inside the Homestead Crater at Midway is about half an hour away.

Whitefish relies more on its setting, with quiet lake mornings, a few lodge spas and yoga studios in town. The nearest hot springs are a couple of hours' drive away, so a soak means planning a whole day around it.