Park City or Scottsdale?

Neither city has a coast, and in both most of the swimming happens in the hotel pool. What differs is the outing. Park City has cool water at Jordanelle Reservoir for a short summer season, while Scottsdale has desert lakes with sandy coves and boat hire, plus tubing on the Salt River at the height of the heat.

Both cities eat comfortably rather than memorably, and both send keen eaters elsewhere, to Salt Lake City and Phoenix. Park City's table is modern mountain cooking on Main Street, such as elk, bison and trout, with après-ski drinks as the social ritual.

Scottsdale has a little more range, with steakhouses, sushi and long brunches in Old Town. Its Sonoran-style Mexican food is genuinely of the region, which is something Park City lacks. Farmers' markets and local wineries round it out.

Scottsdale has clearly more to see. Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's desert studio and part of a UNESCO listing, is a sight of real stature. Museums of western and contemporary art nearby, plus the Musical Instrument Museum and the Heard in Phoenix, can fill several days.

Park City's heritage is its silver-mining past: the wooden storefronts climbing Main Street, old headframes on the slopes, the museum in the old city hall and the Olympic Park. It is charming, but an afternoon covers it.

Scottsdale is the place for a proper night out. Old Town's entertainment district packs patio bars, rooftop lounges and dance clubs into a few blocks. There are dress codes and a party crowd until the bars close, above all at weekends and in spring.

Park City's evenings start on the slopeside decks as the lifts close, then move to a short stretch of saloons and cocktail bars on Main Street. It can get rowdy on winter weekends but finishes early, and outside ski season the town goes to bed soon after dinner.

Park City is ahead, especially for anyone who skis. Two large ski areas rise straight from town, and the steep terrain of Alta and Snowbird is within an hour. In summer there is singletrack from the streets, lift-served biking and fly fishing on the Provo and Weber rivers.

Scottsdale's desert is a real asset too, with saguaro trails in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, steep climbs up Camelback Mountain and the Superstition Mountains further out. But its season is the cooler half of the year, and in summer hiking shrinks to dawn starts.

Scottsdale has the wider reach. Sedona's red rock, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle and the old mining town of Jerome make a full day to the north. Tucson and the San Xavier mission lie south, and the Grand Canyon is possible with a night away.

From Park City the obvious outing is Salt Lake City, with Temple Square and the State Capitol. Closer in are the Heber Valley steam railway, the Swiss-style town of Midway and railroad-era Ogden, and after those the options are mostly scenery.

Park City is a little easier with children. Ski schools with gentle learning areas, free buses to the slopes and the Olympic Park's ziplines, alpine coaster and freestyle splash pool make a ready-made programme, and summer adds alpine slides at the resort bases. The altitude and winter costs are the drawbacks.

In Scottsdale a family stay centres on resort water slides and lazy rivers. There is also a miniature railway park, an aquarium and a butterfly house, with the Phoenix Zoo nearby. Everything involves a drive, though, and the summer heat keeps children indoors after midday.

Park City wins this one clearly. Free buses link Old Town, both ski bases and the outlying lodging, so you can leave the car parked for the whole stay. Getting in from the airport takes about forty minutes, and trips into the valleys are easier with a car.

Scottsdale is spread along wide arterial roads, and the light rail does not reach it. Old Town is walkable and has a free trolley, but for trailheads, the airport and Phoenix you need a hire car or ride-hailing. At least the driving is simple.

Scottsdale is the better place to shop. A large luxury mall holds the major fashion houses and department stores. Old Town's gallery district and dealers in Navajo and Hopi silver, turquoise and Pueblo pottery sell serious southwestern pieces.

Park City's Main Street is pleasant for browsing between meals, with galleries, cowboy boots and ski fashion, and there is an outlet centre at Kimball Junction. Neither city has much in the way of markets.

Neither is cheap, but Park City costs more. Lift tickets, ski school and slopeside rooms put a winter stay at the top of the resort market, and the Christmas and New Year weeks cost even more. Summer and autumn bring prices down, and staying in Salt Lake City or the Heber Valley saves more still.

Scottsdale's high season is expensive too. Even so, motels along the main corridors, Mexican food across the metro area and free hiking keep a careful budget workable. Resort rates also fall sharply in summer for anyone who can take the heat.

Scottsdale offers more evenings out. Its performing arts centre in Old Town programmes jazz, chamber music and dance, and the Musical Instrument Museum hosts world music. Phoenix's symphony, opera and ballet are about half an hour away.

Park City's stage is smaller: comedy and plays at the 1920s Egyptian Theatre and touring shows at the Eccles Center. Summer is its high point, with outdoor Utah Symphony concerts at Deer Valley, but the rest of the year is thin.

Scottsdale is the stronger choice for pure rest. It has a large concentration of resort spas, many open to day guests, along with yoga, retreats and a pace of long lunches and early nights. Relaxing is the point of the trip there, not a side benefit.

In Park City the spa comes at the end of a ski day, in the lodge spas at Deer Valley and the Canyons base and in outdoor hot tubs under the snow. Midway's Homestead Crater adds warm geothermal water. Neither city has a public bathing tradition.