Durango, Colorado or Keystone?

Neither place is for a beach vacation, and Durango only just has the edge. There you can take a cold dip at Lake Nighthorse, find a sandy edge at Vallecito Lake or float the Animas through town on an inner tube in summer.

Keystone's Dillon Reservoir is for boating and looking at, since it is snowmelt-cold and mostly closed to swimmers. That leaves hotel pools and hot tubs.

Durango gives you a proper town to eat in. Main Avenue has green-chile Southwestern plates, steakhouses, breakfast cafés and a few kitchens cooking local lamb and trout, and its number of breweries is remarkable for a place its size.

Keystone's eating is resort dining: slopeside grills, après-ski burgers and a gondola-reached summit dining room, at resort prices. Many guests cook in their condos or drive to Frisco or Breckenridge for more choice.

Durango has a real past to explore. The 1880 railway depot still sends out steam trains, the roundhouse museum shows the locomotives up close, and blocks of brick and sandstone Victorian buildings line the historic district. The college's Southwestern and Native American collection adds depth, though an afternoon covers it all.

Keystone was built for skiing in the 1970s, and River Run Village is convenient rather than historic. Its mining-era past lies in cabins and ruins up the Snake River valley and in nearby towns.

Neither is a late-night town, but Durango gives you more to choose from. You can go from brewery taprooms to Main Avenue patios and old saloons with a piano player, and the college students keep a few bars busy at weekends.

Keystone's evenings peak at après-ski on the River Run decks and fade soon after dinner. For a real night out people head to Breckenridge's Main Street.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, and the difference is in what you do there. Keystone is built around snow: three peaks of its own, Arapahoe Basin minutes away, Vail and Copper within an hour, and terrain above 3,600m. In summer, lift-served biking and the 14,000ft summits of Grays and Torreys take over.

Durango leans towards summer and variety. It has singletrack from the edge of town, the start of the Colorado Trail, the Weminuche Wilderness, and rafting and fly-fishing on the Animas, with a single ski resort half an hour north for winter.

Durango has the more memorable days out. Mesa Verde National Park is about an hour west, and reaching the cliff dwellings takes about another hour of driving across the mesa top. The narrow-gauge steam train climbs the Animas canyon to Silverton, and the ruins at Aztec and the Chimney Rock pueblo add more, almost all by car.

Keystone's outings are mostly to other mountain towns: Breckenridge, Georgetown and Silver Plume with their loop railway, Leadville and Vail's Tyrolean village. Denver's museums are about an hour and a half away if traffic on I-70 allows.

Keystone is designed for families on a ski trip. It has a large ski school, gentle lower runs, tubing, a mountain snow fort and a vast skating rink on the frozen lake. Condos and free shuttles cut out much of the hassle.

Durango works for outdoor-minded families too, with the steam train, gentle river tubing and Mesa Verde's ladders. But the attractions are spread out and need long drives, and neither place has much for a rainy day.

Keystone is easier once you arrive. Free shuttles link its bases, and free county buses reach Frisco, Dillon and Breckenridge, so you can manage without a car. The catch is getting there over I-70 in winter.

Durango's centre is compact and the river trail is pleasant on foot or by bike. Beyond the trolley corridor, though, trailheads, the ski area and Mesa Verde all need a car.

Shopping is a sideline in both places, and Durango's Main Avenue is the nicer browse. It has Navajo and Pueblo silver, turquoise jewellery, rugs, Western boots and galleries alongside the bike and fishing shops.

Keystone offers ski gear and rentals in River Run. Its real draw is the outlet centre in Silverthorne ten minutes away, for brand-name clothing and outdoor wear.

Durango is noticeably easier on the wallet. Rooms and restaurants cost less than in the big ski towns, the trails and river are free, and spring and late autumn are cheaper still.

Keystone is expensive in ski season, when lift access, slopeside rooms, rentals and ski school all add up, especially at Christmas and spring break. Free buses, condo kitchens and supermarkets in Dillon help, and summer is gentler.

Both places offer small, mostly summer programmes, but of different kinds. Durango has old Western fun: a Victorian melodrama where the audience boos the villain, chuckwagon cowboy shows, a summer chamber and orchestral festival, and touring acts at the college concert hall.

Keystone's offer is outdoor festival stages and concerts at Dillon's amphitheatre by the reservoir. Breckenridge's classical festival is nearby, and Silverthorne's professional theatre company plays all year.

Durango wins on natural hot water. Spring-fed mineral pools sit a few minutes north of town, Pagosa Springs has terraced pools beside the San Juan River, and Ouray's pools are further up the road, all suited to a slow, unhurried stay.

In Keystone, relaxing means resort spas and outdoor hot tubs under falling snow. It is pleasant after skiing, but the nearest natural springs are over the pass in Idaho Springs.