Kings Canyon or Redwood National Park?

Neither is a beach destination. Kings Canyon only has river and lake water: the pool at Muir Rock in Cedar Grove once the current slows in late summer, and the small sandy shore at Hume Lake. In early summer the Kings River runs dangerously fast.

Redwood at least has a coastline. Gold Bluffs Beach, Enderts Beach and the Trinidad coves are good for walking, although the Pacific is too cold and rough to swim in. Its best swimming is also in a river: the clear, calm pools of the Smith River in high summer, which are gentler than anything on the Kings.

In Kings Canyon you eat at a lodge grill or a snack bar, or cook on your own camp stove. The nearest real choice of restaurants is in Fresno, more than an hour away down a winding road.

Near the groves, Redwood is not much better, with diners and smoked-fish shacks. An hour south, though, Arcata and Eureka serve Humboldt Bay oysters, Dungeness crab and craft beer, and Trinidad has fish by its harbour. That means you can eat out well on a few evenings, which Kings Canyon never allows.

You can see Kings Canyon's human history in a morning. There is the General Grant Tree, the Nation's Christmas Tree, a couple of old cabins and the logged stumps at Big Stump.

Redwood has more to see, though it is still not a cultural trip. The rebuilt Yurok village at Sue-meg State Park, Battery Point Lighthouse reached on foot at low tide, and Eureka's Victorian Old Town with the Carson Mansion make a worthwhile half day away from the trails.

After dark, both parks belong to campfires and stars, and Kings Canyon offers nothing more than a drink with dinner at a lodge. Redwood's advantage is a drive south, to the student bars and brewpubs around Arcata's plaza or to Eureka's Old Town. There you will find company and a pint, but not a late night.

Both are outstanding, and the difference is the kind of landscape. Kings Canyon is high mountain country. The giant sequoias of Grant Grove are among the largest living things on earth, Cedar Grove sits in a glacier-carved canyon between granite walls, and beyond the road's end the High Sierra opens up, with alpine lakes, black bears and multi-day routes.

Redwood is lower, wetter and on the coast. Its coast redwoods rise past 100m in fog-lit groves, and the forest runs down to the fern walls of Fern Canyon and a coastal trail above sea stacks, with Roosevelt elk in the meadows and grey whales offshore. Choose Kings Canyon for altitude and long treks, and Redwood for forest and sea together.

From Kings Canyon there is almost nowhere to go. Fresno's Forestiere Underground Gardens and an afternoon in Three Rivers are the whole list, and Yosemite is too far for a day out.

Redwood has more variety, though nothing grand. Trinidad's harbour, Arcata's university plaza, Eureka's waterfront and the painted Victorian village of Ferndale across the Eel River valley all make easy outings, and the harbour towns of southern Oregon lie just to the north.

Kings Canyon works for families who camp, with the paved loop round the General Grant Tree and the boardwalk at Zumwalt Meadow. The long, twisting drive and the fast, cold Kings River are real drawbacks with young children.

Redwood gives children more to do. They can wade and scramble over logs in Fern Canyon and spot elk near Orick, and there are the carved giants and gondola near Klamath and the canopy walkway at Eureka's zoo. Its weak points are the cold, unsafe surf and rainy days with little to do indoors.

You need a car in both, but the driving is very different. Kings Canyon is about an hour and a half from Fresno airport, Cedar Grove is another hour of switchbacks below Grant Grove, and the canyon road closes in winter.

Redwood's parks run along about 70km of US-101 with light traffic. The main groves are short drives apart, and there are towns to stay in at each end. Only the gravel roads to Stout Grove and Fern Canyon slow you down.

There is next to nothing to buy in Kings Canyon beyond the visitor-centre bookshop, sequoia souvenirs and firewood. Redwood's shopping is modest too, but you can bring something home: redwood burl carvings from the roadside stalls, finds from Eureka's galleries and antique shops, and Native basketry and jewellery in Arcata.

Both are cheap for campers and costly if you want a roof. In Kings Canyon the few lodges have no competition, and the cheaper motels are in Fresno or Visalia, a long drive from the trails.

Redwood is somewhat easier on the wallet. Entry to the national park is free, the state park campgrounds are inexpensive, and Crescent City's motels are close to the groves. A hire car and fuel are still unavoidable costs.

The only evening entertainment in Kings Canyon is a ranger talk at a campground amphitheatre in summer. Redwood has the same campfire talks, plus a small scene an hour south: during term Arcata's university brings touring acts and student productions, and Eureka has a small symphony and community theatre. It is occasional and local, but it is something.

Neither has spas, baths or hot springs, so rest in both means quiet. Kings Canyon offers a complete disconnection, with almost no phone signal and evenings beside the river under the canyon walls at Cedar Grove.

Redwood suits unwinding a little better. It has soft trails through hushed old-growth groves and a slow pace, a few lodges offer massage, and Arcata has private hot tubs and saunas for rent.