Jackson Hole or Santa Fe?

Neither town is a swimming destination, but Jackson Hole at least has lakes at the foot of the Tetons. Shallow, sandy String Lake warms enough for a proper swim by late summer. Santa Fe's nearest real swim is a reservoir such as Abiquiu Lake about an hour away, so for most visitors water means the hotel pool.

Santa Fe has the more distinctive table. Its regional cuisine of red and green chile, blue corn, posole and sopaipillas is served in old adobe rooms around the Plaza, and there is a fine-dining tier and one of the country's oldest farmers' markets in the Railyard. The smell of chile roasting in autumn is part of a visit.

Jackson eats well for a mountain town, with elk, bison, trout and huckleberries and more chef-led dining rooms than its size suggests. Still, it offers steakhouses and saloon burgers rather than a cuisine to discover. Neither town has much street food or international range.

Santa Fe is a cultural destination in its own right. Founded as a Spanish colonial capital in 1610, it has the Palace of the Governors, the cathedral and the Loretto Chapel around an adobe Plaza. Museum Hill's folk art and Native American collections, the O'Keeffe Museum and the galleries of Canyon Road fill two or three days well.

Jackson's sights fit into a day between hikes. There are the antler arches on the Town Square, the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge, and the Mormon Row barns and log chapel framed by the Tetons. They are lovely, but they are set pieces in a landscape rather than a reason to travel.

Both towns go quiet well before midnight and neither has clubs, but the evenings feel different. Jackson's are louder and seasonal: après-ski at Teton Village as the lifts close, then a country dance in the saloon on the square with saddles for bar stools. In Santa Fe a night out is a long dinner and then a margarita or mezcal on a rooftop as the sun sets over the Jemez Mountains, and anyone wanting more drives to Albuquerque.

Jackson Hole's outdoors are on another scale. The Tetons rise sheer from the valley with no foothills in between, and Grand Teton National Park starts minutes from town. Yellowstone is about an hour and a half's drive away, and the Teton Village tram climbs above some of North America's steepest ski terrain. The wildlife alone, from moose and bison to grizzlies and the elk herd that winters by town, would justify the trip.

Santa Fe's outdoors are more varied than dramatic. Sangre de Cristo trails start at the edge of town, the ski-area road leads up to golden aspens, and beyond lie the Pecos Wilderness, the volcanic bowl of Valles Caldera and the red cliffs around Abiquiu. It rewards walkers who love desert light more than those chasing big peaks and big animals.

Here Santa Fe leaves Jackson far behind. The High Road to Taos runs through Chimayo and Truchas to Taos Pueblo, which has been lived in for about a thousand years. Bandelier's cliff dwellings, Los Alamos, Pecos and the mining villages of the Turquoise Trail fill several more days, mostly by car.

From Jackson, almost every outing goes into the parks rather than to another place. The Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass make a pleasant drive with a view of the range's western face, but nothing nearby is worth a day on its own.

Jackson Hole is the easier sell to children. They get moose and bison from the car, Junior Ranger badges, scenic floats on the Snake, a sleigh ride through the elk herd, a summer rodeo and the staged shootout on the square. The catch is long drives and mountain weather that can wipe out a day.

Santa Fe is just as safe and calm, but it is built for adults who browse galleries and linger over dinner. The Children's Museum, the toys in the folk art collection and the ladders at Bandelier help, and it suits older children who enjoy history best. Both towns sit high enough to tire small ones at first.

Both have compact centres and need a car beyond them, but Santa Fe gives a little more without one. The Plaza, the downtown museums, Canyon Road and the Railyard are all within walking distance of each other, and the Rail Runner train runs to Albuquerque.

In Jackson the walkable part is a few blocks around the Town Square, and the bus to Teton Village is mainly useful in ski season. There is no public transport into Grand Teton or Yellowstone, wildlife watching at dawn needs your own wheels, and winter roads call for good tyres.

Santa Fe is the place to come home with art or craft. Under the portal of the Palace of the Governors, Native American artists sell jewellery and pottery directly to buyers, and Canyon Road and the Railyard are dense with galleries. In summer the Indian, Spanish and International Folk Art markets draw collectors from far away.

Jackson's boardwalks have wildlife-art galleries, handmade cowboy hats and high-end mountain gear, plus a few boutiques for the valley's wealthy residents. Beyond those it is mostly T-shirts. Neither town is a place for fashion or department stores.

Neither is cheap, but Jackson Hole is harder on a budget. Rooms in summer and ski season are among the dearest in the country, and lift tickets, rafting and meals all carry resort pricing. The parks, trails and roadside wildlife cost little once you are there, and staying over the pass in Idaho or coming in late spring or autumn helps.

Santa Fe is expensive for its size rather than outright punishing. Cheaper rooms along Cerrillos Road, free strolls around the Plaza and gallery browsing ease the bill, though a hire car is hard to avoid.

The Santa Fe Opera is the one performance in either town worth planning a trip around. It plays in an open-sided theatre on a hill north of town as the sun goes down over the desert, and it is known for rarely staged works as well as the classics. A chamber music festival and a flamenco tradition run alongside it, and the historic Lensic theatre keeps a programme going through the year.

Jackson's highlight is the Grand Teton Music Festival, which brings orchestral players to a timber hall at Teton Village, along with chuckwagon shows and country bands. Out of season Jackson goes quieter than Santa Fe.

Santa Fe does more with rest. Onsen-style soaking tubs sit among the pines on the road to the ski area, the town has an unusual number of spas, yoga studios and healers for its size, and the old mineral springs at Ojo Caliente are about an hour north.

Jackson's soaking is wilder: a hot springs pool in a forested canyon, reached in winter by snowmobile or dog sled, and riverside pools along the Snake. Beyond those, wellness means resort spas and massages for sore skiers. In both towns, the early nights help with the rest.