Jackson Hole or Portland?

Neither place is for beach lovers, though Portland has a little more to offer. In Jackson Hole, swimming means a short late-summer dip in String Lake, while the bigger Teton lakes and the Snake River stay cold.

Portland has sandy river beaches on the Willamette and the Columbia, on the downtown waterfront and on Sauvie Island, and the water is pleasant from July. The Pacific coast at Cannon Beach is good for long walks on the sand, but the water is too cold for most people.

Portland is the better city for eating. Food cart pods serve everything from Georgian to Thai, neighbourhood restaurants cook with salmon, crab and hazelnuts, and brewery taps, coffee roasters and Willamette pinot noir give it a strong drinking culture.

Jackson Hole eats well for a mountain town, with elk, bison, trout and huckleberries on chef-led menus around the Town Square. The choice is narrow, though, and cheap or casual food is hard to find, whereas casual food is where Portland is strongest.

Portland has more to see, though neither city is a major sightseeing destination. The Lan Su Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden in Washington Park, the Portland Art Museum and the cast-iron facades of Old Town fill two or three days.

Jackson Hole's sights are the antler arches on the square, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and the Mormon Row barns and the log chapel set against the Tetons. They are striking in the landscape but few, and most visitors see them in a day between hikes.

Portland has much more going on after dark. Taprooms, dive bars with pinball, cocktail bars and wine bars line strips such as Hawthorne, Belmont and Alberta, and bars stay open until about 2.30am, even if there are few clubs.

Jackson Hole's nights follow the seasons: loud après-ski in Teton Village in winter, a country dance floor at a historic saloon in town, and an early night for most people. Out of season the bars can be nearly empty.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but Jackson Hole is in a class of its own. The Tetons rise with no foothills, Grand Teton National Park and the route to Yellowstone start almost at the edge of town, and the tram climbs to some of the steepest lift-served skiing in North America. The wildlife is a big part of the appeal: moose, bison, bears, and thousands of elk wintering next to town.

Portland's strength is how close nature is to the city. You can walk into Forest Park's trails from the streets, the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge are half an hour away, and Mount Hood offers skiing and alpine hiking. It is excellent for a city, but the landscape is gentler and has less wildlife.

Portland offers far more variety for day trips. The Willamette Valley wine towns are under an hour away, Astoria has Victorian streets and a maritime museum, and Hood River and the coast make good full days out.

From Jackson Hole, almost every outing heads into the parks rather than to another town. Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass and the ranch towns to the south are pleasant drives, but none of them is worth a full day.

Jackson Hole has the edge for outdoor families. Spotting moose from the car, Junior Ranger badges, sleigh rides through the elk herd, the rodeo and the staged shootout on the square make a vacation that children remember. Rainy days, long drives and the altitude are the drawbacks.

Portland works better when the weather turns. The science museum, with a submarine to climb through, the zoo in Washington Park and the old Oaks Amusement Park keep children busy, and the light rail is easy with a pushchair. Parents may find parts of downtown uncomfortable, however.

Portland is much easier without a car. The MAX light rail runs from the airport to downtown, the short blocks and the streetcar make the centre easy to cover, and the riverside bridges and bike routes are made for cycling. You only really need to hire a car for the Gorge, the mountain or the coast.

In Jackson Hole you can walk around town and take a ski-season bus to Teton Village, but that is about all. There is no public transport into the national parks, so most visitors need a car, and in winter that means driving on snow.

Jackson Hole sells the American West, while Portland sells the character of its neighbourhoods, and Portland has far more to browse. In Jackson the shopping fits into a few boardwalk blocks around the square. There are galleries of Western and wildlife art, handmade cowboy hats and boots, turquoise jewellery and high-end mountain gear, and souvenir shops make up much of the rest.

In Portland, Powell's City of Books takes up a whole block in the Pearl District. Mississippi Avenue, Alberta Street and Hawthorne Boulevard have vintage clothing, record shops and makers' studios, and the Saturday Market under the Burnside Bridge sells local crafts. Oregon has no sales tax, but luxury fashion and big department stores are hard to find.

Portland is the more affordable choice by a wide margin. It costs about the same as any large American city, and its food carts, cheap transit and free parks make it easy to keep spending down.

Jackson Hole is one of the most expensive places to stay in the country, with resort prices for rooms, meals, lift passes and guided trips. Trails and roadside wildlife cost nothing, and staying over the pass in Idaho or coming in the quiet months helps.

Portland has live performance all year. The Oregon Symphony plays in a restored 1920s movie palace, opera, ballet and theatre companies run full seasons, and indie and folk bands play small rooms across the east side and the historic Crystal Ballroom.

Jackson Hole's highlight is the Grand Teton Music Festival, which brings orchestral players to Teton Village for a few summer weeks. Add chuckwagon shows and saloon country bands, and summer is lively, but the rest of the year is quiet.

The two are broadly level for rest and relaxation, but in different ways. Jackson Hole has natural hot springs within easy reach, including a forest pool reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter and soaking pools beside the Snake, and its quiet evenings help you unwind after a day outdoors.

Portland's relaxation is more urban: garden walks, long café mornings and a few neighbourhood soaking houses with saunas and cold plunges. Its nearest hot springs are a two-hour drive into the Cascades.