Jackson Hole or Vail?

Neither is a place for swimming, but Jackson Hole at least has a real lake swim in late summer. String Lake is shallow and sandy-bottomed and warms enough to enjoy after a hike, though Jenny Lake stays cold. Vail's nearby lakes and reservoirs are for paddling and sunbathing rather than swimming, and most people who want to get in the water end up in a hotel pool.

The two eat at much the same level: polished, expensive and with almost nothing at the cheap end. Jackson's cooking is more tied to its region. Elk, bison and trout come with huckleberries in saloons and chef-led dining rooms around the Town Square, and a farmers' market runs on the square in summer.

Vail's resort dining has a wider range of styles, with fondue rooms, sushi counters and mountain lodges for lunch between runs, but less sense of place. Many of its kitchens close in the quiet spring and autumn weeks.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Jackson Hole has more to fill a few hours. There is the National Museum of Wildlife Art above the elk refuge, the antler arches and boardwalks of the square, and the Mormon Row barns and log chapel framed by the Tetons inside the park.

Vail was built in the 1960s as a resort in the style of a Tyrolean village, so what history it has is about skiing. The Colorado Snowsports Museum and its story of the Tenth Mountain Division fill a morning, and the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens a summer afternoon.

Both go quiet early, and neither suits anyone looking for a big night out. In Jackson the classic evening is the old saloon with saddles for bar stools and a country dance floor, with loud après-ski at Teton Village in winter.

Vail's après-ski is more of a scene, with packed slopeside terraces in the village and Lionshead, and on winter weekends a few bars and a small club stay open past midnight. In the spring and autumn off-seasons both towns are nearly empty after dinner.

Both are mountain bases of the highest order, and the difference lies in what you come for. Jackson Hole is a national park trip. The Tetons rise sheer from the valley floor, Yellowstone is within a drive, and the wildlife runs from moose and bison to grizzlies and the elk herd that winters beside town.

Vail is centred on its ski area: the groomed front side, the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, and dry powder through a long winter. In summer the gondolas lift hikers and bikers straight from town towards the Gore Range. Skiers who want the steepest terrain will lean towards the tram at Teton Village.

Vail is much better placed for days away. Beaver Creek is next door, Breckenridge's Victorian main street and the silver boom town of Leadville are close, and the hot pools of Glenwood Springs are about an hour down the canyon. Aspen and Denver are further off.

From Jackson Hole nearly every outing heads into the parks rather than to another town. The Idaho farm towns over Teton Pass make a pleasant drive, but the region's historic Western towns are a long way away.

Jackson Hole gives children more to remember: wildlife from the car, Junior Ranger badges, scenic floats on the Snake, the summer rodeo and the staged shootout on the square. In return there are long drives into the parks and little to do on a wet day.

Vail works for families mainly through skiing, with large ski schools, a safe car-free village, and summer ropes courses and a mountain coaster at the top of the gondola. Away from the slopes there is less to fill a day, and its higher altitude is harder on small children at first.

Vail is the place to manage without a car. The pedestrian core of the village and Lionshead, lifts that leave from town and a free bus along the valley mean many visitors spend a whole week on foot and by bus.

Jackson's centre is just as easy to walk, and a bus runs out to Teton Village, but there is no public transport into Grand Teton or Yellowstone. Watching wildlife at dawn and dusk needs your own car. Arriving is simpler, though: the airport is a short drive from town, while Vail is a shuttle ride from the nearest one.

Shopping is about the same size in both: a few walkable streets of expensive outdoor gear, Western boots and hats, and galleries, with no markets or department stores. Jackson's strength is Western and wildlife art, from bronzes to landscapes, along with handmade cowboy hats and turquoise jewellery on the covered boardwalks. Vail leans more towards upmarket ski clothing, fur and leather, and serious shoppers there head to Denver.

Both are among the most expensive mountain vacations in the United States, and neither works on a tight budget. They differ in how you can save. In Jackson Hole the trails, viewpoints and roadside wildlife cost little once you are there, and staying over the pass in Idaho cuts the bill.

In Vail the free town bus lets you do without a hire car. Lodging further down the valley, or a visit outside the peak winter weeks, softens the cost of lift tickets and slopeside rooms.

Both are summer stages, but Vail's is the bigger one. Bravo! Vail brings major orchestras to the open-air Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater for weeks of concerts, with lawn seating for picnics, and the Vail Dance Festival and a long-running jazz festival add ballet and jazz.

Jackson Hole's Grand Teton Music Festival offers serious classical concerts in a timber hall at Teton Village, with chuckwagon shows and country bands in the saloons for something lighter. In winter neither has much beyond bands in the bars.

The two are close here, and the difference is between a spa and a spring. Vail's large hotels run polished spas with outdoor hot tubs under the peaks, saunas and steam rooms, and the mineral pools and vapour caves of Glenwood Springs are about an hour away.

Jackson Hole's hot springs are close at hand. There is a riverside park with several soaking pools near town, and a pool in a forested canyon to the south that in winter you reach by snowmobile or dog sled. Beyond those, wellness in both means resort spas and massage for sore skiers.