Keystone or Page, Arizona?

This is where Page clearly wins. In summer Lake Powell reaches about 26°C at the surface. Lone Rock Beach has open sand you can drive down to, and boats and kayaks take you into coves where you can jump off rock into deep water. There are no lifeguards, and the beaches move as the lake level rises and falls.

In Keystone, Dillon Reservoir is for sailing and paddleboarding, not swimming. The water is snowmelt-cold and mostly closed to swimmers, so you will only get wet in a lodge pool or hot tub.

Neither place is worth the trip for its food, and they differ in style more than standard. Keystone offers resort dining: grills at the bases, après-ski burgers with Colorado craft beer, elk and trout on the menus, and a dining room at the summit that you reach by gondola. Frisco and Breckenridge are close by if you want more choice.

Page's food is built for road-trippers: diners, barbecue, Mexican places and chains. Its one real local dish is the Navajo taco, frybread with toppings, sold at casual spots and roadside stands on the reservation.

Page has a little more to show, though neither is a sightseeing destination. Page grew up around the Glen Canyon Dam. The visitor centre explains how the dam was built, and a small museum covers John Wesley Powell's journeys on the Colorado. The Navajo Nation around the town adds a living cultural layer.

Keystone is a ski resort built in the 1970s and has almost nothing to see inside it. Its history lies outside the resort, in the mining ruins and cabins up the Snake River valley and in the Victorian towns nearby.

Keystone has the livelier evenings, though only just. At River Run the decks fill with skiers still in their boots at après-ski time, and Breckenridge's Main Street, a short bus ride away, is there for a proper night out. In Page there are a few bars and a brewpub, and the town is quiet well before midnight. The best thing to do after dark is look at the stars over the desert.

Both are first-rate, and the difference is the kind of landscape. Keystone is high alpine country. Its three peaks have bowls above 3,600m, Arapahoe Basin is up the road and Vail is within an hour. In summer there are trails up Grays and Torreys Peaks and over the tundra at Loveland Pass.

Page is red desert carved by water. There are the slot canyons of Antelope Canyon, the loop of the river at Horseshoe Bend, flooded canyons you explore by boat as far as Rainbow Bridge, and rafting from Lees Ferry. You trade thin mountain air in Keystone for fierce summer heat in Page.

Keystone has far more places within reach. Breckenridge's Victorian centre is about half an hour away, and over the Continental Divide the old silver towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume are linked by their loop railway. Leadville's mining streets and Vail's village make good longer outings, and Denver's museums are an hour and a half away.

Around Page the land is spectacular, but there are few towns to visit. Lees Ferry, with its pioneer buildings and Lonely Dell Ranch, is close by and makes an easy half day. The small Western town of Kanab and the nearby Pipe Spring ranch are over an hour away, and the cliff dwellings at Betatakin are about two hours. Beyond those the drives are long and the towns are small.

Keystone is much better set up for children. In winter it has ski school, tubing, a snow fort on the mountain and the large skating rink at Lakeside Village. In summer there are paddle boats and easy trails, and short walks to the lifts and free shuttles make the logistics easy. Altitude and cold are the things to plan for.

Page suits outdoor families who are happy with a simpler plan. Children love a lake day or a short Antelope Canyon tour, but there are sheer unfenced drops at the viewpoints, ladders on some canyon tours and many hours in the car.

Keystone is much easier without a car. Free shuttles link its bases, and free county buses reach Dillon, Frisco and Breckenridge. The weak point is the drive up from Denver on I-70, which can be slow in winter.

In Page you cannot manage without a car. You can walk the main strip, but the lake, Horseshoe Bend and the parks are all spread across open highway, and the nearest big airports are hours away.

Neither is a shopping destination, and each has one thing to offer. Keystone has an edge for practical buys, with ski and outdoor gear in River Run and the large outlet centre ten minutes away in Silverthorne. Page's draw is Navajo silver and turquoise jewellery, rugs and pottery from trading posts and roadside stalls, often bought directly from the person who made them.

Page is cheaper, though neither is a bargain. Its costs come in specific places: rooms in the busy months, the guided tours you need for Antelope Canyon, and boat or houseboat hire. Camping by the lake brings costs down.

Keystone is expensive across the board in ski season: lift access, rental, ski school, slopeside beds and resort meals all add up, especially over Christmas and spring break. Summer, kitchen condos and the free buses help, but only somewhat.

Keystone has a modest but real programme, while Page has almost nothing. In summer there are concerts at the resort's village stages and at Dillon's amphitheatre by the reservoir, and Breckenridge's classical festival is close by. A professional theatre company in Silverthorne plays all year.

In Page the most you will find is a Navajo dance presentation for visitors or a local band in a bar.

Keystone is better for unwinding, because recovery is part of the ski day there. There are resort spas, and nearly every lodge has an outdoor hot tub where you can soak while snow falls. For natural hot springs you need to drive over the pass to Idaho Springs.

Page offers little more than motel pools and a few hotel treatments. Its calm comes from empty desert evenings, though early starts and long drives keep most stays busy.