Keystone or Palm Desert?

Neither place has a beach. Keystone looks down on Dillon Reservoir, but the water is snowmelt-cold and used for boating rather than swimming. Palm Desert is two hours from the Pacific, and nobody swims in the Salton Sea. The real difference is the pool: in the desert, a heated pool under the palms is at the centre of the stay, while at Keystone you get into the water in a hot tub with snow around you.

Both towns eat mainly in resort restaurants, but Palm Desert has more range. The steakhouses and patio bistros along El Paseo are dependable for a long dinner outdoors. The family-run taquerias of Indio and Coachella, and the date shakes from the groves, add some local flavour.

Keystone's choice is narrower: slopeside grills, après-ski burgers and craft beer, with elk, trout and Colorado lamb on the better menus and a summit dining room reached by gondola. Many visitors cook in their condo or drive to Frisco or Breckenridge for more choice.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Palm Desert gives you a little more. The branch of the Palm Springs Art Museum, with its sculpture garden, is in town. Palm Springs' mid-century modern houses and its main museum are twenty minutes away, which is enough for a morning or two.

Keystone is a 1970s ski resort with almost nothing to visit. Its history lies outside the resort, in the mining ruins and old cabins up the Snake River valley and the Victorian streets of nearby towns.

Both places go quiet early, so neither is worth choosing for nightlife. Palm Desert has the edge, with patio wine bars and cocktail lounges around El Paseo, casino lounges that stay open into the small hours, and Palm Springs' livelier downtown not far away.

Keystone's evening peaks at après-ski on the River Run decks. After dinner, most people are saving their energy for first chair. A proper night out means a bus to Breckenridge's Main Street.

Keystone's mountains work in every season. Its three peaks have bowls above 3,600m, Arapahoe Basin is a few minutes up the road, and Copper Mountain and Vail are within an hour, all on dry, dependable snow from late autumn into spring. When the snow melts, Loveland Pass opens onto alpine tundra, the lifts carry mountain bikes and the reservoir fills with sailing boats and paddleboards. The thin air takes a day or two to get used to.

Palm Desert's scenery is striking, but its outdoor season is shorter. Trails climb straight from town into the Santa Rosa Mountains, the Indian Canyons hide fan-palm oases, and Joshua Tree's granite boulders and night skies are about an hour away. It is excellent from October to May, but in summer the heat leaves only the early mornings for being outdoors.

Keystone has more variety within easy reach. Breckenridge's Victorian centre, the silver towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume with their loop railway, Leadville's opera house and Vail's village are all within about an hour. Denver's museums are further, and the drive depends on I-70 traffic.

From Palm Desert, Palm Springs is the easy outing. Further away are Idyllwild, the Temecula tasting rooms, the old film set at Pioneertown and the painted Salvation Mountain. The drives are longer, and the list runs out sooner.

Keystone is designed for families who ski. It has a large ski school, gentle lower slopes, tubing, a snow fort on the mountain and a huge skating rink on the frozen lake, and the free shuttles and lift-side condos make it easy. Altitude and cold need watching with young children.

Palm Desert has one big draw in the Living Desert zoo and gardens, plus the tramway and the resort pools. Beyond those, the valley is built for golfers and adults, and every outing means a drive.

Keystone is far easier without a car. Free shuttles link its bases, and free county buses run to Dillon, Frisco and Breckenridge. The hard part is getting up from Denver over I-70, which in winter brings chain rules and slow weekend traffic.

In Palm Desert, a car is close to essential. The town spreads out along wide boulevards, the buses are slow and infrequent, and only El Paseo is pleasant to walk. On the plus side, the roads are uncongested and parking is easy.

Palm Desert is the better place to shop by some distance. El Paseo, a palm-lined boulevard of boutiques, jewellers and galleries, is a social outing in its own right. Add a big indoor mall, a designer outlet half an hour west and the vintage furniture shops of Palm Springs.

Keystone's own shops sell ski gear, rentals and gifts in River Run Village. The main reason to shop is the outlet centre in Silverthorne, ten minutes away, which is good for outdoor clothing.

At Keystone, the big costs come from skiing itself: lift access, equipment rental, ski school and slopeside rooms. They peak over Christmas, New Year and spring break. Free buses help, and so do condo kitchens, with supermarkets in Dillon and Silverthorne for self-catering. Summer is gentler, but the resort never becomes a budget trip.\n\nPalm Desert's winter resort rates are high too, but it leaves more room to save. Chain hotels and vacation rentals are cheaper all year round. From June to September, resort rooms drop to a fraction of their winter rates for anyone who can take the heat. Plan for the daily cost of a hire car, and watch your spending on golf and spa treatments.

Palm Desert has more to see on stage. Through the winter the McCallum Theatre brings in touring Broadway shows, ballet and orchestras, the casinos and an arena host big-name concerts, and Coachella and Stagecoach fill nearby Indio for a few spring weekends.

Keystone's live music is mostly summer stages in the village and concerts at the Dillon amphitheatre by the reservoir, with Breckenridge's classical festival close by. In winter, the main option is the professional theatre company in Silverthorne.

This is where Palm Desert pulls furthest ahead. The whole valley keeps the slow pace of a winter retreat, with resort spas and afternoons by the pool. Half an hour north in Desert Hot Springs, small spa hotels fill their pools from natural mineral springs.

At Keystone, wellness means recovering after a day's skiing: a massage at a resort spa, or a hot tub under falling snow. For natural hot springs, you have to drive over the pass to Idaho Springs.