Kelowna or Lake Louise?

Kelowna has a real beach season. In July and August Okanagan Lake warms up enough for long swims, the sandy shore at City Park is right by downtown, and Rotary Beach adds paddleboarding and windsurfing.

Lake Louise has nothing comparable. The milky turquoise water comes from glacial silt and stays close to freezing even in August, so a dip lasts only as long as a photo. Anyone set on swimming would have to drive to the lakes near Banff.

Kelowna eats far better. Wineries on the slopes around the lake run terrace restaurants, and they cook with fruit and meat from the valley's orchards and ranches. Farm stands, a farmers' market, cideries and breweries round out the offer, although downtown itself is not a deep restaurant city.

Lake Louise depends on hotel dining rooms, a bakery and a deli, so choice is narrow and tables need booking. Its best food moment is tea and baking at the trail teahouses, and serious dinners mean a drive to Banff.

Neither place is visited for its sights. Kelowna has a bit more: a heritage museum covering Syilx Okanagan and settler history, a small art gallery and the log buildings of Father Pandosy Mission, which together fill an afternoon. Lake Louise has the Chateau and the old log railway station, both reminders of how the railway first brought tourists, and for anything more you go to Banff.

Kelowna has a modest but genuine night out on Bernard Avenue. Its pubs, taprooms, patio bars and a couple of clubs fill with students and lake-weekend groups in summer, then go quiet outside the season.

Lake Louise has a hotel lounge, a pub with a fireplace and après-ski drinks, and that is all. Days start before sunrise, and anyone who wants a late night drives to Banff.

Both are outdoor destinations, but Lake Louise works on a far grander scale. Glaciers hang above the lake, Moraine Lake sits under the Valley of the Ten Peaks, and trails lead to Lake Agnes, the Plain of Six Glaciers and Larch Valley. You can watch for grizzlies from the gondola, and the Icefields Parkway and Yoho are within reach. Winter brings one of Canada's largest ski areas.

Kelowna's landscape is gentler and drier: pine hills, vineyards and a lake made for boating and wakeboarding. Its highlight is cycling over the wooden trestles of Myra Canyon, and Big White is about an hour away for powder skiing.

Kelowna has the better circuit, because the whole Okanagan wine country lies along the road: Penticton and the Naramata Bench, the vineyards around Oliver and Osoyoos with the Nk'Mip desert cultural centre, and O'Keefe Ranch near Vernon. The towns are small, and you need a car.

From Lake Louise, outings head into scenery more than towns. Banff, with its museums and hot springs, is the main stop, Canmore, Field and Golden are quieter, and Calgary is the only city within reach.

Kelowna works for children of more ages. Shallow, warm water at the beaches, lakeside playgrounds, boat hire, mini-golf, pick-your-own orchards and the flat Myra Canyon ride fill a summer week. Expect to drive between attractions.

Lake Louise suits older children who are happy to walk. They will enjoy canoeing, the gondola and the hike to the Lake Agnes teahouse. With no play attractions and cold high trails, rainy days are hard to fill.

Getting around is about equally awkward in both, for different reasons. Kelowna's downtown and lakeside path are easy to walk or cycle, but the wineries and trails are spread along a highway and need a car or a tour.

At Lake Louise the village is tiny, yet the lake sits 4km uphill and Moraine Lake is further still. In summer the park shuttles do most of the work because parking fills early. For the Icefields Parkway or Banff you need a car, with proper tyres in winter.

Neither is a shopping trip, but Kelowna gives you more to browse: independent boutiques and galleries around Bernard Avenue, a regional mall, and wine, cider and preserves bought straight from the producers. Lake Louise has a small village mall for gear, groceries and souvenirs, plus a few boutiques in the Chateau.

Kelowna is the cheaper of the two, though it is not cheap in summer. Lakefront hotels and rentals charge peak rates in July and August, winery tastings and boat hire add up quickly, and a hire car is close to essential. Outside summer, apart from ski weeks at Big White, rooms come down a long way, and the beaches, parks and trails cost nothing.

Lake Louise costs far more at its peak. It has only a few places to sleep, so summer rates at the lakeside and village hotels are among the highest in Canada, and meals carry resort prices because there is little competition. A park pass, gondola tickets and lift passes add to the bill. Late spring and autumn are noticeably cheaper, the hiking is free once you are there, and a hostel, the campground or a room in Banff or Canmore keeps costs down.

Kelowna has a small regional programme: local theatre and the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra at its arts venues, touring acts at the downtown arena, and free summer concerts by the lake. At Lake Louise, the best you can hope for is a pianist in a hotel lounge, and the real programme is in Banff.

The two are equally restful, but the calm feels different. Kelowna's comes from wine country: resort spas, long lunches on vineyard terraces and slow mornings on a warm lake.

Lake Louise offers hotel spas and the deep quiet of snow and forest out of season. The historic hot springs are in Banff, and in high summer the crowds at the lakes make midday anything but peaceful.