Jackson Hole or San Francisco?

Neither place is for a beach vacation, but San Francisco at least has a coastline worth walking. Ocean Beach, Baker Beach under the Golden Gate Bridge and the cove at China Beach make fine sunset walks, even if the cold Pacific and the rip currents keep almost everyone out of the water.

Jackson Hole has no shore at all. What it offers is a midsummer dip in shallow String Lake, a refreshing break from a hike rather than a reason to visit.

Jackson eats better than most mountain towns. Elk, bison, trout and huckleberries appear on menus around the Town Square, and wealth supports a handful of ambitious dining rooms. Still, there is little choice of cuisine and almost nothing cheap.

San Francisco is a major food city. You can eat a Mission burrito, dim sum in the Richmond and cioppino or Dungeness crab, go to the Ferry Building farmers' market and book some of the best fine dining in the country, all on one trip. A week of meals there has far more range than Jackson can offer.

In Jackson the cultural sights fit into a single day. There are the antler arches and boardwalks of the square, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and in the park the barns of Mormon Row and the log chapel framing the peaks.

San Francisco needs three or four days. Alcatraz, the cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Victorians of Alamo Square sit alongside SFMOMA, the Legion of Honor and the murals of the Mission. The city's history is shallow by world standards, because much of the old city burned in 1906, but it is still far deeper than Jackson's.

A night out in Jackson means après-ski in Teton Village or a country dance at the saddle-stool saloon, and the town is asleep well before midnight. Outside the ski and summer seasons the bars can be nearly empty.

San Francisco offers far more choice. There are mezcal and cocktail bars along Valencia Street, old saloons in North Beach, the Castro's gay bars and warehouse clubs in SoMa. Even here, last orders come at 2am and weeknights are quiet in many districts.

This is Jackson Hole's great strength. The Tetons rise straight from the valley floor, Cascade Canyon and the alpine lakes are minutes away, and grizzlies, moose and wintering elk herds make every drive a safari. Add Yellowstone, steep winter skiing and the Snake River, and few places in the world can compete.

San Francisco's surroundings are superb for a city. You can walk the Lands End cliffs, see the Muir Woods redwoods, ride bikes on Mount Tamalpais and watch the elephant seals at Point Reyes. But the outdoors here is something you add to a city trip, and fog and wind often come with it.

From San Francisco the outings are real destinations. Napa and Sonoma's wineries are about an hour north, a ferry takes you to Sausalito, and Monterey's Cannery Row and aquarium, Carmel and the Santa Cruz boardwalk lie down the coast.

Jackson's excursions are almost all into the parks. The towns within reach, Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass or Pinedale to the south, are pleasant drives but not worth a day on their own.

Both work well with children, but in different ways. Jackson Hole is a wildlife and outdoors vacation, with moose and bison spotted from the car, Junior Ranger badges, sleigh rides through the elk herd and the summer rodeo. The drawbacks are long drives, altitude, and little to do on a wet day.

San Francisco is built around big indoor days out. The Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences, with its aquarium and planetarium, can each fill a day, and there are sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf and cable car rides. Steep hills with a pushchair and some rough downtown streets are the main drawbacks.

Jackson's few blocks around the square are easy to walk, and a bus runs out to Teton Village. For the parks, trailheads and dawn wildlife drives you need a car, as there is no public transport into Grand Teton or Yellowstone.

San Francisco is the reverse. BART, Muni, the cable cars and the ferries all run on one Clipper card, parking is a headache, and a car is only worth hiring for wine country or the coast. The steep hills are the real effort.

Jackson is good for one particular kind of shopping: Western and wildlife art galleries, handmade cowboy hats and boots, turquoise and top-end mountain gear, all along the boardwalks. Beyond that, the choice soon narrows to souvenirs.

San Francisco gives far more to browse. Union Square has the department stores and flagships, while Hayes Valley, Valencia Street, Fillmore and Haight-Ashbury offer independent design, books and vintage.

Both are among the most expensive places to visit in the United States, and neither is easy on a budget. In Jackson the cost is resort pricing: scarce rooms in peak seasons, plus lift tickets, rental cars and guided trips. Once there, though, the trails and the roadside wildlife are free, and staying over the pass in Idaho cuts costs.

In San Francisco, hotel rates jump during big conferences, and tax and tipping push up every restaurant bill. On the other hand, Mission taquerias, Chinatown dim sum, cheap public transport and free walks across the bridge give it more ways to save day to day.

Jackson's stage life is mostly a summer affair. The Grand Teton Music Festival brings orchestral players to Teton Village, and there are chuckwagon shows and saloon country bands. The rest of the year is quiet.

San Francisco has year-round seasons at the opera, the ballet and the symphony, serious drama at the American Conservatory Theater, a dedicated home for jazz at SFJAZZ, and the Fillmore for rock. A culture-minded visitor will find something on almost any night.

Both are fairly level here, but the kind of rest differs. Jackson has natural hot springs, a forested canyon pool reached by dog sled in winter and soaking pools beside the Snake, and its early nights make winding down easy.

San Francisco's calm is found in pockets: the Japantown bathhouse, the Japanese Tea Garden, the foggy outer neighbourhoods. For proper mineral pools and mud baths you need to drive to Calistoga in Napa.