Durango, Colorado or South Lake Tahoe?

South Lake Tahoe actually has beaches. Pope, Baldwin and Kiva lie under the pines on the south shore, Nevada Beach and Zephyr Cove are just over the state line, and the boulder coves of Sand Harbor are round the east shore. The water is cold even in August, so swimming is a short July and August affair, but the sand and the clarity of the lake are real draws.

Durango has nothing to compare. The best on offer is the small swimming area at Lake Nighthorse, a few sandy edges at Vallecito, or an inner tube down the Animas. That makes for a pleasant way to cool off, but you would not plan a day around it.

Durango eats better, mainly because its food has a sense of place. Green-chile Southwestern plates, Colorado lamb and trout, and a few serious kitchens around Main Avenue make dinner worth looking forward to.

South Lake Tahoe's food is resort food: casino steakhouses and buffets, plus pizza, taquerias and breakfast spots along Highway 50. Many visitors end up relying on the cabin kitchen. Both towns are at their most convincing in the brewery taproom.

Neither is a culture trip, but Durango has more to see. A town founded by the railway in 1880 still runs steam from its old depot, has a roundhouse museum, and keeps a historic district of brick and sandstone Victorian hotels and saloons. The college collection of Native American material adds some depth.

South Lake Tahoe's history is that of a summer retreat for wealthy San Franciscans. The estates at the Tallac Historic Site and Vikingsholm at the head of Emerald Bay are attractive, but they are the whole list.

South Lake Tahoe is the place to stay out late, thanks to the state line. On the Nevada side, the casino towers at Stateline keep their gaming floors and bars open all night, and a club or two fills up in peak weeks. The California side, like Durango, goes to bed early.

Durango's evenings have more character but end sooner. You might have a pint on a patio, or sit in a Victorian saloon with a piano player, but almost nothing stays open late.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, and the difference is in what kind of mountains. South Lake Tahoe centres on water and granite: the deep blue lake, the view over Emerald Bay, the lake basins of the Desolation Wilderness and the Tahoe Rim Trail. In winter you can ride the Heavenly gondola straight up from Stateline.

Durango is wilder and higher, with the San Juan peaks of the Weminuche rising above 4,000m. It suits mountain bikers especially, with singletrack leaving from the edge of town, as well as walkers heading up the Colorado Trail and rafters running the Animas through the centre.

Durango has much the stronger day trips. Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings are among the great sights of the Southwest. The narrow-gauge train climbs the canyon to Silverton, and the Aztec ruins and Chimney Rock add more ancestral Puebloan sites.

From South Lake Tahoe, the outings are Gold Rush and silver-boom towns such as Virginia City, Coloma and Placerville, along with the Amador wine country and Reno. They are pleasant, but they are better kept for a day of bad weather than built into the plan.

Both work well for outdoor families, in different ways. South Lake Tahoe has shallow sandy beaches, bike paths through the pines and the salmon run at Taylor Creek in summer and autumn, plus ski schools and sledding hills in winter. It is best to keep children away from the casino strip.

Durango wins on adventure with a story attached: the steam train up the canyon, gentle tubing in town and the ladders at Mesa Verde. Neither has a zoo or an aquarium for a wet day.

You will want a car in either town. Durango's flat centre can be walked end to end in a quarter of an hour, and the Animas River trail is easy on foot or by bike. Tahoe's walkable core around Stateline is smaller, but free shuttles run up to the ski areas in winter. Tahoe also brings crawling summer traffic on Highway 50 and chain controls on the passes in snow.

Durango offers the better browse. Main Avenue has Navajo and Pueblo silver, turquoise jewellery and rugs, Western boots and galleries alongside its outdoor shops.

South Lake Tahoe's shops are practical: ski and gear rental, souvenir and clothing stores around the gondola base, and a supermarket run for the cabin.

Durango comes out slightly cheaper. It costs less than Colorado's famous ski towns, and spring and late autumn bring prices down noticeably. South Lake Tahoe spikes hard in peak ski weeks and high summer, and its lift tickets are steep.

Tahoe has its own way round this. Casino hotels on the Nevada side discount heavily midweek and in the shoulder seasons. In both towns the trails and views cost nothing.

Both towns have a modest stage life, but the flavour differs. Durango's is classical and Western, and mostly limited to summer: a chamber and orchestral festival, a Victorian melodrama with booing, and cowboy music with a chuckwagon supper. South Lake Tahoe's casino showrooms book touring rock, country and comedy all year, and summer adds Shakespeare on the beach at Sand Harbor.

Durango is the better place to unwind, mostly because of its hot springs. Spring-fed mineral pools sit a few minutes up the valley, with the terraced pools at Pagosa Springs and the springs at Ouray within reach.

South Lake Tahoe has quiet lakeside mornings and cabins in the pines. For a natural soak, though, you need to drive to Grover Hot Springs or the Carson Valley, and its spas mostly belong to casino hotels.