Seattle or Snowbird?

Neither place is a beach destination, but Seattle at least gives you water to enjoy. Alki Beach and Golden Gardens are sandy spots for sunsets and bonfires, and in high summer the lifeguarded beaches on Lake Washington are warm enough for a proper swim.

Snowbird is far from any coast. Swimming there means the resort's heated pools or a cold reservoir in the Heber Valley, and the Great Salt Lake is something to look at rather than swim in.

Seattle eats far better. Its cooking is built on local shellfish and salmon, with Pike Place Market at its centre, serious coffee roasters in every neighbourhood, and strong Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean cooking in the International District and the suburbs.

At Snowbird you eat at the resort: lodge dining rooms, the restaurant at the top of the tram with its view, and burgers at après-ski. It is competent but rarely memorable, and most guests drive the forty minutes to Salt Lake City on a night or two for more choice.

Seattle is young as cities go, but it still gives you two or three good days of sights. There is the Space Needle and the Chihuly glass at Seattle Center, the Burke Museum's Northwest Coast collections, the brick streets of Pioneer Square and the large Museum of Flight.

Snowbird has almost nothing in this line. It is a resort built in 1971, and the canyon's mining past has left little to see. Temple Square and the city museums are a drive down to Salt Lake City.

Seattle has a real night out. The bars on Pike and Pine on Capitol Hill include cocktail bars, dive bars and the centre of the LGBTQ+ scene, and Ballard has its taprooms, although last call at 2am keeps the night from running very late.

Snowbird's evening is après-ski on a sunny deck or in a lodge bar, and then bed before the first tram. There are no clubs, and going out properly means a drive down a mountain road.

Both are excellent for the outdoors, but in different ways. Seattle gives you range: Discovery Park and kayaking on Lake Union in town, the Cascades under an hour away, and Mount Rainier and the Olympic rainforest for longer days out. From the ferries you may now and then see seals, or occasionally orcas.

Snowbird puts you right in the mountains. It has the tram to Hidden Peak, some of the deepest, driest snow in North America and one of the longest ski seasons in the country. In summer you can walk from the resort into Albion Basin's wildflower meadows and up trails into the Lone Peak wilderness without getting in a car.

Seattle has the better choice, mostly by water. A short ferry reaches Bainbridge Island, longer ones go to Whidbey Island and Victorian Port Townsend, and both the Woodinville tasting rooms and Tacoma's Museum of Glass are close by road.

From Snowbird, Salt Lake City's Temple Square and Park City's old silver-mining Main Street are the two outings worth making. After those come quieter stops such as Midway, Sundance and Ogden's 25th Street, and then mostly open country.

Seattle is easier with children of any age. It has Woodland Park Zoo, the aquarium on the waterfront, the Pacific Science Center and the space shuttle trainer at the Museum of Flight, and a ferry or monorail ride counts as an outing too. Steep streets and wet months are the main drawbacks.

Snowbird suits families who ski best, especially teenagers and confident young skiers, since the mountain leans towards expert terrain. The car-free base is easy with children, and summer adds an alpine slide and a mountain coaster. Small children may find the altitude tiring, though.

Seattle has a walkable centre and light rail from the airport to Capitol Hill, and one card covers buses, the monorail and the ferries. Outer neighbourhoods are slower to reach by bus, and the national parks need a car.

Snowbird is effortless on foot inside the resort but awkward to get to. A single canyon road clogs on powder mornings and can close for avalanche control, so anything beyond the slopes depends on a car or a shuttle.

Seattle gives you real browsing: department stores downtown, makers' stalls at Pike Place, vinyl and vintage on Capitol Hill, Fremont's Sunday market and the big outdoor gear stores. Snowbird has a few base-area shops for rentals, goggles and resort-branded clothing, and anything more means Salt Lake City or Park City's main street.

Both are expensive, but Seattle is a little easier on the budget. Public transport, food halls and teriyaki counters cut costs, and staying near the light rail helps.

At Snowbird, lift tickets, slopeside rooms and resort meals add up quickly in peak winter. The usual ways to save are multi-resort passes, sleeping in Salt Lake City and driving up, or going in summer.

Seattle has a real stage calendar. There is opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet at McCaw Hall, the symphony at Benaroya Hall, musicals at the 5th Avenue and Paramount, and the live rock scene that grew up around Hendrix and grunge, with bands most nights in Belltown and Capitol Hill.

Snowbird has summer concerts on the plaza, oompah bands at its Oktoberfest and the odd band at après-ski. For anything more, you drive down to Salt Lake City.

Neither place has a bathing tradition, and they are about even here, but the way you relax differs. In Seattle rest is part of city life: slow coffee-house mornings, the Japanese Garden and the Arboretum, a hotel spa or a Korean-style bathhouse in the suburbs.

At Snowbird it means the rooftop pool and hot tubs on the main lodge after skiing, quiet dark nights in the canyon, and a soak in the warm mineral water of the Homestead crater about an hour away.