Estes Park or Tucson?

Neither is a beach destination, and the only difference is how you cool off. In Estes Park the snowmelt lakes are for paddling, fishing and walks along the shore, and the indoor aquatic centre is where you actually swim. In Tucson the resort pool does that job through the long hot season, and the sea at Puerto Peñasco is a four-hour drive away.

Estes Park feeds hikers rather than food lovers: bison burgers, barbecue, big breakfasts before the trail, a few breweries and the taffy shops of Elkhorn Avenue. It is satisfying after a long day, but the choice is narrow and many kitchens close early, so for a serious meal you drive down to Boulder.

Tucson is far ahead at the table. Its Sonoran Mexican cooking, from mesquite-grilled carne asada to flour tortillas so thin you can almost see through them, is a real regional cuisine, best found in the family kitchens along South 12th Avenue and the older barrios. Desert ingredients such as tepary beans and prickly pear give it a character you will not find in the mountains.

Estes Park's heritage comes down to the Stanley Hotel, with its link to The Shining and its ghost-story tours, plus a small homesteading museum and the MacGregor Ranch. Together they fill a rainy afternoon.

Tucson has much more to see. Mission San Xavier del Bac, with its painted and gilded interior, is a first-rate colonial church. The adobe streets of Barrio Viejo and El Presidio show the city's Spanish and Mexican roots, and the Arizona State Museum and the Pima Air & Space Museum add a few solid days of sightseeing.

Night-time in Estes Park means a beer in a taproom or saloon on Elkhorn Avenue and an early bed, because much of the town is up before dawn to watch for wildlife. Tucson has an actual evening scene, if a modest one: dive bars and patios on Fourth Avenue and cocktail bars and rooftops on Congress Street, busiest on weekends during the university term.

Both towns are built around their landscape, but Estes Park has the grander one. Rocky Mountain National Park begins minutes away, with Trail Ridge Road crossing the alpine tundra, lakes such as Bear and Emerald, Longs Peak rising above it all, and elk, bighorn sheep and moose as everyday sights.

Tucson's desert is outstanding in its own way, with saguaro forests on both sides of the city, Sabino Canyon, and the drive up Mount Lemmon from cactus to pine. Its summer heat pushes outings to dawn, though, while summer is Estes Park's best season.

From Estes Park, the day trips lead down the canyons to the plains: Boulder and its Pearl Street mall, the Old Town and breweries of Fort Collins, and the museums of Denver, plus Grand Lake over Trail Ridge Road in summer. They make pleasant days out rather than memorable ones.

Tucson's outings have more character. Tombstone and Bisbee bring frontier and copper-mining history, Tubac pairs an artists' village with the nearby Tumacácori mission ruins, and Biosphere 2 lies to the north. In both places you need a car for all of it.

Both work well for families, but in different ways. Estes Park is small, safe and outdoorsy, with elk in town, junior ranger activities, easy lakeside walks, mini golf and the Prospect Mountain tramway. The altitude can tire young children, though, and there is little to do indoors on a rainy day.

Tucson has the animal and indoor attractions that Estes Park lacks, from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to Reid Park Zoo and the planetarium. They are spread across a wide city, however, and the summer heat makes outdoor days hard for small children.

Neither is easy without a car, but Estes Park is the simpler of the two to get around. Its centre along Elkhorn Avenue and the Riverwalk is compact, and in the warmer months free shuttles run to the Bear Lake trailheads.

Tucson spreads wide, with a single streetcar line through downtown, Fourth Avenue and the university, and slow buses beyond. Saguaro, Sabino Canyon, the mission and Mount Lemmon all lie on the edges or outside the city, so a hire car is a must, though traffic and parking are easy.

In Estes Park, shopping is an hour on Elkhorn Avenue among souvenirs, taffy, western wear and outdoor gear, with a few galleries selling wildlife art. Tucson has more worth taking home: Native American jewellery, Tohono O'odham baskets and Mexican folk art in the old-town galleries, vintage shops on Fourth Avenue, and each winter a gem and mineral show that draws collectors from around the world.

Estes Park is the pricier stay, especially in its summer and early-autumn peak, when lodgings near the national park fill up and meals cost what they do in a resort town. Winter and spring rooms, cabins with kitchens and the free pleasures of the park soften the cost.

Tucson is easier on the budget. Mid-range hotels are reasonable, taquerías and hot dog stands make eating cheaply easy, and the summer heat brings real bargains, just when Estes Park is at its dearest. The hire car and the desert resorts still add up.

In Estes Park, live performance is mostly a summer affair: free concerts at the riverside performance park, the occasional evening at the Stanley Hotel, and the Highland Festival with its pipe bands each September. Tucson has a proper, if small, season from autumn to spring, with the symphony, Arizona Opera, the Arizona Theatre Company, touring shows at Centennial Hall, the restored Fox Theatre and a deep-rooted mariachi tradition.

Estes Park relaxes you through quiet rather than treatments: a cabin by the river, mountain air, elk at dusk and nothing much to do after dark, with only a few lodge spas. Tucson is built for being pampered, as one of the original homes of the American destination spa, with foothill resorts offering massage, meditation and walks in the desert.

Neither has thermal baths, and their best seasons differ. Tucson's resorts come into their own in the sunny winter, while Estes Park is most peaceful in winter and spring, away from the summer crowds.