Durango, Colorado or Jackson Hole?

Neither town is a swimming destination, and in both the water is cold for all but a few summer weeks. The difference is the kind of swim. In Durango it means floating down the Animas on a tube through the middle of town, or a dip at Lake Nighthorse or on the sandy edges of Vallecito.

Jackson Hole has the slightly better lake swim. String Lake is shallow and sandy-bottomed, warms enough by late summer and has the Tetons straight above it. The Snake River there is for rafts, not for bathing.

The two eat about equally well, but in different styles. Durango keeps things casual, with green-chile Southwestern plates and breakfast cafés. Above all it has a remarkable number of breweries for a town its size, and cyclists and rafters fill the taprooms.

Jackson leans upmarket, because the valley's money supports more chef-driven dining rooms and serious wine lists. Elk, bison and huckleberries give its cooking a regional flavour of its own. Almost nothing there is cheap, though, so Durango is the easier place for a simple meal.

Durango has more to see in town. The railway that founded it in 1880 still runs steam trains from the old depot, with the roundhouse museum alongside. The brick and sandstone of the historic district have real Victorian character, and the college on the mesa adds a respected Southwestern and Native American collection.

Jackson's sights are fewer and quieter. There are the antler arches and boardwalks of the Town Square and the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge. Inside the park are the barns of Mormon Row and the little log chapel whose window frames the peaks. They are memorable stops, but small ones.

Both towns go to bed early, and neither has clubs. In Durango an evening out means a taproom patio or an old saloon with a piano player, and college students keep a few bars busy at weekends.

Jackson gets livelier in winter, when the bars at the base of Teton Village fill up loudly as the lifts close. In town, a historic saloon with saddles for bar stools and a country dance floor is the closest either place comes to dancing. In spring and autumn, though, Jackson's bars can be almost empty.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, but Jackson Hole has the bigger landscape. The Tetons rise from the valley floor with no foothills, Grand Teton National Park begins minutes from town and Yellowstone is within reach. Its moose, bison, elk and bears make the valley feel wilder, and the tram at Teton Village serves some of the steepest lift-served terrain in North America.

Durango's strengths lie elsewhere. It is one of the country's best-known mountain-biking towns, with singletrack starting at the edge of town. The Colorado Trail begins just north, you can raft through the centre, and the high peaks of the Weminuche Wilderness rise behind. There is deep snow at the ski resort half an hour away.

Durango is far ahead here. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings are about an hour west, and the narrow-gauge steam train climbs the Animas canyon to the mining town of Silverton. Ouray, the Puebloan ruins at Aztec and Chimney Rock, and the hot springs of Pagosa Springs each make a full day out.

From Jackson, nearly every excursion goes into the parks rather than to another town. The Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass make a pleasant drive. None of the nearby towns is worth a whole day for its own sake.

Both suit outdoor families, and neither has zoos, aquariums or much to do on a wet day. Jackson Hole has the edge with children because the animals do the entertaining. Kids can spot moose and bison from the car, ride a sleigh through the elk herd, earn Junior Ranger badges and watch the summer rodeo or the staged shootout on the square. The ski resort also has a good ski school.

In Durango the highlights are the steam train up the canyon, gentle tubing on the river and the ladders of Mesa Verde, which bring ancient history to life. In both places the altitude and long drives can tire young children.

Getting around works the same way in both: a compact, walkable centre and a car for everything else. In Durango, the top of Main Avenue is a flat quarter-hour walk from the depot. A paved riverside trail serves walkers and cyclists, and a trolley runs along the main corridor.

Jackson's few blocks around the Town Square are just as easy to walk, and a bus to Teton Village helps in ski season. There is no public transport into Grand Teton or Yellowstone, so without a car you depend on tours, and winter roads call for care.

Both offer an hour or two of browsing rather than a shopping trip, and both sell turquoise, boots and outdoor gear. Jackson has a little more range, with its many galleries of Western and wildlife art, handmade cowboy hats and a few upscale boutiques serving the valley's wealthy residents.

Durango is more down to earth. Along Main Avenue you find Navajo and Pueblo silver and rugs, bike and fishing shops and sweet shops, and no luxury shopping at all.

Neither town is cheap, but the gap between them is wide. Durango costs less than Colorado's famous ski towns, and spring and late autumn bring real savings away from the busy summer and peak ski weeks.

Jackson Hole is among the most expensive places to stay in the country, with resort prices on everything from rooms to rafting. In both towns the trails and views are free once you arrive. In Jackson, staying over the pass in Idaho is the usual way to soften the bill.

Durango's stage has the more playful streak. Its summer Victorian melodrama invites the audience to boo the villain, and the concert hall at the college on the mesa brings in touring musicians and dance. Its own summer festival adds chamber and orchestral music in the mountains.

Jackson's strength is the bigger classical name. The Grand Teton Music Festival, running since the 1960s, brings players from leading American orchestras to a timber hall in Teton Village, and in town the evenings lean towards country bands in the saloons. Either place will give you a chuckwagon supper with cowboy music, but outside summer neither has much on most nights.

Durango is the easier place to slow down. Natural mineral pools are a few minutes north of town, and Pagosa Springs and Ouray both have spring-fed pools of their own within a drive. A soak fits around almost any day.

In Jackson the springs are more of an outing. One pool sits in a forested canyon south of town and is reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter, and another park has pools on the banks of the Snake. Beyond them, wellness mostly means luxury resort spas and massages for sore skiers.