Lake Louise or Whitefish?

Neither is a beach destination, but only Whitefish offers swimming you might actually enjoy. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are fed by glaciers and stay close to freezing even in August, so a dip is a quick dare for a photo, and the nearest lakes warm enough to swim in are down near Banff.

Whitefish has City Beach on the lake at the edge of town, with a sandy strip, a swimming dock and paddleboards, and the clear water and pebbly state park shores of Flathead Lake further south. The swimming season lasts only from mid-July to late August, but in those weeks a lake afternoon slots easily into a hiking trip.

At Lake Louise nearly every meal is eaten in a hotel or mountain lodge, with Alberta beef and game in formal dining rooms and a bakery and deli for hikers' lunches. The most memorable food is tea, soup and baking at the historic teahouses up the trail. Anyone who cares about dinner ends up driving to Banff.

Whitefish has more choice, because it has a main street of its own. Central Avenue runs from casual grills to a few more ambitious dining rooms, with elk and bison burgers, trout, wood-fired pizza, craft breweries and huckleberries in everything in late summer. The range is still narrow over a week, but you can walk out and choose.

Neither is a place for sightseeing, and in both the little heritage there is was shaped by the railway. At Lake Louise it is architecture set in the landscape: the grand Chateau on the lakeshore, which grew from an 1890s log chalet after the Canadian Pacific line brought the first tourists, and the old log station in the village. There are no museums at all, so galleries and history mean the drive to Banff.

Whitefish keeps its history in town rather than on a lakeshore. The timber-framed Great Northern depot holds a small museum on the railway and logging days, and a walk through downtown passes some early twentieth-century frontage and public art. It fills an hour between hikes, but it is not a reason to come.

Whitefish has a proper night out by small-town standards. Saloons and brewery taprooms on Central Avenue mix ski bums, ranchers and visitors around pool tables, après-ski drifts down from the mountain in winter, and summer evenings move onto the patios. There are no clubs, and things wind down well before the small hours.

Lake Louise has a hotel lounge, a lodge pub with a fireplace and winter après drinks, and little else. Most people are asleep early so they can be at the lakes for sunrise or on the first lift.

Both rank among the great mountain bases of North America, and both have short summer seasons in the high country. The difference is how you reach the scenery. At Lake Louise the trails start at the lakeshore, under the Victoria Glacier, with Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks a short drive away, the Icefields Parkway heading north and Yoho just over the Divide.

From Whitefish, Glacier National Park is about forty minutes' drive, with the Going-to-the-Sun Road, the Highline Trail and Grinnell Glacier. Closer to town there is more variety: Big Mountain for skiing above town, the Whitefish Trail for mountain biking, and lakes and rivers for paddling and fly fishing.

Lake Louise has the better town to escape to. Banff, about 45 minutes away, has museums, the Banff Springs hotel and the historic hot springs and Cave and Basin site. Canmore, Field and Golden make smaller stops, and Calgary is within two hours.

Whitefish's outings are gentler. You can visit the Victorian Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, the galleries and summer theatre of Bigfork, the cherry orchards along Flathead Lake and the mission church at St Ignatius. From both bases, most days out still lead into the wilderness.

Both suit outdoor families and leave the rest with little to do. Neither has a zoo or museum to fall back on, and both involve long drives. Whitefish is slightly easier with younger children, thanks to the zip line, alpine slide and scenic chairlift on Big Mountain in summer, the calm water at City Beach and flat walks like the Trail of the Cedars in Glacier.

Lake Louise is better for older children who walk willingly. They can canoe on the lake, look for bears from the gondola and hike up to the Lake Agnes teahouse. Rainy days are harder to fill there.

Whitefish is a little easier to manage. Its walkable downtown is where you eat and stay, the long-distance train stops at the depot, and a free shuttle runs to the ski area in winter, though you still need a car for Glacier and Flathead Lake.

At Lake Louise, the village is not where the sights are. The lake and Chateau are a steep 4km uphill, Moraine Lake and the ski area are further off, and summer parking fills so early that most visitors rely on park shuttles, the bus from Banff or tour coaches.

Whitefish is the only one of the two where browsing is an outing. Central Avenue has outdoor outfitters, western-wear and boot shops, wildlife and landscape galleries and Montana-made goods such as huckleberry jam, and Kalispell's big stores are nearby. At Lake Louise, the small village mall covers gear, maps, groceries and souvenirs, with a few boutiques in the Chateau. For anything more you go to Banff.

Both are expensive, but Lake Louise is in a class of its own. It has very few places to sleep, summer room rates among the highest in Canada, resort-priced meals with almost no competition, and separate charges for the park pass, gondola and lifts. The usual way round this is a hostel, the campground or a room in Banff or Canmore.

Whitefish is costly too, in ski season and high summer especially, and most visitors need a hire car. Still, cheaper bases in Kalispell or Columbia Falls are close at hand, and restaurant meals cost what they would in any American resort town.

Whitefish has a modest but real stage life. A community performing arts centre runs through the year, a professional summer theatre company performs, the valley's symphony plays in Kalispell and holds a summer festival, and free outdoor concerts fill summer evenings. At Lake Louise you might find a pianist or folk singer in a hotel lounge. Anything more is in Banff, where an arts centre runs a summer programme.

Lake Louise is the better place to unwind properly. The large lakeside hotels have full spas with pools, the historic hot springs on Sulphur Mountain are within a 45-minute drive, and in winter or the shoulder seasons the snow and forest are very quiet. Avoid the main viewpoints at midday in July and August, when coaches crowd the shores.

Whitefish offers lodge spas, yoga studios in town and slow lakeside mornings, but its nearest hot springs pools are a couple of hours away. Its calm comes from the easy pace of a small town rather than anywhere to soak.