Santa Monica or Snowbird?

Only one of these two is a beach destination. Santa Monica has a broad band of pale sand along the whole town, with quieter and more scenic coves further up the coast at Zuma, El Matador and Point Dume. The caveat is the cool water, which many visitors wade in rather than swim.

Snowbird is a high mountain resort far from any sea. Swimming means the resort's heated pools or a drive to the Heber Valley reservoirs, and the Great Salt Lake is a curiosity to look at rather than a place to swim.

Santa Monica eats far better. Seasonal Californian cooking built on the Wednesday farmers market, good seafood and brunch, and neighbourhood places along Main Street and Montana Avenue give real choice, even if the cheap immigrant cooking of eastern Los Angeles is a long drive away.

At Snowbird, meals come from a small set of resort restaurants, cafeterias and après-ski bars, with the dining room at the top of the tram the one with a view. Most guests plan an evening or two down in Salt Lake City for variety.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Santa Monica has more to offer. The pier with its carousel and Route 66 sign, the galleries at Bergamot Station and the Art Deco buildings near the ocean fill an afternoon, and the Getty Center and Getty Villa are a short drive away.

Snowbird was built from scratch in 1971, and its concrete lodges are designed for avalanches rather than admiration. The canyon's mining past has left almost nothing to see, so museums mean a trip to Salt Lake City.

Santa Monica has the livelier evenings, though they centre on drinks rather than dancing: wine bars and ocean-view rooftops downtown, pubs along Main Street and a looser crowd over in Venice. Clubbing means a long ride to Hollywood.

Snowbird's evening peaks on the sunny deck at the base after the lifts close, and by mid-evening the resort is asleep ahead of the first tram.

Both are strong outdoor bases, but Snowbird is the more spectacular. The tram climbs to about 3,350m, the canyon gets some of the deepest, driest snow in North America, and in summer the trails lead into the Twin Peaks and Lone Peak wilderness and the meadows of Albion Basin, with granite for climbing close by.

Santa Monica's outdoors are gentler and available almost every day of the year: chaparral canyons in Topanga and Temescal, cycling on the beach path, surf lessons and whale-watching in winter and spring.

Santa Monica has more variety within a day's drive. Santa Barbara and its mission, Ojai, Laguna Beach and the ferry to Catalina lie along the coast, and Pasadena's Huntington Library and Hollywood are in the city itself, though traffic decides how much you see.

From Snowbird the obvious outings are Salt Lake City for Temple Square and Park City for its Victorian Main Street. Beyond those, Midway, Sundance and Ogden are pleasant but minor, and much of the surrounding land is open country.

Santa Monica is easier with children of all ages. A lifeguarded beach for digging, the pier's Ferris wheel and small aquarium, beachfront playgrounds and mild weather fill the days, and the main drawback is how far away the theme parks are.

Snowbird suits families who already ski well, since the mountain is known for expert terrain more than nursery slopes. The car-free base is easy to manage, and the summer coaster and alpine slide help, but altitude can wear out small children.

Santa Monica is walkable at its centre, with blue buses around town and the E Line light rail to downtown Los Angeles. Its weakness is everything beyond that, where freeways jam and a car or ride-hailing becomes necessary.

At Snowbird the lodges and lifts are a short walk apart, but the single canyon road is the only way in or out. It clogs on powder mornings and avalanche control can close it, so trips off the mountain need planning and usually a car.

Santa Monica offers genuine shopping: chains and flagships on the Third Street Promenade, upmarket boutiques on Montana Avenue, surf shops on Main Street and design stores on Abbot Kinney in Venice, with Rodeo Drive a drive away.

Snowbird's few base shops sell and rent ski gear and resort-branded clothing, which is useful for forgotten goggles and little else. For browsing, the nearest options are Park City or Salt Lake City.

Both are expensive, though in different ways. In Santa Monica the cost lies in ocean-view hotels, restaurant bills and car hire, softened by a free beach, trails and bike path and by cheap buses and light rail.

At Snowbird it is lift tickets, slopeside rooms and resort meals, especially in peak winter weeks. Staying in Salt Lake City and driving up saves money, as does visiting in summer.

Santa Monica has a modest stage of its own in the Broad Stage, small playhouses and long-standing acoustic music rooms, plus free summer concerts on the pier. The Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl are across the city.

Snowbird offers plaza concerts in summer, Oktoberfest oompah bands and the odd après-ski band. Anything more serious means driving down to Salt Lake City.

The two are fairly level, but they relax you differently. Santa Monica's version is active and outdoors: yoga on the sand, morning runs by the ocean, beachfront hotel spas and the daily sunset over the bay.

Snowbird's centres on its large rooftop spa, with a pool and hot tubs facing the canyon walls after a ski day, and quiet, dark nights. The warm mineral water inside the Homestead crater at Midway adds a soak that Santa Monica has no equivalent for.