Lake Placid or Stowe?

Neither place is about beaches, but Lake Placid makes swimming much easier. Mirror Lake has a lifeguarded beach right in the village, and the Saranac lakes and the rocky holes on the West Branch of the Ausable add plenty of variety nearby.

In Stowe a swim means a stream-side hole or a drive of up to half an hour to the unguarded state-park shores at Waterbury Reservoir or Lake Elmore. The lakes in both places warm to a similar summer temperature, so the difference is in convenience and choice.

Lake Placid eats like a standard mountain resort: big diner breakfasts, pizza, burgers and brewpubs on Main Street, with the lodge dining rooms on the lake as the polished option. Maple syrup and craft beer are about as local as it gets.

Stowe eats noticeably better because Vermont's produce is on the table. It has breweries that beer lovers travel for, farm cheddar, cider doughnuts from the valley orchards and farm-to-table dining rooms along Mountain Road. Neither has much range or any real market culture, and both thin out in the quiet seasons.

Lake Placid has the stronger story to tell. It hosted the Winter Olympics twice, and you can stand in the rink of the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' game, ride up the ski jump tower and visit John Brown's grave at his farm outside the village. That fills a full day.

Stowe's sights are more picture than substance: a white steeple, covered bridges, a ski and snowboard museum and the von Trapp estate on the hillside. It all fits comfortably into one afternoon.

Both are early-to-bed towns with no clubs, so the difference lies in where the evening happens. In Lake Placid it is a walk between the Main Street pubs and the hotel bars by the lake, and things pick up mainly after ski days or during big events.

Stowe's evenings start in the base-lodge bars when the lifts close and move on to brewery taprooms and taverns along Mountain Road, with the odd band or DJ on winter weekends. For a proper late night out, people drive to Burlington, about 45 minutes away.

Lake Placid opens onto a whole wilderness. Trailheads near the village lead into the High Peaks, including Mount Marcy at 1,629m. The Saranac and St. Regis lakes offer days of canoeing, with fly fishing on the Ausable and climbing at Chapel Pond. Whiteface, about 15km away, has the biggest ski vertical in the eastern United States.

Stowe is built around a single mountain. Mount Mansfield rises straight above the valley, so the ski area, the Long Trail and the boulder-filled pass of Smugglers' Notch are all close together. Its mountain-bike trails and riverside path also make it the better choice on two wheels. Paddlers and peak-baggers will lean towards Lake Placid, and skiers and riders who want everything in one valley towards Stowe.

The day trips are equally limited but go in different directions. From Lake Placid they lead to Adirondack villages such as Saranac Lake and Keene, to the Wild Center at Tupper Lake, and to Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Montreal is also within reach for a long day.

Stowe has more towns close by. Burlington and the Shelburne Museum's folk art and lake steamboat are under an hour away, and Montpelier's gold-domed statehouse and Waterbury's cider mills are nearer still. Burlington is about two hours from Lake Placid by road and ferry, so it is far easier to visit from Stowe.

Both suit active families about equally well. Lake Placid offers more ready-made fun: public skating on the Olympic rinks, bobsled rides at Mount Van Hoevenberg, the toboggan chute onto the frozen lake and Santa's Workshop about 20 minutes away.

Stowe is stronger for children learning to ski, with gentle terrain on two mountains and the kid-focused resort over Smugglers' Notch. In winter, though, that resort is about an hour's drive round the mountain. In summer, Stowe's flat riverside path for bikes and pushchairs and its sugarhouses make for easy days out.

Lake Placid is the easier place to be without a car, at least in the village. Main Street, Mirror Lake, the Olympic Center and most hotels are a short walk apart, although the trailheads and Whiteface still need a car.

Stowe is strung out along an 11km valley road between the village and the ski area. The ski-season shuttle and the summer riverside path help, but most stays involve driving. Both places see serious winter road conditions.

Shopping is small and practical in both, and neither is worth the trip for it. Lake Placid's single stretch of Main Street is better for gear and souvenirs: fly-fishing and ski shops, Olympic memorabilia and Adirondack balsam pillows.

Stowe leans towards crafts and food to take home. It has pottery, woodwork and wool, a few clothing boutiques, and cheddar and cider from the farm stands and summer market.

Neither is cheap, but Lake Placid is easier to do on a budget. Self-catering cabins and older motels on the edge of the village, together with quiet weeks in spring and late autumn, bring costs down a lot.

Stowe is one of the best-known ski resorts in the eastern United States and is priced to match, with a luxury resort at the foot of Spruce Peak and steep rates over Christmas, the school vacations and foliage season. Valley motels and brewery meals help, and in both places a hire car adds to the bill.

Neither town has much live performance outside the main seasons, but the two programmes are different in kind. Lake Placid's is the classical one. Its long-established chamber orchestra spends the summer in the village, and some of its concerts are free, played outdoors by Mirror Lake. Apart from that, the arts centre puts on an occasional play or film.

Stowe's calendar is broader and lighter. Touring musicians, comedy and family shows come to the arts centre at the base of Spruce Peak, a community theatre company stages summer productions, and the summer concerts on the hillside lawns follow the von Trapp family's musical tradition. For an orchestra, visitors to Stowe have to drive to Burlington.

Stowe takes relaxation more seriously. Several of its resorts have full spas with steam rooms and heated outdoor pools facing the mountain, and couples from northeastern cities come for spa weekends, especially in the quiet seasons.

Lake Placid has just a few lodge spas. Its calm comes instead from the setting: porches over still water, winter fireplaces and the easy loop around Mirror Lake. Neither has thermal springs.