Durango, Colorado or Sedona?

Neither town is a beach destination, and in both, swimming is a cold summer dip after a day outdoors. Sedona's Oak Creek holes are a little more memorable. Riding the sandstone chute at Slide Rock or swimming below the red cliffs at Red Rock Crossing is an outing in itself, although the spots are small and crowded on hot weekends.

Durango's version is floating the Animas through town on an inner tube or swimming at Lake Nighthorse and the sandy edges of Vallecito Lake. The water is mountain-cold, and the season is shorter.

Durango eats a little better and with more personality. Green-chile plates, Colorado lamb and trout, and a remarkable number of craft breweries for a town its size make Main Avenue a good place for dinner after a long day out.

In Sedona, the setting often counts for more than the cooking. Resort terraces facing the red rocks and plenty of vegetarian and health-minded menus make up most of the choice, and the better kitchens are soon used up. Its strength is wine rather than beer, with Verde Valley tasting rooms just down the road.

Durango has more to see in town. The narrow-gauge railway, its depot, the roundhouse museum and blocks of Victorian brick and sandstone tell a clear mining-boom story, and the college collection of Native American material adds depth.

Sedona's highlight is the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into a butte, along with a small heritage museum and many galleries. The Sinagua cliff dwellings and petroglyphs out in the backcountry are its most rewarding history, and you need a car to reach them.

Neither town keeps late hours, but Durango has some evening life. Taprooms fill with cyclists and rafters, old saloons have piano players, and college students keep a few bars busy at weekends.

Sedona is quieter still, with a handful of brewpubs, wine bars and resort lounges that suit one drink after dinner. Its best evening entertainment is the stargazing.

Both are first-class outdoor bases, but the landscapes are very different. Durango is alpine: jagged San Juan peaks above 4,000m, the Weminuche Wilderness, the start of the Colorado Trail, whitewater on the Animas and a full ski resort half an hour away. That makes it a place for all four seasons, with high-country hiking in summer and aspens turning gold in autumn.

Sedona has the edge for sheer spectacle within reach of town. Red sandstone formations such as Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Devil's Bridge sit at the end of short trails, the slickrock riding is famous, and Oak Creek Canyon and the Grand Canyon add pine forest and scale. There is no skiing, and summer walking means very early starts.

Durango has the stronger day trips. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings are among the great sights of the Southwest, the steam train to Silverton is a full day out, and Ouray, Aztec and the hot springs at Pagosa Springs fill several more days.

From Sedona, the outings are smaller but well varied: the mountainside mining town of Jerome, the Verde Canyon Railroad, wine tasting around Cottonwood, and the Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot ruins nearby. A few days cover them, and the Grand Canyon is the big drive.

Durango is easier with children. The steam train, gentle rafting and tubing, beginner slopes in winter and an alpine coaster and ziplines in summer cover most ages, and Mesa Verde's ladders bring history to life. The altitude of about 2,000m can tire young children for the first day or two.

Sedona has Slide Rock and jeep tours over the slickrock, which children love, but much of its hotel offer is aimed at couples and spa guests. Summer heat on exposed trails also needs care.

You will want a car in both towns, but Durango's centre is easier on foot. It takes about a quarter of an hour to walk from the train depot to the top of Main Avenue, and a riverside trail and a trolley cover the main corridor.

Sedona is spread along two highways meeting at the Y, with only Uptown walkable. Weekend traffic and full trailhead car parks are common, and most visitors drive about two hours up from Phoenix.

Sedona offers more for browsing. Tlaquepaque's courtyards and fountains hold galleries and craft studios, more galleries selling Western art and Native American pottery line the main road, and the crystal and metaphysical shops are unlike anything in Durango.

Durango's Main Avenue is a pleasant hour or two of outdoor gear, Western boots and turquoise silver. It is good for practical kit, but there is less to linger over.

Durango is the cheaper of the two, although it is still a US mountain resort, with rooms in short supply at peak times and a hire car to pay for. Spring and late autumn bring prices down noticeably.

Sedona is expensive. Most of the rooms are in resorts and boutique lodges, the restaurants charge resort prices, and jeep tours, balloon flights and spa treatments add up quickly. Many budget travellers sleep in Cottonwood or Flagstaff and drive in.

Durango has more going on, especially in summer. A long-running chamber and orchestral festival, a college concert hall with touring acts, a melodrama where the audience boos the villain, and chuckwagon cowboy shows give you options on most summer nights.

Sedona's calendar is thinner: the film festival in late winter, occasional chamber concerts, and acoustic sets or Native American flute in resort bars. It has no concert hall.

Sedona is the place for a retreat. Destination spas look out over the canyons, yoga, meditation and breathwork are everywhere, and sunrise walks to the vortexes set the slow pace of the town. There are no hot springs, though, and most of the wellness on offer is paid treatments.

Durango has what Sedona lacks: natural mineral pools a few minutes north of town, with more at Pagosa Springs and Ouray. A soak after riding or skiing is the main way to unwind, and there is little beyond hotel massages.