Santa Fe or Steamboat Springs?

Neither town is a place for swimming, and in both a pool or a hot spring is the realistic way into the water. What differs is the kind of outing. From Santa Fe, a swim means driving about an hour to Abiquiu Lake or floating a stretch of the Rio Grande. In Steamboat, the Yampa runs right through town and tubing it is a summer habit, though its reservoirs stay cold even in August.

Santa Fe has a cuisine of its own, and that alone sets it apart. Visitors can explore red or green chile, blue corn, posole and sopaipillas in old adobe dining rooms around the Plaza, a fine-dining tier that is unusual for a small city, and the long-running farmers' market in the Railyard.

Steamboat eats like a ski town, with steakhouses, Colorado lamb and beef, pizza and brewpubs along Lincoln Avenue and at the mountain base. It is hearty and satisfying after a day outside, but there is no regional cooking or market to seek out.

Founded as a Spanish colonial capital in 1610, Santa Fe still looks the part. The Palace of the Governors, the cathedral and the Loretto Chapel stand in a low adobe centre. Add Museum Hill's folk art and Native American collections, the O'Keeffe Museum and the galleries of Canyon Road, and there are two or three days of real sightseeing.

Steamboat's story is ranching and skiing, told in the Tread of Pioneers Museum, the old western storefronts of Lincoln Avenue and the historic ski jumps on Howelsen Hill. A single morning covers it.

Both towns are quiet after dark, and neither has clubs. The evenings differ in mood. In Santa Fe, a night out is a long dinner and then a mezcal on a rooftop as the sun sets over the Jemez Mountains. In Steamboat it is après-ski at the gondola base, then saloons and brewpubs on Lincoln Avenue, which stay busy later during the ski season.

Both towns sit beneath serious mountains, but in Steamboat the outdoors is the reason to come. Its ski mountain is known for light Champagne Powder and tree skiing through the aspens. In summer, the same slopes, Emerald Mountain and the Mount Zirkel Wilderness offer mountain biking, backpacking and fly fishing, with elk and moose a common sight.

Santa Fe has more variety than depth. There are trails into the Sangre de Cristo foothills, the Pecos Wilderness, the Valles Caldera and the red cliffs around Abiquiu, plus a smaller ski area under an hour away. It is superb high-desert country, but skiing there is a sideline, not the main event.

With a car, Santa Fe makes an excellent base. The High Road passes Chimayo and Truchas on the way to Taos Pueblo. Bandelier's cliff dwellings, Los Alamos, Pecos, Abiquiu and the Turquoise Trail are all within easy reach, and Albuquerque's Old Town is a train ride away.

Steamboat is remote, and the ranching towns nearby have little to see. Vail and Grand Lake are about two hours of mountain driving away, so a day out here means heading into the hills, not to another town.

Steamboat suits families who like the outdoors. It has a strong ski school, quiet beginner slopes on Howelsen Hill, and pools, slides and a climbing wall at Old Town Hot Springs. In summer there are tubing, gondola rides and the rodeo, and restaurants are used to children.

Santa Fe is just as safe and calm but is aimed at adults, with galleries and long dinners at its heart. The Children's Museum and the ladders at Bandelier help, but the town works best for older children who enjoy hiking and history.

Both towns have a walkable core and need a car beyond it. Steamboat has a slight advantage in its town bus, which links the flat downtown with the ski base all day, and many slopeside lodgings put skiers within walking distance of the gondola. Its mountain roads, though, call for proper tyres and a confident driver in winter.

In Santa Fe, the Plaza, the downtown museums, Canyon Road and the Railyard are all within about twenty minutes of each other on foot. Buses are infrequent, so Museum Hill and the trailheads mean a taxi or a hire car.

For anyone who buys art and craft, Santa Fe is worth the trip for shopping alone. Native American artists sell silver, turquoise and pottery under the portal of the Palace of the Governors, and Canyon Road and the Railyard are packed with galleries. In summer, the Indian Market, the Spanish Market and the Folk Art Market draw collectors from far away.

In Steamboat, shopping is an hour on Lincoln Avenue among western-wear stores, ski shops and a few galleries. Its landmark is a family outfitter that has been selling boots and hats for about a century.

Neither town is cheap, but Santa Fe costs less. Staying out along Cerrillos Road brings the bill down, and the Plaza, the hiking and gallery browsing are free, though a hire car adds to the total.

Steamboat in ski season is expensive across the board, from slopeside condos to lift access and equipment hire, and the Christmas and spring school-break weeks cost the most. Summer and the quieter seasons are kinder, and self-catering helps.

Santa Fe's open-air opera, where performances begin as the sun sets over the desert, gives it a summer programme with a real reputation. A chamber music festival and a long flamenco tradition add to it. Out of season, the Lensic theatre and concerts in the old churches keep a modest calendar going.

Steamboat's music is also a summer affair. It centres on the Strings Music Festival, with chamber music, jazz and bluegrass, alongside free outdoor concerts and student theatre and dance at Perry-Mansfield. In winter, it comes down to bands in the bars.

Steamboat is named after a hot spring, and soaking is part of everyday life there. Locals use the Old Town Hot Springs pools all year. The rock-lined pools at Strawberry Park, about 11km up a mountain road, are at their best on a snowy evening.

Santa Fe offers a different kind of rest: quiet courtyards, early evenings, plenty of spas and yoga studios, and Japanese-style tubs among the pines above town. Its best mineral springs, at Ojo Caliente, are an hour's drive away.