Estes Park or Taos?

Both are high, landlocked mountain towns, so neither can offer a beach. In Estes Park the snowmelt lakes are for paddling and fishing, and the town's indoor aquatic centre is the place for a proper swim. In Taos the Rio Grande is for rafting, and in warm weather a hot spring soak does the job a swim would do elsewhere.

Taos has a cuisine of its own, and Estes Park mostly does not. Northern New Mexican cooking, with red or green chile on enchiladas, posole and carne adovada, horno bread from the Pueblo and blue-corn dishes, makes meals part of the reason to come.

Estes Park feeds hikers well with barbecue, elk and bison burgers, big breakfasts and taffy from Elkhorn Avenue. But the choice is narrow, and quality varies along the main strip. Many kitchens also close early or cut back outside summer, so serious dining means driving down to Boulder.

On culture the two towns are far apart. Taos has Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO-listed adobe village that has been lived in for about a thousand years. It also has the buttressed San Francisco de Asís church painted by O'Keeffe, and a set of art-colony museums and historic homes that fill two or three unhurried days.

Estes Park's one famous sight is the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for The Shining, which is worth a tour for its ghost stories. Add the local museum and the MacGregor Ranch, and you have a rainy afternoon rather than a reason to come.

Both towns go quiet soon after dinner, and neither has clubs. In Estes Park the evening means a brewery taproom or saloon bar on Elkhorn Avenue, full of people who will be up at dawn. Taos has a little more character, with margaritas in old adobe hotel bars, a saloon with a live band and, in winter, the après-ski crowd up at the ski valley.

Both are serious outdoor bases, but Estes Park has the edge because a whole national park starts at the edge of town. Trail Ridge Road climbs onto the alpine tundra, and trails lead to Bear, Dream and Emerald lakes and up towards Longs Peak. Elk, bighorn sheep and moose are part of an ordinary day.

Taos offers a different kind of landscape: high desert, sagebrush and the deep Rio Grande gorge set against the Sangre de Cristo range. You can raft the Taos Box in spring, walk the gorge rim or climb Wheeler Peak, New Mexico's highest summit. It also has what Estes Park lacks, demanding winter skiing about half an hour away.

Taos has the richer choice of day out. The High Road to Santa Fe passes through old adobe villages such as Truchas and Las Trampas and the shrine at Chimayó. Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch lead into O'Keeffe country, and Bandelier's cliff dwellings make a long but worthwhile day.

From Estes Park the outings are to the cities on the plains: Boulder and its Flatirons, Fort Collins' Old Town and breweries, and Denver's museums. In summer you can also drive over Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake. These are pleasant trips, not memorable ones. Either way you will need a car.

Estes Park makes things easier for parents. Children see elk grazing in town and can join junior ranger activities. Walks around Sprague and Bear lakes are short and flat, and the tramway, go-karts and mini golf are close by in a small, manageable centre.

Taos has good things for children too: the ski school in winter, gentle float trips on the Rio Grande, and a recreation centre with a pool. But nothing there is built for children, and every outing starts with a drive. In both towns the altitude can tire small children for the first day or two.

Estes Park is the easier of the two without your own car. The centre along Elkhorn Avenue and the Riverwalk is compact, and in the warmer months free shuttles run to lodgings and the Bear Lake corridor of the park. Denver is about an hour and a half away by road.

Taos is spread across a wide valley, with the Pueblo, Ranchos, the gorge bridge and the ski valley all some distance apart. Only a basic bus links parts of town. Most visitors also drive about two and a half hours from Albuquerque, so a hire car is part of the trip from the start.

Taos is worth shopping in if you like art and craft. Galleries around the plaza and Kit Carson Road sell landscape painting and contemporary work, alongside turquoise jewellery, micaceous pottery, Rio Grande weaving and santos, and you can buy directly from the makers at the Pueblo.

Estes Park's Elkhorn Avenue is mostly T-shirts, taffy, western wear and outdoor gear. A few galleries sell wildlife photography. An hour covers it.

Taos is somewhat easier on the budget. Its simple motels and New Mexican diners are fairly priced, and resort rates apply mainly to historic inns and ski-valley lodging. Spring and late autumn, between the ski and summer seasons, cost least.

Estes Park is expensive in summer and early autumn, when demand from visitors to the national park pushes up rates. Winter and spring rooms are much cheaper, and cabins with kitchens help families. In both towns a hire car adds to the total.

Taos has more worth attending. At Taos Pueblo, traditional dances on feast days such as San Gerónimo in late September can be watched under strict rules. A summer chamber music festival and a community arts centre add classical concerts, theatre and film.

Estes Park's calendar is mostly summer: free concerts at the riverside performance park, ghost-story evenings at the Stanley Hotel and the Scottish-Irish Highland Festival with its pipe bands each September.

Taos is the clear choice for a restorative stay. Ojo Caliente's outdoor pools, each fed by a different mineral water, are about fifty minutes away. Primitive hot springs sit beside the Rio Grande at the bottom of the gorge, and the town has yoga studios and retreat centres.

Estes Park has no hot springs and only a few lodge spas. Its version of rest is a riverside cabin, mountain air and elk at dusk, and it works best outside the summer crowds.