Jackson Hole or Scottsdale?

Neither is a swimming destination, but Jackson Hole has a little more natural water to offer. String Lake is shallow and sandy and warms enough in late summer for a proper swim, while Jenny Lake stays bracing. In Scottsdale, swimming mostly means the resort pool. Saguaro and Canyon lakes are 40 minutes or more away, and people float down the Salt River on tubes in summer.

So the choice is between a cold alpine dip between hikes and long afternoons by a heated pool. Anyone who wants the sea should look beyond both.

Scottsdale has the broader choice. Old Town and the resort corridors offer steakhouses, sushi, patio grills and long brunches. The Sonoran-style Mexican cooking of the wider Phoenix area, with its carne asada, chimichangas and green chile, adds a local flavour, and Phoenix's better kitchens are a short drive away.

Jackson eats well for a small mountain town, and its elk, bison and Rocky Mountain trout served with huckleberries taste more of the place. The catch is range: there are few cuisines, little street food and hardly anything cheap.

Scottsdale has more to see. The highlight is Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's desert home and studio. The Heard Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum are close by, and Old Town has a museum of western history. Together they are enough for two or three unhurried days of sightseeing.

Jackson's sights are fewer and smaller: 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 with the Tetons behind them. They stay with you, but most visitors see them all in a single day.

Scottsdale has a real night out, concentrated in Old Town's entertainment district. There, dance clubs, rooftop lounges and patio bars stay loud until closing time at weekends and throughout the spring season. The mood is glossy and party-minded rather than alternative.

Jackson's evenings are shorter and more rustic. You get après-ski at Teton Village in winter, a historic saloon with a country dance floor and a few brewpubs. There are no clubs, everyone gets up early, and the town is quiet well before midnight.

Both sit at the edge of wild country, but Jackson Hole is on another level. The Tetons rise straight from the valley floor, Grand Teton National Park begins minutes from town, and Yellowstone is a morning's drive north. Grizzlies, moose, bison and wintering elk are all part of a stay, with rafting on the Snake in summer and steep lift-served skiing in winter.

Scottsdale's desert is a fine asset in its own right. It has saguaro trails in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, short steep climbs up Camelback Mountain, and lakes and balloon flights out towards the Tonto National Forest. The summer heat rules it out for part of the year, though, and it cannot match Jackson's scale or wildlife.

Scottsdale is much the better base for days away. Sedona's red rocks, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle and the mining town of Jerome all lie up the interstate within about two hours. Tucson and the San Xavier mission are about as far to the south.

From Jackson, excursions lead into the parks rather than to other places. The Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs, over Teton Pass, make a pleasant drive, but nothing nearby is worth a full day on its own.

Both work well for families, in very different ways. Jackson Hole suits children who love animals and the outdoors. They can spot moose and bison from the car, earn Junior Ranger badges, ride a sleigh through the elk herd and see the summer rodeo, and there is a good ski school. Rainy days are hard to fill, though, and the altitude tires the youngest.

Scottsdale is built around the pool, with lazy rivers and kids' clubs at the resorts. There is also an aquarium, a butterfly house and a park with a miniature railway, and the Phoenix Zoo is nearby. Its weak point is the summer heat rather than the weather turning.

You will want a car in both, but Jackson Hole is a little easier without one. The centre is a few walkable blocks around the Town Square, a bus runs to Teton Village 20km away, and the airport is a short drive. The parks still need a car or a tour.

Scottsdale stretches along wide main roads, and the regional light rail does not reach it. Beyond Old Town and its free trolley, almost everything means hiring a car or using ride-hailing, though the simple grid makes driving easy.

Scottsdale is the stronger place for shopping. A large luxury mall holds the big fashion houses and department stores, and there are open-air shopping centres further north. The Old Town gallery district sells southwestern art, Navajo and Hopi silver, and Pueblo pottery.

Jackson's boardwalk blocks share the Western theme, with galleries of wildlife art, handmade cowboy hats and boots, and high-end mountain gear. The choice is narrow and quickly seen, though. There are no department stores and plenty of souvenir T-shirts.

Neither is cheap, but Jackson Hole is harder on a budget. In summer and ski season its rooms are among the most expensive in the United States, and scarce as well. Lift tickets, rafting and wildlife trips all cost resort prices. Staying over the pass in Idaho, or visiting in late spring or autumn, helps.

Scottsdale is upmarket too, but it leaves more room to save. Resort rates fall sharply in the summer heat, business hotels and motels line the main roads, and Mexican food across the metro area is easy on the wallet.

Scottsdale and the Phoenix area offer more evenings out, mostly in winter. The performing arts centre in Old Town has chamber music, jazz and dance, and the Musical Instrument Museum hosts world music. The symphony, Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona are about half an hour away in Phoenix.

Jackson's stages come alive in summer. The Grand Teton Music Festival brings orchestral players to Teton Village, while chuckwagon shows and country bands in the saloons fill the evenings. Out of season there is little beyond community theatre.

Rest is one of the main reasons to visit Scottsdale. Its large resort spas, many open to day guests, offer desert-inspired treatments, steam rooms and outdoor pools. The dry air and an easy pace of golf and long lunches do the rest.

Jackson has something Scottsdale lacks: natural hot springs. One is in a forested canyon, reached in winter by snowmobile or dog sled, and another sits beside the Snake River. Beyond those and the hotel spas there is little pampering, and a soak usually ends a hard day outdoors rather than being the point of the trip.