Jackson Hole or Whitefish?

Swimming in Jackson Hole is something you fit into a hike. String Lake's shallow, sandy water warms enough by late summer, but Jenny Lake stays bracing and the Snake River is only for floating.

Whitefish does it better because the lake comes to town. City Beach on Whitefish Lake has sand, a swimming dock and paddleboards a short walk from downtown, and the clear water and state park shores of Flathead Lake are a short drive south. It is still a summer extra rather than a reason to go.

The two share a regional larder of elk, bison, Montana or Wyoming beef, trout and huckleberries in everything. Jackson Hole does more with it. The money that passes through the valley pays for chef-driven dining rooms and serious wine lists, plus coffee roasters, early bakeries and a summer farmers' market on the Town Square.

Whitefish cooks honest ski-town food along Central Avenue: wood-fired pizza, comfort dishes after a day outside, craft breweries and local distilling. It is good, but after a week you will be returning to the same few places.

Neither is a place for sightseeing, but Jackson Hole has more to fill a spare day. The National Museum of Wildlife Art looks out over the elk refuge, and in the park the barns of Mormon Row and the log Chapel of the Transfiguration frame the Tetons memorably. The antler arches on the square complete the picture.

In Whitefish there is little beyond the timber Great Northern depot and its small museum of railway and logging history.

Evenings are much the same in both: saloons, brewery taps and early nights, with no clubs. In Jackson Hole the après-ski crowd stays at the base in Teton Village, while the classic night out in town is a historic saloon with saddle bar stools and a country dance floor.

In Whitefish the après-ski crowd comes down from the mountain into town, to wooden bars with pool tables on Central Avenue and to patios on summer evenings. Jackson's bars can be almost empty in spring and autumn.

For mountains, these are two of the great bases on the continent, and the choice comes down to style. In Jackson Hole the Tetons rise without foothills a few minutes from town, and Yellowstone is within a drive. Wildlife comes to you, from moose in the willows to thousands of wintering elk, and a tram climbs to some of the steepest lift-served skiing in North America. It works in every season.

Whitefish has Glacier about forty minutes east: the Going-to-the-Sun Road, the Highline Trail, Grinnell Glacier, mountain goats and bighorn sheep. Nearer town, the Whitefish Trail loops through forest above the lake, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness lies further out beyond. The catch is that the high country only opens reliably from July to September.

From Jackson Hole almost every outing goes into the landscape. The drive over Teton Pass to the Idaho farm towns of Victor and Driggs is pleasant, but neither they nor Pinedale fill a day on their own.

Whitefish has more towns worth the drive. In Kalispell there is the Victorian Conrad Mansion and an art museum in the old library. Bigfork has galleries and a summer theatre beside Flathead Lake, with cherry orchards along the east shore, and further south the brick mission church at St Ignatius stands below the Mission Mountains.

Jackson Hole keeps children busier. They can spot bison and moose from the back seat, earn Junior Ranger badges, take a gentle float on the Snake, ride a sleigh among the elk and see the summer rodeo and the shootout on the square.

Whitefish has its own easy wins: a zip line, an alpine slide and a scenic chairlift on the summer mountain, calm water at City Beach and the flat Trail of the Cedars in Glacier. Children who don't enjoy hiking or paddling will run out of things to do sooner. Neither town has zoos or theme parks.

You need a car in both, and both have a compact centre you can walk. The difference is in how you arrive and which shuttles exist. Jackson Hole's airport sits inside the national park a short drive from town, and a local bus covers the 20km to Teton Village.

Whitefish is one of the few mountain towns where the long-distance train stops downtown, at the old depot. In winter a free shuttle runs to the ski area, and in summer Glacier's own shuttle covers the main park road.

Jackson Hole has the better shops. The boardwalks around the Town Square are lined with galleries of Western and wildlife art, from bronzes to large landscapes. There are also handmade cowboy hats and boots, turquoise, high-end mountain gear and a few upscale boutiques.

Whitefish's Central Avenue makes an easy afternoon of outfitters, western wear, wildlife art and Montana-made huckleberry jam. For anything bigger you drive to Kalispell.

Neither is cheap, but Jackson Hole costs noticeably more. It is one of the most expensive places to stay in the United States, at resort prices for everything from lift tickets to rafting, and staying over the pass in Idaho is the usual way to save.

Whitefish is pricey too in July, August and ski season. Staying in Kalispell or Columbia Falls brings the cost down, and both towns are easier in late spring and autumn. The parks themselves are good value once you are there.

Jackson Hole's summer is built around classical music. The Grand Teton Music Festival, running since the 1960s, brings players from leading American orchestras to a timber hall in Teton Village, and chuckwagon dinner shows add cowboy music. Outside the festival season it is mostly community theatre and bar bands.

Whitefish leans towards theatre, with a professional summer company and a community arts centre staging shows through the year. The valley's symphony plays in nearby Kalispell and holds its own summer festival, but the calendar here is just as thin outside summer.

Jackson Hole has the advantage of real thermal water. One hot springs pool sits in a forested canyon south of town, reached by snowmobile or dog sled in winter. Another has soaking pools on the bank of the Snake River, and resort spas cater to sore skiers.

Whitefish relies on its setting: quiet mornings by the lake, lodge spas and yoga in town. The nearest hot springs pools are a couple of hours' drive away.