Lake George or Pigeon Forge?

Here the gap is as wide as it gets. Lake George is a swimming resort in its own right, with a broad lifeguarded beach at the south end of the village, smaller strands at Shepard Park and Bolton Landing, and boat days out to the islands in the Narrows. The season is short, from late June into early September, and fresh water rather than surf.

Pigeon Forge has nothing comparable. Swimming means Douglas Lake, a reservoir some way off, wading pools in the national park streams, or the water park and hotel pools, so anyone who wants lake days should look north.

Neither is a place to travel for food, and both lean on pancake houses and roadside comfort eating. The difference is in the extras: Lake George has a few careful dining rooms up the western shore with Adirondack game and lake fish, and Saratoga Springs nearby for a proper dinner, while Pigeon Forge offers Southern buffets, barbecue and moonshine tastings, with Knoxville or Asheville for anything more serious.

Both are entertainment resorts with thin heritage of their own. Lake George's story is military, told at the reconstructed Fort William Henry of The Last of the Mohicans, while Pigeon Forge has the working Old Mill of 1830, the Titanic replica and Dollywood's craft demonstrations. In each case the better history is a drive away, at Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga or among the log cabins and churches of the Smokies.

Lake George has the livelier summer evenings, though only just in absolute terms. On warm weekends the decks along Canada Street and the waterfront fill with boaters and young day-trippers and stay loud until closing, which is more than its rival offers.

Pigeon Forge winds down around ten, and its nights belong to families at dinner shows and go-kart tracks. Adults wanting a drink find sports bars, brewpubs and moonshine rooms, or drive to Gatlinburg. Neither has clubs, and Lake George falls silent outside summer.

Both are outdoor destinations of real quality, but the landscapes differ. Lake George is about the water: kayaking, sailing and fishing on a 50km lake scattered with island campsites, with Prospect Mountain, Black Mountain and the Tongue range for views, and in winter Gore Mountain's skiing about an hour away.

Pigeon Forge is the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, where ridges top 2,000m, the Appalachian Trail follows the crest and black bears are easy to see in Cades Cove. Pick the Smokies for long hikes and wildlife, the Adirondack lake for paddling and snow.

Lake George has the stronger set of outings. Saratoga Springs, under an hour south, offers spa town streets, a historic racecourse and a battlefield, Fort Ticonderoga sits over Lake Champlain to the north, and Lake Placid and the Vermont towns make longer drives.

From Pigeon Forge the best day is Asheville and the Biltmore Estate, nearly two hours away. Knoxville is closer and Cherokee lies over Newfound Gap, but beyond those the list thins to small towns such as Dandridge.

Both towns exist largely for families, and Pigeon Forge goes a little further. Dollywood, with roller coasters, music shows and seasonal festivals, plus its water park, mountain coasters and zip lines, gives a bigger and longer-running programme, and the cabins and water-park hotels are designed for groups.

Lake George is simpler and gentler: a calm, lifeguarded beach, paddlewheel steamboats from the village pier, musket firing at the fort and mini golf on Canada Street, with The Great Escape a short drive south. Its attractions largely close outside summer, whereas Dollywood also runs at Halloween and Christmas.

You will want a car in either place, and summer traffic is a nuisance in both. The difference is the shape of the town: Lake George has a compact village where the pier, park, beach and fort are minutes apart on foot, while Pigeon Forge is a long multi-lane strip where walking stops at the edge of each attraction complex and the trolley is slow. A rented boat is the pleasant way to get about at Lake George.

Pigeon Forge has slightly more to browse. Big outlet centres line the Parkway towards Sevierville, and the Old Mill area and the Gatlinburg craft studios sell pottery, quilts, baskets and woodwork, a genuine mountain craft tradition.

Lake George offers outlets on Route 9 and a handful of shops with rustic furniture, maple syrup and balsam pillows, but Canada Street is mostly T-shirts and fudge. Neither suits anyone travelling to shop for fashion.

Pigeon Forge is the easier on the wallet. Its thousands of motel rooms and cabins keep lodging reasonable outside the peak weeks, a large cabin split between families works out cheaply, and buffets and breakfast houses cost little; the outlay comes from Dollywood and the dinner shows.

Lake George in July and August costs what a lakefront resort costs, with dear weekend rooms and boat rentals. Staying in Glens Falls or Queensbury, or coming on weekdays and in the shoulder months, brings it down.

Pigeon Forge puts on far more. Dozens of Parkway theatres stage country and gospel revues, comedy, magic and dinner spectacles every night, and Dollywood adds bluegrass and Appalachian music through the day, all broad and family-minded rather than serious.

Lake George's offer is smaller and seasonal but more varied in tone: free concerts in Shepard Park, a September jazz weekend, an August chamber music festival and summer theatre. For orchestras and ballet, the Saratoga amphitheatre is under an hour away.

Lake George is the more restful choice. The resort hotels on points and islands near Bolton Landing have full spas, early mornings on the water are calm, and Saratoga Springs adds historic mineral baths within the hour, though the village itself is hectic in high summer.

Pigeon Forge has no bathing tradition and only a few spas. Its quiet comes from hillside cabins with porches and private hot tubs, so a slow stay depends on booking well above the neon of the Parkway.