Jackson Hole or Sedona?

Neither is a swimming destination, and in both a swim is a cool freshwater break from hiking. Jackson Hole's swimming is in the lakes beneath the Tetons. Sandy-bottomed String Lake warms enough for a proper swim by late summer, but Jenny Lake and the larger lakes stay bracing.

Sedona's swimming is in Oak Creek and is more playful: you can ride the sandstone chute at Slide Rock or swim in the deeper pools at Grasshopper Point and Red Rock Crossing. The spots are small and busy on hot weekends, but the warm weather lasts well beyond Jackson's few weeks.

Jackson Hole eats better. The wealth that passes through the valley pays for more chef-driven dining rooms than a town its size would normally have, and the menu is clearly regional: elk, bison, trout and huckleberries in everything from sauces to ice cream, with a few serious wine lists and a summer farmers' market on the square.

Sedona's dining leans on the view, with resort terraces, Southwestern chilli and corn dishes, and plenty for vegetarians. You soon run out of better kitchens, though the Verde Valley tasting rooms down the road offer something Jackson does not. Neither town has street food or cheap meals.

Jackson Hole's best cultural stop is the National Museum of Wildlife Art, on a hillside above the elk refuge, with its American wildlife painting and sculpture. There are also the antler arches on the Town Square, a small museum on the trappers and homesteaders, and the Mormon Row barns and log chapel with the Tetons behind them. A single day covers it all.

Sedona has just as few sights, but they reach further back in time. The modernist Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into a butte in 1956, is the landmark. The Sinagua cliff dwellings at Palatki and Honanki and the V Bar V petroglyphs are a short drive into the backcountry. Neither town is worth choosing for culture alone.

Jackson Hole has a real night out, even if a modest one. In winter the après-ski bars at Teton Village get loud when the lifts close. In town, the saloon with saddles for bar stools and a country dance floor is the classic evening, followed by brewpubs and cocktail bars near the square. It still winds down before midnight.

Sedona barely has nightlife at all. You get a glass in a wine bar or resort lounge after dinner, and then a sky dark enough for serious stargazing.

Jackson Hole is alpine country. The Tetons rise straight from the valley floor, Yellowstone is within a drive, and the wildlife matters as much as the trails: moose, bison, bears and thousands of wintering elk. It works all year, with rafting and fly fishing in summer and serious skiing in winter.

Sedona is desert rock, with red sandstone buttes and spires at Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Devil's Bridge, and slickrock trails that mountain bikers know well. Oak Creek Canyon climbs into pine forest, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about two hours away. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for walking there, while Jackson's hiking is best in summer.

Sedona has far more places to drive to. Jerome, the old copper-mining town on its mountainside, is about forty minutes away, and the Verde Canyon Railroad runs through a canyon with no road. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot are within half an hour, with Flagstaff, Walnut Canyon and Wupatki further on.

From Jackson, nearly every outing goes into the parks rather than to another town. Victor and Driggs over Teton Pass make a pleasant drive, but nothing nearby matches Sedona's mix of mining towns and ancient pueblos.

Jackson Hole is the better family base. Children can spot wildlife from the car, earn Junior Ranger badges, walk the flat lakeside trails, float down the Snake, ride a winter sleigh, and watch the summer rodeo and the shootout on the square. The ski school takes care of winter.

Sedona has Slide Rock, the gentle lower trails at Bell Rock and jeep tours, but much of the town is aimed at couples and spa guests, and summer heat on exposed trails calls for care. Neither has a zoo, aquarium or theme park, and both mean a lot of driving.

Neither works well without a car, but Jackson Hole is a little easier. Its centre is compact, with lodgings, restaurants and shops a few blocks from the Town Square. A bus runs the 20km to Teton Village in ski season, and the airport is a short drive north.

Sedona is spread along two highways that meet at the Y, and only Uptown is walkable. Trailhead parking fills early, traffic backs up at weekends, and most visitors arrive through Phoenix, about two hours' drive south.

Both towns shop mainly for art, and neither has fashion or department stores. Jackson's boardwalks hold galleries of Western and wildlife art next to handmade cowboy hats, boots and leather goods, and serious ski and mountaineering gear.

Sedona centres on Tlaquepaque, the arts village built around courtyards and fountains, along with Native American jewellery, pottery and rugs. Its crystal and metaphysical shops are a speciality Jackson has nothing like.

Both are expensive, but Jackson Hole is harder on a budget. Rates are very high and rooms scarce in summer and ski season, and lift tickets, rental cars and guided trips all cost resort prices. Staying over the pass in Idaho or coming in late spring or autumn helps most.

Sedona is costly too, especially in spring and autumn, but cheaper beds are easy to find in Cottonwood or Flagstaff. In both places the trails themselves cost next to nothing.

Jackson Hole has more live performance, thanks largely to the Grand Teton Music Festival. For several summer weeks it brings players from leading American orchestras to a timber hall in Teton Village, and the town adds an arts centre, chuckwagon shows and country bands. Outside summer it goes quiet.

Sedona has no concert hall or theatre season, only chamber concerts, local theatre, acoustic sets and Native American flute players. Its long-running film festival takes place in late winter, when Jackson has little on.

Sedona is built for rest in a way Jackson Hole is not. Destination resort spas face the red rock, yoga, meditation, breathwork and massage are easy to find, and sunrise walks to the vortexes are a local ritual, though treatments come at resort prices.

Jackson has something Sedona lacks entirely: natural hot springs. One is in a forested canyon reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter, and another sits beside the Snake River. Apart from those and the hotel spas, wellness there mostly means easing legs that are sore from skiing.