Keystone or Rapid City?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but in Rapid City you can at least get in the water. Sheridan Lake, Pactola Reservoir and Sylvan Lake lie in the pine hills within half an hour and are pleasant for a dip in July and August.

Keystone's Dillon Reservoir looks lovely below the resort, but it is fed by snowmelt and mostly closed to swimmers. Here the water you will actually get into is a hotel pool or a hot tub.

Neither place is worth the journey for food, and they fall short in different ways. Keystone eats like a resort, with slopeside grills, après-ski burgers and the odd ambitious dining room, one of them at the summit by gondola. Many guests cook in their condo or drive to Frisco or Breckenridge for more choice.

Rapid City has more local character: chislic, bison burgers and Indian tacos on Lakota fry bread, plus a cluster of brewpubs and coffee houses downtown. Away from Main Street, chains take over quickly.

Rapid City has more to see, though it is not a cultural capital. Downtown has its walk past the bronze presidents, the Journey Museum covers Lakota and gold-rush history, and the School of Mines has a museum of Badlands fossils. That is enough to fill a rainy day.

Keystone was built for skiing in the 1970s and has almost nothing to sightsee. Its history lies in the abandoned mining cabins above Montezuma and in the Victorian towns down the valley.

Both are early-to-bed places, but Rapid City gives you somewhere to go after dinner. The blocks around Main Street Square have brewpubs, sports bars and country-music bars. In early August the Sturgis rally keeps the whole region loud until late.

Keystone's evenings peak at après-ski on the decks at River Run and fade soon after dinner. For a proper night out you take the bus to Breckenridge's Main Street.

Both are first-rate outdoor bases, and Keystone is the stronger of the two. It has its own three peaks with bowls above 3,600m, Arapahoe Basin a few minutes away, and Vail and Copper Mountain within the hour. In summer you can climb Grays and Torreys Peaks or walk the alpine tundra at Loveland Pass.

Rapid City's Black Hills are gentler and more varied. You get bison and pronghorn in Custer State Park, guided tours through Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, the 175km Mickelson Trail and the eroded ridges of the Badlands, but the skiing is minor.

Rapid City has the more famous outings on its doorstep. Mount Rushmore is half an hour away, with the Crazy Horse Memorial just beyond, and then there are Deadwood's brick streets, the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs and the Minuteman missile silo. One of the small tourist towns near Rushmore is also called Keystone, a South Dakota namesake that has nothing to do with the Colorado resort.

From Keystone the day trips lean towards mining history: Breckenridge's Victorian centre, the Georgetown loop railway, Leadville's opera house, and Denver's museums about an hour and a half away when I-70 traffic is light.

Both work well for children, but they suit different kinds of family trip. Keystone is a self-contained ski vacation with a big ski school, gentle lower slopes, a giant snow fort and the large skating rink on the lake at Lakeside, all within walking or shuttle distance of a condo. The altitude and the cold take some getting used to for small children.

Rapid City is a classic road trip. Children get bison stopping traffic, cave tours, gold panning, a dig at the Mammoth Site and the free nursery-rhyme scenes of Storybook Island, but the price is many hours in the car.

Once you have arrived, Keystone is far easier without a car. Free shuttles link River Run, Mountain House and Lakeside, and free county buses run to Breckenridge, Frisco and Dillon. The hard part is getting there over I-70, with chain rules and weekend jams in winter.

In Rapid City a car is essential. The bus does not reach Rushmore or the parks, so without one you depend on seasonal tour buses. Driving there is easy and the scenic roads are part of the pleasure, though some have tight tunnels and hairpins.

Shopping is a side activity in both places, but what you would buy differs. At Keystone it is ski and outdoor gear in River Run, plus the large outlet centre in Silverthorne for brand-name clothing.

Rapid City has more regional character: tri-colour Black Hills gold jewellery, Lakota quillwork, beadwork and star quilts in downtown galleries, and Western boots and hats.

Rapid City is much the cheaper trip. Motels and diners are reasonably priced and several sights are free, though you have to budget for a car, fuel and park entry. Rally week in August and the summer peak push room rates up sharply.

Keystone is expensive in every season and most of all at Christmas and spring break, once you add lift access, rentals, ski school and resort meals. Free buses and condo kitchens help, and summer is gentler.

Keystone's stage is mostly a summer one, while Rapid City keeps a modest programme going all year. Around Keystone the warm months bring festival concerts on the village stages, open-air shows at the Dillon amphitheatre by the reservoir and Breckenridge's long-running classical festival. In winter there are acoustic sets at après-ski, and the professional theatre company in Silverthorne is the one year-round stage worth the short trip.

In Rapid City the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra has a regular season, and the civic centre brings in touring Broadway shows and rodeos. The large autumn powwow is the most distinctive performance either place can offer. In summer you can also see plays in the pines at the playhouse in Custer State Park.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and relaxing means something different in each. At Keystone it is recovery after skiing: a resort spa massage, then an outdoor hot tub at your lodge with snow falling. Natural hot springs mean a drive over the pass.

From Rapid City the restful option is an hour's drive south to Hot Springs, where people have bathed in the historic spring-fed pool since the 1890s, or a slow stay in a cabin in the hills.