Jackson Hole or South Lake Tahoe?

Jackson Hole offers lake swims, not beaches. String Lake warms enough by late summer for a proper dip after a hike, Jenny Lake stays bracing, and the Snake River is for floats only. Outside a few midsummer weeks the water is simply too cold.

South Lake Tahoe has real beaches. Pope, Baldwin and Kiva sit under the pines on the edge of town, with Zephyr Cove and Sand Harbor further round the shore. The water is cold by seaside standards, but in July and August a beach day there can fill an afternoon on its own.

Jackson eats noticeably better. Its wealth pays for chef-driven dining rooms and serious wine lists, and the menu has a real regional character: elk, bison, Rocky Mountain trout, and huckleberries in everything from jam to cocktails. There is little cheap food, though.

South Lake Tahoe's food is fuel for the outdoors: casino steakhouses and buffets, brewpubs, pizza, taquerias and ski breakfasts along Highway 50. The local craft beer is its most distinctive offering, and many visitors end up cooking in the cabin.

Neither has more than a day of sightseeing, and in both the sights belong to the landscape. Jackson's are about the frontier: the antler arches and boardwalks of the Town Square, the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge, and the barns of Mormon Row against the Tetons.

South Lake Tahoe's tell the story of a summer retreat for wealthy San Franciscans. You can see this in the early 20th-century estates at the Tallac Historic Site and at Vikingsholm, a steep walk down to the head of Emerald Bay. Jackson has the stronger museum, while Tahoe's sights are more about architecture.

Neither suits a big night out, but they wind down differently. A Jackson evening means the historic saloon with saddles for bar stools and a country dance floor, a few brewpubs and cocktail bars, and loud après-ski at Teton Village in winter. The town is asleep well before midnight.

South Lake Tahoe has the one thing Jackson lacks: across the state line at Stateline, the casino bars and gaming floors stay open all night, and a club or two fill up on long weekends. Choice is still thin, and anyone wanting a proper night out drives to Reno.

Both are outstanding mountain bases, so the choice comes down to what you want to look at. Jackson is about peaks and animals. The Tetons rise from the valley with no foothills, Yellowstone is within an hour and a half, and moose, bears and wintering elk are part of daily life. The tram at Teton Village serves some of the steepest lift-served skiing in North America.

Tahoe is about water and granite. The lake and Emerald Bay are the centrepiece, the Desolation Wilderness and Tahoe Rim Trail give long days of hiking, and calm morning water suits kayaking and paddleboarding. In winter, Heavenly's gondola rises straight from town.

From Jackson, nearly every outing goes into the parks rather than to another town. 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 whole day in itself.

South Lake Tahoe has real places to go when you want a change of scene. The preserved mining town of Virginia City is about an hour over the mountains, by way of Carson City and Genoa. Coloma, Placerville and the Amador wine country lie down Highway 50, and Reno or a loop round the lake are easy.

Both work well for families who like the outdoors, and both struggle on a wet day, with no zoo, aquarium or theme park in either. Jackson's appeal for children is animals and the Old West: bison from the car, Junior Ranger badges, a sleigh ride through the elk herd, the rodeo and the shootout on the square. Long drives and altitude tire young children, though.

Tahoe gives children sand and shallow water in summer, bike paths, and the salmon run at Taylor Creek in autumn. In winter there are sledding hills and snow play areas. The casino strip is not a place to linger with them.

The pattern is the same in both: a walkable core, and a car for almost everything else. Jackson's few blocks around the Town Square hold most of the beds and restaurants, and a bus runs out to Teton Village. Nothing runs into the parks, which matters when wildlife is best seen at dawn.

At Tahoe, free shuttles along the highway and up to the slopes help mainly in winter. Summer weekend traffic crawls on Highway 50 and the Emerald Bay road, and storms can bring chain controls on the routes in.

Jackson has the better shopping, for quality as much as range. The covered boardwalks around the Town Square are lined with galleries of Western and wildlife art, from bronzes to landscape painting. There are also shops selling handmade cowboy hats, boots, leather goods and turquoise jewellery, as well as high-end mountain gear and a few upscale boutiques.

South Lake Tahoe's shops are mostly practical: ski and rental stores, outdoor gear and the supermarket run for the cabin. For something to take home there are T-shirt and souvenir shops by the gondola base, plus a few galleries of lake photography and art. The gifts are pleasant enough, but you would not plan an afternoon around them as you might in Jackson.

Jackson is among the most expensive places to stay in the United States. Rooms are scarce and dear in summer and ski season, and meals, lift tickets, rental cars and guided trips all cost resort prices. The savings come from staying over the pass in Idaho, coming in late spring or autumn, and the free trails and roadside wildlife.

South Lake Tahoe is also pricey at peak times, but it gives you more ways to save. Casino hotels on the Nevada side discount heavily midweek and in the shoulder seasons. A cabin kitchen cuts food costs, and the beaches are free.

Both come alive mainly in summer, in very different styles. Jackson's highlight is the Grand Teton Music Festival, a classical season going back to the 1960s that brings players from leading American orchestras to a timber hall in Teton Village. It is backed by chuckwagon dinner shows and country bands.

Tahoe leans towards entertainment. Casino showrooms host touring rock and country acts, comedians and tribute shows all year, and summer adds Shakespeare on the beach at Sand Harbor and concerts at the Tallac estates. Classical listeners should choose Jackson. For a show in any month, choose Tahoe.

Hot springs are the best way to unwind in both places, but Jackson has them closer to hand. A hot springs park on the banks of the Snake is an easy drive from town. To the south, a pool in a forested canyon is reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter, which makes the soak part of the adventure.

From South Lake Tahoe a soak means an outing: Grover Hot Springs in its alpine meadow is about 45 minutes south, or there are the Carson Valley resorts over the pass. In town, Tahoe's restful side comes more from quiet lakeside mornings and cabins in the pines than from its casino spas.