Snowbird or Whitefish?

Neither place is a swimming destination, but Whitefish has a lake at the edge of town. City Beach on Whitefish Lake has sand, a swimming dock and paddleboards, and the very clear water of Flathead Lake is a short drive away. Both are good for a swim on a warm afternoon from mid-July to late August.

At Snowbird, swimming means the resort's heated pools. The nearest cold reservoirs are in the Heber Valley, about an hour's drive away, and the Great Salt Lake is a place to look at rather than swim in.

Whitefish has more to eat and more local character. The restaurants on Central Avenue serve elk and bison burgers, trout and huckleberry pie, and there are breweries and a distilling tradition. The range is narrow, but the food feels like it comes from Montana.

At Snowbird you eat at the resort: lodge restaurants, slopeside cafeterias and the dining room at the top of the tram, which has the best view. For variety, most guests drive down to Salt Lake City once or twice a week.

Neither place has much to see, and both are for the mountains rather than sightseeing. Whitefish's one real sight is in town: the timber Great Northern depot, which holds a small museum about the railway and logging days. At Snowbird, the most notable buildings are the concrete lodges from 1971, built to withstand avalanches. Any serious museum visit means going down to Salt Lake City.

Whitefish has a real town to go out in. After skiing, people move down from the mountain to the saloons and taprooms on Central Avenue, where skiers and ranchers share wooden bars, and in summer people sit out on patios. There are no clubs, but the evening lasts a while.

Snowbird's evening is the après-ski hour at the base: a couple of lodge bars and a sunny deck. By mid-evening most people have gone to dinner or bed so they can catch the first tram. A bigger night out means driving the canyon road.

Both places are first-rate for the outdoors, but they're good in different ways. Snowbird is about snow. The tram climbs to Hidden Peak at about 3,350m, the canyon gets some of the deepest powder in North America, and the steep terrain continues through Mineral Basin to Alta. In summer there are wildflowers in Albion Basin and climbing on the granite walls.

Whitefish's main attraction is Glacier National Park, with the Highline Trail, Grinnell Glacier, Lake McDonald, grizzlies and mountain goats. Big Mountain is a full ski area in winter, but the high country is reliably open only from July to September.

Snowbird has better places to visit for the day. Salt Lake City is about forty minutes down the canyon, with Temple Square and the State Capitol. Park City's Victorian Main Street is about an hour away, and Midway, Sundance and Ogden are further options.

Around Whitefish, the towns are smaller. There's the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, galleries and summer theatre in Bigfork, and the mission church at St Ignatius about two hours south. Most outings from Whitefish go into the park and the wilderness instead.

Both work about equally well for active families, but they suit different ages. Snowbird's compact, car-free base makes children easy to manage, and summer brings a mountain coaster and a ropes course. Its steep skiing and thin air suit teenagers better than toddlers, though.

Whitefish is gentler on young children. City Beach is calm, and Glacier has short, flat walks like the Trail of the Cedars. The long drives into the park can be hard for small children.

Getting around is similar in both, with different drawbacks. At Snowbird, everything is a short walk along the car-free base, but the only way in or out is a single canyon road. It gets jammed on powder mornings and avalanche control sometimes closes it. Whitefish has a few walkable blocks downtown, a long-distance train stopping at the depot and a free ski shuttle in winter. Reaching Glacier and Flathead Lake, though, really takes a car.

Whitefish is worth an afternoon of browsing. Central Avenue has outdoor outfitters, western-wear and boot shops, galleries of wildlife art and local huckleberry jam to take home. It's small, but it has some character.

Snowbird's shops in the base area are for ski gear rentals and replacing forgotten goggles, not for shopping as an activity. The nearest street of boutiques is in Park City.

Both are expensive American mountain resorts, but Whitefish is the easier on the wallet. Its prices drop noticeably in late spring and autumn, staying in Kalispell or Columbia Falls saves more, and once you're inside Glacier the park is good value.

At Snowbird, lift tickets, slopeside rooms and meals add up fast in peak winter. The usual way to save is to stay in Salt Lake City and drive up each morning, which means giving up life on the slopes. Summer stays cost less.

Whitefish has more live performance than you would expect in a small town. A community arts centre hosts theatre all year, there's a professional summer theatre company, and the valley's symphony plays in Kalispell. In summer there are free outdoor concerts as well.

At Snowbird, live music means summer concerts on the plaza, oompah bands at Oktoberfest and the occasional après-ski band. For opera, theatre or the symphony you have to drive down to Salt Lake City.

Snowbird has the stronger single place to relax. The large spa on top of the main lodge has a rooftop pool, hot tubs facing the canyon walls and steam rooms. The Homestead crater in Midway, about an hour away, offers a soak in warm mineral water inside a limestone dome.

In Whitefish, relaxing comes more from the setting: quiet mornings by the lake, spas in the lodges and yoga studios in town. The nearest hot springs are a couple of hours' drive away.