Durango, Colorado or Estes Park?

Neither town is a place to swim, and both are far from any coast. Durango does a little more with its water. In summer you can float the Animas on an inner tube, or find a swimming area at Lake Nighthorse and sandy edges at Vallecito Lake.

The lakes around Estes Park are snowmelt that stays cold through summer, so the lakeshore is for paddling and walking. A real swim means a hotel pool or the town's indoor aquatic centre.

Durango eats noticeably better. Around Main Avenue you will find Southwestern green-chile cooking, a few ambitious kitchens using local trout, lamb and farm produce, and a craft beer scene that is unusually large for a town its size.

Estes Park keeps to gateway-town food: elk burgers, barbecue, big diner breakfasts and the fudge and taffy shops that are part of a visit. Quality is uneven, and many kitchens close early or cut back out of season, which is why keen eaters head down to Boulder.

Durango has more to see, though neither is a heritage destination. Its steam railway, depot and roundhouse museum are a real sight, and the Victorian brick and sandstone blocks of the historic district make a good walk. The college also holds a respected Native American collection.

In Estes Park almost everything comes down to the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for The Shining, where you can tour the public rooms and hear the ghost stories. The town museum and the MacGregor Ranch will fill a rainy afternoon.

Neither town stays up late, but Durango has more going on after dark. Brewery patios, Victorian saloons with a piano player and a few bars kept busy by college students fill weekend evenings.

Estes Park is quieter still. A drink with dinner in a taproom on Elkhorn Avenue is about it, and the town is mostly asleep by ten, ready for dawn wildlife outings.

Both are first-class mountain bases, and the difference is the kind of outdoors. Durango is about action across the seasons. Mountain-bike singletrack starts at the edge of town, the Animas is rafted right through the centre, the Colorado Trail and the Weminuche Wilderness are close, and there is a full ski resort half an hour north.

Estes Park is about one great national park and its wildlife. Elk graze in town, Trail Ridge Road climbs above the tree line, and trails lead to Bear and Emerald lakes and to Longs Peak. It has no ski area nearby, so winter there means snowshoes.

Durango has much the stronger set of days out. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings are among the great sights of the American West, the narrow-gauge railway climbs the canyon to Silverton, and Ouray, the Aztec ruins and Chimney Rock are all within reach.

From Estes Park, the outings lead down onto the plains: Boulder's Pearl Street, Fort Collins's Old Town and breweries, and the museums of Denver. The summer drive over to Grand Lake is the most scenic. Both towns need a car for nearly all of it.

Both suit outdoorsy families about equally, in different ways. In Durango the treats are the steam train, gentle tubing on the river, summer ziplines at the ski area and climbing ladders at Mesa Verde.

Estes Park keeps children busy closer to town, with elk on the streets, junior ranger programmes, flat lake walks, mini golf, go-karts and the tramway up Prospect Mountain, so there is less time in the car. Both towns sit high enough to tire small children at first, and neither has much for a rainy day.

The two are much alike: a compact, walkable centre and a car for everything else. Durango adds a paved river trail and a trolley along the main corridor, and has its own regional airport.

Estes Park's advantage is the summer shuttle into the Bear Lake corridor, which spares you trailhead parking. Against that, the town is an hour and a half's drive from Denver and gets congested on summer weekends.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Durango's Main Avenue offers a little more worth buying. Its Navajo and Pueblo silver, turquoise and rugs are the real thing, and its outdoor shops are serious about bikes and fishing gear. Elkhorn Avenue in Estes Park leans more towards T-shirts, taffy and souvenirs, with a few wildlife galleries, and anything bigger means a trip down to Boulder.

Both are American mountain resorts with summer room rates to match, though Durango is a little easier on the wallet. It costs less than Colorado's famous ski towns, and spring and late autumn bring real savings.

Estes Park charges heavily for beds near the national park in summer and early autumn. Winter is the cheap season there, and cabins with kitchens help families keep costs down.

Durango offers more to watch, especially in summer. A long-running chamber and orchestral festival plays there, the college concert hall brings touring acts, and you can boo the villain at a Victorian melodrama or eat a chuckwagon supper with cowboy songs.

Estes Park has free riverside concerts, the odd evening at the Stanley and the September Highland Festival with its pipe bands. Beyond that, people drive to Denver for a show.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Durango has natural mineral pools a few minutes up the valley, which are ideal after a ride or a ski day, and Pagosa Springs and Ouray offer more soaking within reach.

Estes Park has no springs and only a handful of lodge spas. What it offers is stillness: a riverside cabin and elk at dusk, especially in the quiet winter months.