Estes Park or Sun Valley?

Neither town is a place for a beach trip. Sun Valley at least gives summer swimmers somewhere to go: Redfish Lake under the Sawtooths has a sandy shore, and the Big Wood has river eddies, though the water stays cold. Estes Park's snowmelt lakes are for paddling and fishing rather than swimming, so in practice it means a hotel pool or the indoor aquatic centre.

Sun Valley eats better. Ketchum has an unusual number of restaurants for its size, and a few ambitious kitchens cook Idaho trout, lamb and elk for the second-home crowd. Summer adds a farmers' market and patio tables.

Estes Park keeps to burgers, barbecue, big trail breakfasts and brewery food, with taffy and fudge on Elkhorn Avenue, and anyone after a serious meal drives down to Boulder. In both towns some kitchens cut back out of season.

Sightseeing is thin in both, and an afternoon covers either. The appeal differs, though. Estes Park has the Stanley Hotel, with tours and ghost stories drawn from The Shining, plus a homesteading museum and the working MacGregor Ranch.

Sun Valley's story is about skiing and celebrity. It was built in 1936 as America's first destination ski resort, and the lodge corridors are lined with photos of film stars. Hemingway's grave is in Ketchum.

Sun Valley stays up a little later. Après-ski fills Ketchum's saloons, wine bars and hotel lounges, a band may play on a busy winter weekend, and a couple of western bars stay loud until closing. Estes Park's brewery taprooms empty early because most visitors are up before dawn to watch wildlife. Neither has a club.

Both are first-rate outdoor bases, and the choice comes down to what you want to do. Estes Park opens straight onto a national park. You get alpine tundra on Trail Ridge Road, Longs Peak above the valley, lakes such as Bear and Emerald, and elk, bighorn sheep and moose as everyday sights.

Sun Valley is the place for skiing and mountain biking. Bald Mountain and the Nordic trails fill the winter, singletrack covers the same hills in summer, and the Sawtooths, Silver Creek's fly fishing and rafting on the Salmon River are all within reach.

Estes Park has far more within an easy drive. Boulder's Pearl Street and the Flatirons, Fort Collins' Old Town and breweries, and Denver's museums all lie down the canyons. In summer you can also cross Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake.

Sun Valley is surrounded by wild country. Hailey's main street and the log-cabin outpost of Stanley are the nearby outings, Shoshone Falls is a long drive, and most days out head into the mountains rather than to other towns.

Estes Park works for more kinds of family. Children see elk in town, can join ranger activities and manage the flat lake walks. The tramway up Prospect Mountain, go-karts and horse stables keep non-hikers busy too.

Sun Valley is excellent for families who ski, with its beginner hill and well-run ski school, and summer adds an ice rink and bike paths. Teenagers who don't ski may find little to do. Neither town has much for a rainy day, and children need time to adjust to the altitude in both.

Sun Valley is easier without a car. A free bus links Ketchum, the village and the lift bases, a paved bike path runs down the valley, and many skiers never drive all week.

Estes Park's centre is walkable, and summer shuttles reach the Bear Lake trailheads. Beyond that you need a car, and town traffic and parking get heavy on summer weekends. Both need a car to explore further, and Sun Valley's bigger airports are a long winter drive away.

Sun Valley offers the better browse, though it is still only a few blocks. Ketchum has fine art and western art galleries with evening gallery walks, serious fly-fishing and ski shops, and boutiques selling cashmere and home decor. Elkhorn Avenue in Estes Park is mostly T-shirts, taffy and western wear, with a few galleries of wildlife photography among them.

Estes Park is the easier of the two to keep within a budget. Its costs bite in summer and early autumn, when lodges and cabins near the park fill up, and in restaurant bills with tips and a rental car on top. Outside those months rooms fall a long way, a cabin kitchen replaces most meals out, and the park's trails and wildlife cost only the entrance fee.

In Sun Valley the expense lasts the whole stay. The second-home market sets the price of beds and dinners, and skiers add the cost of lift access, which is steepest in peak ski weeks. The ways to save go less far: a bed further down the valley or a visit in the quiet spring or autumn months helps a little, but there is little budget lodging to fall back on, so even a careful trip costs more than the same week in Estes Park.

Sun Valley's summer is a real draw for music lovers. A full professional orchestra plays free symphony and chamber concerts in the pavilion by the lodge, people picnic on the lawn, and figure skaters perform on the outdoor rink in the evenings.

Estes Park offers free riverside concerts, the odd evening at the Stanley and September's Highland Festival with pipe bands. In both towns, the rest of the year is close to silent.

Sun Valley is much better at pampering. It has full resort spas and outdoor heated pools that are at their best under falling snow, and the natural hot springs up Warm Springs valley make for a rough soak beside the creek. Estes Park has no hot springs and only a few lodge spas. Its rest comes from a riverside cabin and elk at dusk, and it feels most restful in winter and spring.