Durango, Colorado or Rapid City?

Neither is a beach destination, but Rapid City has the better swimming. Sheridan Lake, Pactola and Sylvan Lake are within half an hour, and their clear water gets reasonably mild in high summer.

Durango's lakes and the Animas stay cold even in July. There, getting in the water mostly means a quick dip at Lake Nighthorse or tubing down the river through town, not an afternoon lying on a shore.

Durango eats a little better. Along Main Avenue you'll find green-chile Southwestern plates, a few kitchens cooking with Colorado lamb and trout, and an unusually large number of craft breweries for a town its size.

Rapid City's food is heartier and more regional: bison burgers, chislic and Indian tacos on Lakota fry bread. Away from the downtown brewpubs, though, the chains on the highway strips take over quickly.

There is about as much to see in each town, but the sights are of different kinds. Durango's culture is the railway: the steam depot, the roundhouse museum and a few blocks of Victorian brick and sandstone from the mining boom.

Rapid City has more museums. There is the Journey Museum on Black Hills and Lakota history, fossils at the School of Mines and Cold War aircraft by the air base, plus a bronze president on almost every downtown corner. In both towns, the major landmarks are out in the surrounding country.

Evenings are quiet and end early in both. Durango has brewery taprooms, patios on Main Avenue and old saloons with a piano player, and the college students keep a few bars busy at weekends. Rapid City leans towards sports bars and country music around Main Street Square, and it only runs loud and late during the Sturgis rally week in early August.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but Durango's mountains are bigger and wilder. The San Juans rise to peaks above 4,000m in the Weminuche Wilderness. Mountain-bike trails start at the edge of town, rafters run the Animas through the centre, and a full ski resort with deep snow is half an hour away.

The Black Hills are gentler but have more variety. There are granite spires and bison herds, cave tours at Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, the Badlands an hour east and the long Mickelson Trail for cyclists. Skiing there is limited to a small area near Lead.

Both have a full week of strong day trips, and almost all of them need a car. From Durango, the outings are ancient and alpine: the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, the narrow-gauge steam train up the canyon to Silverton, and the Puebloan ruins at Aztec and Chimney Rock.

From Rapid City, they are more about American icons and the Wild West: Mount Rushmore half an hour away, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood's gold-rush streets, and the Minuteman Missile silo out on the prairie.

Rapid City is the better family destination. Families have come to the Black Hills on road trips for generations, so there are reptile and drive-through animal parks, Storybook Island, concrete dinosaurs, cave tours and fossil digs, along with plenty of motels with pools.

Durango suits families who are already outdoorsy. The steam train, gentle tubing and the summer alpine coaster are big hits with children. However, there are few options on rainy days, and the town's altitude of about 2,000m can tire small children at first.

Durango is easier without a car, though not much. Its flat centre takes a quarter of an hour to walk end to end, a riverside trail links the parks, and a trolley runs along the main corridor. You'll still need wheels for trailheads and Mesa Verde.

In Rapid City, a car is essential for almost everything beyond the compact downtown, since the city buses don't reach Rushmore or the parks. To make up for it, the roads are quiet and parking is easy.

Shopping is a pleasant hour or two in both, with no fashion to speak of. Durango's Main Avenue is best for Navajo and Pueblo turquoise and silver and serious outdoor gear. Rapid City's speciality is Black Hills gold jewellery in grape-leaf designs, with Lakota quillwork and star quilts in the downtown galleries.

Rapid City is the cheaper of the two. Its motels and casual meals are reasonable by American standards, and many of the town's sights are free, though rally week in August pushes room prices sharply up.

Durango is still priced like a Colorado mountain resort. Rooms are scarce in summer and during the ski season, and the steam train and guided rafting add to the bill. In both places, spring and autumn are the times to save.

Durango has a little more going on, mostly in summer. A long-running festival brings chamber and orchestral music to the mountains, and there is Victorian melodrama, chuckwagon cowboy shows and a college concert hall.

Rapid City has a symphony season, touring Broadway shows and rodeos at the civic centre, and a playhouse in the pines of Custer State Park. Its most distinctive performance is the large autumn powwow.

Durango is much better for unwinding. Natural mineral pools are a few minutes up the valley from town, which makes a soak after a ride or a day of skiing easy. Pagosa Springs and Ouray add terraced and spring-fed pools within driving range.

Rapid City has little spa life of its own. To bathe in warm springs you need to drive an hour to the historic pool at Hot Springs. Otherwise, relaxing there mostly means a quiet cabin in the hills.