Jackson Hole or Palm Springs?

Neither town is a place to come for swimming, but Jackson Hole at least lets you swim outdoors. By late summer String Lake, which is shallow and sandy-bottomed, warms enough for a proper swim beneath the Tetons. Jenny Lake and the Snake River stay cold all year.

Palm Springs has no natural water to swim in. The ocean is about two hours away and the Salton Sea is not a place for a dip, so swimming there means a hotel pool.

Both towns eat decently for their size, but the choice is narrow and neither is worth the trip for food alone. The difference is in style. Jackson has the more ambitious end, with chef-led dining rooms and serious wine lists paid for by the valley's wealth. Its regional menu is elk, bison, trout and huckleberries.

Palm Springs is more casual: long brunches on patios, cocktails by the pool and reliable American restaurants on Palm Canyon Drive. Further down the valley you find date shakes from the Indio groves and honest taquerias, so simple, cheaper meals are easier to find than in Jackson.

Palm Springs has more to see in town. Its mid-century modern neighbourhoods, from Albert Frey's angular houses to the Alexander homes of Twin Palms, fill a full day's tour by bike or car. The art museum and the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, which tells the story of the Cahuilla people, add some depth.

Jackson's sights are fewer and tied to its setting. There are the antler arches on the Town Square, the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge, and the barns of Mormon Row and the log chapel framing the peaks. They are moving to see, but one day covers them.

Jackson's evenings follow the mountain day. In winter the bars at the foot of the slopes in Teton Village fill up loudly when the lifts close, and in town a historic saloon with saddles for bar stools keeps a country dance floor going. Early starts for skiing or hiking send most people to bed well before midnight, and in spring and autumn the bars can be close to empty.

Palm Springs gives you more of a night out to plan around. The long-established LGBTQ bars of Arenas Road, with their patios and drag nights, draw a friendly, social crowd. Hotel pool parties carry the weekends in spring, and retro cocktail lounges line Palm Canyon Drive. It thins out in the summer heat, and neither town has real clubs.

Both are outdoor towns, but Jackson Hole is in another league. The Tetons rise straight from the valley floor, and Grand Teton and Yellowstone offer hiking, rafting and fly fishing. In winter it has some of the steepest lift-served skiing in North America. Moose, bison, elk and bears are part of ordinary sightseeing.

Palm Springs has a striking desert setting of its own. The tramway climbs to pine forest on Mount San Jacinto, the Indian Canyons hide palm oases, and Joshua Tree is about an hour away. Its outdoor season runs from autumn to spring, because summer heat limits hiking to dawn or the upper mountain.

Palm Springs has more places to go for a day. Idyllwild in the pines, the lived-in film set of Pioneertown, the abandoned shoreline towns and Salvation Mountain by the Salton Sea, and the Temecula wineries all make easy, offbeat outings by car.

From Jackson, excursions head into the parks, not to other towns. Driggs and Victor over Teton Pass are pleasant for the drive and the view of the range's western side, but none of the nearby towns is worth a day on its own.

Jackson Hole is the better bet for families who enjoy the outdoors. Children get wildlife from the car, Junior Ranger badges, flat lakeside trails, sleigh rides through the elk herd, a good ski school and the summer rodeo, all based in a small, safe town. The long drives and the altitude can tire young children, though.

Palm Springs works mainly as a pool stay with outings to the Living Desert zoo, the tramway and the Air Museum. Many hotels are adults-only and the midday heat is hard on children from late spring, so families do better in the bigger resorts down the valley.

Jackson Hole is a little easier to manage without a car, at least on a ski stay. The streets around the Town Square are walkable, and a local bus runs out to Teton Village. Getting into Grand Teton or Yellowstone, though, still means driving or joining a tour.

Palm Springs has a flat, walkable downtown, and in the cooler months a bike is a good way to see the mid-century neighbourhoods. Beyond that, valley buses are slow and infrequent, the tramway, canyons and Joshua Tree all need a car, and walking at midday in summer is out of the question. Each town has its airport close by.

Palm Springs is the better place to shop. The Uptown Design District specialises in mid-century furniture, lighting and vintage clothing, and the Village Fest street fair runs downtown. Further out are El Paseo's luxury street in Palm Desert and the large outlet centres at Cabazon.

Jackson's shopping is smaller and more focused: galleries of Western and wildlife art, handmade cowboy hats and boots, turquoise jewellery and high-end mountain gear along the boardwalks of the Town Square. Beyond that, it is mostly souvenirs.

Jackson Hole costs considerably more, and it is among the most expensive places to stay in the United States. Rooms are dear and scarce in both summer and ski season, and meals, lift tickets and rafting trips are all at resort prices. Once you are there, trails and roadside wildlife cost nothing, and staying over the pass in Idaho cuts the bill.

Palm Springs is expensive in its winter and spring high season, but it gets much cheaper in summer, when room rates drop sharply for anyone who can bear the heat. Simple motels and supermarket picnics keep costs down all year. You will need a hire car in either place.

Palm Springs has more live music and performance. Coachella and Stagecoach bring internationally known festivals to Indio each April. Through the season the McCallum Theatre and the valley's casinos host touring acts, and drag cabaret and piano bars are the town's own speciality.

Jackson's highlight is the Grand Teton Music Festival, several summer weeks of classical concerts in Teton Village played by musicians from leading American orchestras. Summer also brings chuckwagon shows and country bands. Jackson has little outside summer, while Palm Springs goes quiet in the hot months.

Palm Springs grew up around a hot spring and is still built for rest. It has the Agua Caliente bathhouse downtown, the mineral-water spa motels of Desert Hot Springs, resort spas across the valley and long, unhurried days by the pool.

Jackson has its own hot springs, including a canyon pool in the forest reached by dog sled or snowmobile in winter, and soaking pools beside the Snake River. A soak after skiing is a real pleasure, but otherwise wellness means hotel spas, and rest is a reward after a busy day rather than the point of the trip.