Rapid City or Telluride?

Neither is a swimming destination, but Rapid City has the better of a thin choice. Sheridan Lake, Pactola Reservoir and Sylvan Lake lie in the hills within half an hour. Their shores are small and the water is around 20°C to 22°C in high summer, so a swim fits easily into a day of driving.

Telluride, high in its box canyon, has nothing comparable. The nearest real bathing is at the reservoir near Ridgway, an hour away, where the water stays cold, so rafting, paddling and fishing take the place of a swim.

Telluride eats rather better, because ski-resort money supports a handful of serious kitchens on Colorado Avenue and in Mountain Village. They cook Colorado lamb, elk and trout with care, and the wine lists run deep. The limit is size: over a week you keep returning to the same small circle of tables.

Rapid City has more regional character but less polish: bison burgers, chislic and Indian tacos on Lakota fry bread, with brewpubs around Main Street downtown. Away from that core it is mostly highway chains and fudge and pie in the tourist towns.

Rapid City gives a curious visitor more to do indoors. The Journey Museum runs from geology through Lakota history to the gold rush, the School of Mines holds Badlands fossils, the air museum shows Cold War aircraft, and bronze presidents stand on the downtown street corners.

In Telluride the culture is the town itself, an intact mining-boom grid that is a National Historic Landmark. Add the Historical Museum in the old miners' hospital and the mill ruins clinging to the canyon walls, and it makes a pleasant hour or two rather than a reason to come.

Evenings are quiet in both, and neither has clubs. What differs is the rhythm of the year.

Rapid City's going out means brewpubs, sports bars and country-music bars around Main Street Square, mostly winding down early. The exception is the Sturgis rally in early August, when the whole region runs loud and late. Telluride's evenings follow the ski season and the festivals. Après-ski and the old wooden saloons on Colorado Avenue stay lively in peak weeks, and the town goes to bed early in spring and late autumn.

Both are outdoor destinations first, but Telluride puts the mountains right at the door. Peaks above 4,000m, Bridal Veil Falls and trails to Blue Lake start minutes from the centre. There is also a via ferrata, jeep roads over Imogene Pass and, in winter, a serious ski area with famous views.

Rapid City's Black Hills are gentler and more varied: granite spires, bison herds in Custer State Park, Wind Cave and Jewel Cave underground, the Badlands an hour east, and the 175km Mickelson Trail for cyclists. In winter it has only a small ski area near Lead.

Rapid City wins clearly on day trips. Mount Rushmore is half an hour away, and Crazy Horse, gold-rush Deadwood, the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs, the Minuteman Missile silo and Wall can each be reached and returned from by evening. That is enough for a week of separate outings.

Telluride is boxed in by its mountains. Ouray and Silverton are fine old mining towns over high passes, but Mesa Verde, the one major heritage site, is two and a half hours each way, and winter can slow or close the roads.

Rapid City has long been built around the family road trip. It has the reptile park, the drive-through park with bears and wolves, Storybook Island, gold panning and bison stopping the traffic, plus motels with pools to return to. The cost is long hours in the car.

Telluride suits active families who ski or walk. The free gondola is a ride in itself, the ski school is good and the waterfall paths are easy. There are no attractions for wet days, though, the altitude can disturb young children's sleep, and the bills mount quickly.

Telluride is the easier place to be without a car. You can cross the town grid on foot in a quarter of an hour, and the free gondola and town buses reach Mountain Village and the slopes. Getting there is harder, with weather-prone flights and the larger airports one to two hours away.

In Rapid City only the compact downtown is walkable, and the city buses do not reach Rushmore or the parks, so every outing needs a car. In return, traffic is light and roads such as Iron Mountain Road are a pleasure to drive.

Neither is worth a trip for shopping, but the browsing differs. Rapid City's specialities are regional: Black Hills gold jewellery with its grape-leaf designs, and Lakota quillwork, beadwork and star quilts sold alongside Western boots and hats. Telluride's few blocks of Colorado Avenue offer art galleries, boutiques, bookshops and plenty of ski and outdoor gear, all at resort prices.

Rapid City is far kinder to the budget. Motels and casual meals are reasonable and many sights, from the bronze presidents to Dinosaur Park, cost nothing. Car hire, fuel and park fees are unavoidable, and rally week in August is very expensive.

Telluride is among the most expensive places to stay in North America. Rooms are scarce, and lift tickets, guided activities and restaurant meals are all at the top of the market. Staying in Ridgway saves money but means a drive every day.

Telluride has the edge thanks to its summer calendar. The Bluegrass Festival plays in Town Park beneath the canyon walls, alongside jazz, blues and chamber music festivals and the film festival over Labor Day, and the Sheridan Opera House hosts shows through the year. Outside the festivals there is little on.

Rapid City has the Black Hills Symphony, touring shows and rodeos at the civic centre, and a summer playhouse among the pines of Custer State Park. Its most distinctive performances are the powwows, above all the large one held each autumn.

Telluride is the better place to unwind. The Mountain Village hotels have full spas, and the large hot springs pool in Ouray and the springs near Ridgway are about an hour away, both with mountain views. The altitude can make the first nights restless.

Rapid City's soak is the historic spring-fed indoor pool at Hot Springs, an hour south, which has drawn bathers since the 1890s. Otherwise, relaxing there means a quiet cabin or lodge in the hills.