Jackson Hole or Salt Lake City?

Neither city is a place to swim, and the water each offers is different. Jackson Hole has cold, clear lakes under the Tetons. Sandy-bottomed String Lake warms enough by late summer for a real dip after a hike, but Jenny Lake stays bracing.

Salt Lake City has the novelty of floating in the Great Salt Lake, on a muddy shore with brine flies. Its proper swimming is in the Wasatch reservoirs such as Jordanelle and Pineview, which are better set up for paddleboards and boats than anything in the Teton lakes.

The two eat equally well, but in very different ways. Jackson's money pays for chef-driven dining rooms serving elk, bison, trout and huckleberries, with serious wine lists to match, though almost nothing is cheap.

Salt Lake City's own dishes are humbler, such as fry sauce, fried scones and dirty sodas. Its best meals come from the Mexican, Pacific Islander, Peruvian and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street. Utah's liquor rules make the drinks side thinner than in Jackson.

Salt Lake City has far more to see. Temple Square, with the granite temple, the domed Tabernacle and the Family History Library, is a genuine world landmark. The State Capitol, the Cathedral of the Madeleine and the dinosaur halls at the Natural History Museum fill out two good days.

In Jackson Hole the sights fit into a day between hikes: the antler arches, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and the Chapel of the Transfiguration framing the peaks. The barns of Mormon Row, built by Latter-day Saint homesteaders, are a small outpost of the pioneer story that Salt Lake City tells in full.

Both cities go to bed early, but their nights out feel different. Jackson's evenings are seasonal and full of character: loud après-ski in Teton Village and country dancing at the saddle-stool saloon, with near-empty bars in spring and autumn. Salt Lake City has more choice all year, including a few dance clubs around Main Street and the Granary District, a long-standing gay scene and the pubs of Sugar House, though Utah's liquor laws keep the hours short.

Both are superb mountain bases, but Jackson Hole goes further. The Tetons rise with no foothills in front of them, two national parks are within reach, and grizzlies, moose and wintering elk herds make wildlife as big a draw as the trails. In summer there is rafting on the Snake, and in winter the tram climbs to some of the steepest lift-served skiing on the continent.

Salt Lake City's advantage is convenience and contrast. The powder of Alta, Snowbird and Brighton is less than an hour from downtown, and foothill trails start above the Avenues. Heading west instead brings you to the bison of Antelope Island and the white Bonneville Salt Flats.

Salt Lake City has real places to visit nearby. Park City's restored Victorian Main Street is about forty minutes away, Midway and Ogden's old railroad strip each make a good half day, and the Golden Spike site marks the joining of the transcontinental railroad.

From Jackson Hole, almost every outing goes into the landscape. The Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass are pleasant drives but not destinations. Note that Utah's famous red-rock parks are too far from Salt Lake City for a day trip.

Salt Lake City is better set up for children, and restaurants and public spaces take them for granted. On a fine day there is Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park and the roller coasters at Lagoon. When the weather turns, the aquarium, the Discovery Gateway children's museum, the planetarium and the dinosaur halls of the Natural History Museum keep them busy indoors.

Jackson Hole's appeal for families is the outdoors: spotting moose and bison from the car, Junior Ranger badges, a sleigh ride through the elk herd, and the summer rodeo and shootout on the square. It has no zoo or theme park, though, and when the mountain weather closes in there is little to do. In both places you will spend a lot of time driving.

Salt Lake City is easier without a car. TRAX light rail links the airport, downtown and the University, FrontRunner trains run to Ogden and Provo, and ski buses climb the canyons in winter. Downtown's long, wide blocks still make walking slower than it looks on a map.

Jackson's small centre is easy to walk, and a bus runs out to Teton Village. Nothing goes into the national parks, though, and the trailheads are spread across the valley, so a car is close to essential.

Neither is a shopping destination, but they sell different things. Jackson's boardwalks are the place for something distinctive: Western and wildlife art galleries, handmade cowboy hats and boots, and turquoise jewellery.

Salt Lake City is the more practical choice. City Creek Center has the department stores, Trolley Square fills old streetcar barns with shops, and there are vintage shops around 9th and 9th. Its locally owned ski and climbing shops are excellent.

Jackson Hole costs far more, and most of the gap comes from finding a bed in summer or ski season, when rooms in the valley are scarce. Rafting, guided wildlife trips and lift tickets add resort prices on top. The scenery itself is almost free, though. Apart from each park's modest entry fee, trails, viewpoints and roadside wildlife cost nothing, and a late-spring or autumn visit, or a bed over Teton Pass in Idaho, brings the bill down noticeably.

With Salt Lake City, how much you save depends on the season. A summer of canyon hikes from a base in the city costs little by comparison. A ski week narrows the difference, because lift tickets, equipment hire and lodging up the canyons or in Park City all push towards resort levels. Staying in the city and taking the ski bus up still keeps the total well below a winter week in Jackson.

Salt Lake City has a far fuller programme. You can hear the Tabernacle Choir and the great organ at rehearsals and broadcasts open to the public, with organ recitals most days. The Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West and touring Broadway shows run through the year.

In Jackson Hole the arts are mainly a summer affair. The Grand Teton Music Festival fills a timber hall in Teton Village for a few weeks, alongside chuckwagon dinner shows and country bands. Outside that season there is little to see.

Jackson Hole has more ways to unwind, and they are closer to hand. There is a hot spring pool in a forested canyon, reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter, and a riverside hot springs park beside the Snake. Both fit easily at the end of a day outdoors.

From Salt Lake City, the memorable soak is the Homestead Crater in Midway, warm mineral water inside a limestone dome about an hour away. Otherwise, rest mostly means the resort spas in Park City.