Lake George or Niagara Falls?

At Lake George you swim where you stay. There is a broad lifeguarded sandy beach at the south end of the village, a smaller one in Shepard Park, small beaches in Bolton Landing, and you can swim from boats among the islands of the Narrows. The water is clear and fresh, with mountains on the far shore.

At Niagara Falls you cannot swim in the river, so a swim means driving about half an hour to the soft, shallow sand of Crystal Beach on Lake Erie, or to the cooler Lake Ontario shore at Port Dalhousie. It makes a pleasant summer afternoon but not the reason for a trip.

Lake George's village food is pizza, pancake houses and waterfront decks. Up the western shore there are a few more careful dining rooms serving Adirondack game and lake fish. People who care about food there often drive to Saratoga Springs for dinner, and many village kitchens close out of season.

Neither town eats well in its centre, but Niagara Falls has the better region around it. The wine country towards Niagara-on-the-Lake has winery restaurants cooking Ontario produce, fruit stands in summer, and icewine and Riesling to taste, so you can plan whole days around eating and drinking.

Neither is a museum town, and both rely on war history. Lake George has Fort William Henry, the reconstructed fort of the 1757 siege behind The Last of the Mohicans, with musket demonstrations, plus a small historical museum in the old courthouse.

Niagara Falls adds the story of hydroelectric power to its War of 1812 sites at Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane, while Clifton Hill is neon entertainment rather than heritage. For both, the richer history is a drive away: Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga for one, old Niagara-on-the-Lake for the other.

Nightlife is modest in both and mostly happens in summer. In Lake George it means beer on the bar decks of Canada Street and the waterfront, with a young crowd of boaters and day-trippers, no clubs, and the shore hamlets asleep early.

Niagara Falls has more variety. The falls are lit up in colour at night and there are fireworks in summer, then two casinos with lounges and the sports bars and few dance floors of Clifton Hill. The crowd is more couples and families than serious night owls.

Lake George has more to do outdoors over a longer stay. Its lake runs some 50km for kayaking, sailing and fishing among island campsites. You can hike up Prospect, Black and Tongue Mountains, reach the High Peaks, see the autumn colour and ski at Gore Mountain in winter.

Niagara Falls has the single bigger spectacle in the Horseshoe Falls. Below them are the gorge, the Whirlpool, the Niagara Glen trails and a riverside path that is good by bike. Away from the river, though, the land turns into gentle orchards and vineyards.

Both have good days out, but of different kinds. From Lake George they lean towards history: the spa town and racecourse of Saratoga Springs, Fort Ticonderoga above Lake Champlain, Olympic Lake Placid and the towns of Vermont, all reached by car.

From Niagara Falls the best trip is twenty minutes away, to Niagara-on-the-Lake and its wineries, and Toronto is a big city you can reach by train for a day. Buffalo's early skyscrapers and Frank Lloyd Wright houses are close too, but crossing the border needs a passport.

Lake George is the more complete family resort. The Great Escape theme park and water park are close by, and the state beach slopes gently into calm water. Steamboat cruises, mini golf and the fort's musket firing fill the days, and there are cottages and motel pools for the evenings.

At Niagara Falls children love the boats into the spray and the tunnels behind the water, and Clifton Hill has arcades and an observation wheel. Without a theme park, though, a few days covers it all. Its advantage comes in winter, when the hotel water parks stay open while Lake George's attractions are shut.

Without a car, Lake George shrinks to the village and the few places its seasonal trolleys reach, such as Glens Falls and the outlets. The western-shore hamlets, the mountain trailheads and the day trips to Saratoga or Ticonderoga are all out of reach without one, so most visitors need to drive, and in July and August that means sitting in village traffic and hunting for parking. The lake is the exception, because a hired boat takes you out to the islands and the Narrows without using a road at all.

At Niagara Falls you can see much more of what you came for without driving. Visitor buses run down the river to the gorge, the Whirlpool and Queenston Heights, and in good weather the riverside trail lets you reach the wine country by bike. You only really need a car or a tour for a full round of the wineries, or in winter, when the buses run less often.

Both are souvenir towns with outlet centres on the outskirts. Lake George's Canada Street sells mostly T-shirts and fudge, with outlets down Route 9, though its Adirondack crafts, rustic furniture and balsam pillows make good gifts.

Niagara Falls has a little more to offer. Its outlets sell both Canadian and American brands, Niagara-on-the-Lake has a few independent boutiques, and icewine from the nearby wineries is a local product worth taking home.

Lake George in July and August costs what an American resort costs, and lakefront rooms, boat rentals and theme park tickets add up for a family. Cottages with kitchens, rooms in Glens Falls or Queensbury, free beaches and trails, and weekday or off-season stays all help.

Niagara Falls is somewhat easier on the budget. Watching the falls from the promenade is free, motels on the outer strips are cheap, and almost everything costs far less in winter.

Lake George's live performance happens only in summer: free concerts in Shepard Park, an August chamber music festival, summer theatre and a jazz weekend in September. For orchestras, ballet and big touring acts, visitors drive to the amphitheatre in Saratoga Springs.

Niagara Falls has the stronger draw in the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, where a repertory company performs classic and modern plays from spring into late autumn. The town itself adds casino shows, comedians and magic acts.

Lake George is the more restful choice if you stay on the quieter shore around Bolton Landing. The grand resort hotels there have full spas, and mornings on the water are slow. The historic mineral baths of Saratoga Springs are under an hour away, and early autumn is the calmest time to come.

Niagara Falls has spas in the hotels above the falls and in the wine-country inns, where a massage after a tasting is a popular pairing. The town is loud in summer, though, and you will find calm mainly in winter or in Niagara-on-the-Lake.