Jackson Hole or Page, Arizona?

Page wins this one easily, because Lake Powell sits on its doorstep and warms up enough in summer for long swims. You can drive down onto the sand at Lone Rock Beach, swim near the Wahweap marina, or take a boat or kayak into sandstone coves and jump from the rock into deep water. There are no lifeguards, and the beaches move with the lake level.

Jackson Hole has mountain lakes rather than a shoreline. Shallow String Lake is pleasant for a dip in late summer, Jenny Lake stays cold, and the Snake River is only for floating. Here a swim is a short break from hiking, not a reason to come.

Jackson eats noticeably better. The money in the valley supports chef-led restaurants and a few serious wine lists, and the regional menu of elk, bison and Rocky Mountain trout, often with huckleberries, gives meals a sense of place. There are good coffee roasters and bakeries, and a farmers' market on the square in summer, though very little is cheap.

Page feeds road-trippers well enough with diners, barbecue, Mexican food and chains along the main strip. The one thing to look out for is the Navajo taco, frybread with beans and meat, from reservation stands. There is no fine dining and not much coffee.

Both are thin on culture, and you can see either town's sights in a day, but the sights are quite different. Jackson has the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge, the antler arches on the Town Square, and in the park the barns of Mormon Row and the log chapel whose window frames the Tetons.

Page's sights are about engineering and exploration: the visitor centre at the Glen Canyon Dam and a small museum devoted to John Wesley Powell. Its deeper cultural interest comes from the surrounding Navajo Nation rather than from anything in town.

Jackson has the livelier evenings, though only by mountain-town standards. In winter the après-ski bars at Teton Village get loud when the lifts close, and in town there is a historic saloon with saddles for bar stools and a country dance floor, plus brewpubs and cocktail bars around the square. It still goes quiet before midnight, and the shoulder seasons are dead.

Page has a few bars and a brewpub and little else, since most visitors are up before dawn for the canyons. The best thing to do after dark is to look up at a very dark, starry desert sky.

These are two of the great outdoor bases in the American West, and the scenery is completely different. Jackson is all about mountains and wildlife. The Tetons rise straight from the valley floor, Cascade Canyon and the alpine lakes are close by, Yellowstone is a drive north, and moose, bison, bears and wintering elk are part of almost every day. Winter adds steep lift-served skiing.

Page is red rock and water. It has the slot canyons of Antelope Canyon with Navajo guides, the loop of Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell's flooded canyons leading to Rainbow Bridge, rafting from Lees Ferry and the Vermilion Cliffs, and its best seasons are spring and autumn rather than winter.

Page has more real places within a drive, though the distances are long. Lees Ferry, with its pioneer buildings and Lonely Dell Ranch, makes an easy half day. The cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument are about two hours away, and Kanab's film-set history and the fortified ranch at Pipe Spring lie to the west.

Leaving Jackson almost always means heading into the landscape. The Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs and the ranch towns of Pinedale and Star Valley make pleasant drives, but none of them is worth a full day.

Jackson Hole is the easier choice with children. Spotting wildlife from the car, earning Junior Ranger badges, flat lakeside walks, a gentle float on the Snake, a winter sleigh ride through the elk herd, the rodeo and the staged shootout on the square give plenty of variety, and the ski school is good. Altitude and rainy days are the main drawbacks.

In Page the lake does most of the work, with beach days at Lone Rock and short Antelope Canyon tours that children enjoy. However, the summer sun is fierce, the cliff edges at Horseshoe Bend are mostly unfenced, and some canyon tours involve steep ladders.

You will want a car in both places, but Jackson is easier without one. Its centre is a few walkable blocks around the Town Square, a bus runs to Teton Village in ski season, and the airport is a short drive north. The parks themselves still have no public transport.

Page offers far less. Apart from the strip of motels, everything, including the lake, Horseshoe Bend and the Vermilion Cliffs, depends on your own wheels or a booked tour. The nearest major airports are hours away, so most people arrive on a road trip.

Jackson's covered boardwalks have much more to browse. There are many galleries of Western and wildlife art, along with handmade cowboy hats, boots and leather goods, high-end ski and climbing gear, and a few upscale boutiques serving local residents.

Page is mostly supermarkets and boating supplies, but it has one thing Jackson cannot match. At its trading posts and roadside stalls you can buy Navajo silver and turquoise, rugs and pottery, often directly from the person who made them.

Page is the gentler of the two on costs, although it is not cheap either. Meals and fuel cost what they would in any small American town. The big expenses are paid Antelope Canyon tours and boat or houseboat hire, and rooms are scarce in the busy months. Camping at Lone Rock or Wahweap makes a real saving.

Jackson is among the most expensive places to stay in the country, with resort prices for rooms, meals, lift tickets and guided trips. Trails and roadside wildlife cost nothing, though, and staying over the pass in Idaho or visiting in the quiet months helps.

Jackson has a real summer season. The Grand Teton Music Festival brings players from leading American orchestras to its timber hall in Teton Village for several weeks, and the town's arts centre, chuckwagon dinner shows and saloon country bands add to it. Outside summer there is little.

Page has almost nothing to plan around, apart from the occasional Navajo dance presentation for visitors or a band in a bar.

Jackson is the better place to unwind, mainly thanks to its hot springs. One pool sits in a forested canyon south of town and in winter is reached by snowmobile or dog sled, while the riverside soaking pools on the Snake are an easy drive. Resort spas and massage for sore skiers fill in the rest.

In Page, rest means the motel pool, a quiet evening and the dark sky. A typical stay is built around early starts and long drives, which leaves little room for slowing down.