Sonoma or Sun Valley?

Neither is a beach destination, and in both swimming is something to do now and then in summer. Around Sonoma it means the warm gravel shallows of the Russian River or a hotel pool, while the cold Pacific at Bodega Bay is for looking at rather than swimming in. At Sun Valley people swim at sandy-shored Redfish Lake below the Sawtooths, which is beautiful but cold even in August, and the heated outdoor pools are the one place you can always count on a swim.

Food and wine are the whole point of Sonoma, and it is well ahead here. Cabernet, old-vine Zinfandel and Carneros Pinot Noir are poured within a short drive of the plaza, and the kitchens cook to match, with local cheese, olive oil and oysters from the coast.

Ketchum feeds Sun Valley well enough for a resort town, with après-ski grills, pizza and a few ambitious kitchens cooking trout, lamb and elk. But there is no wine valley around it and no regional cooking to seek out, so meals fit around the skiing rather than shape the trip.

Sonoma has more history to walk through, all within a few minutes of the plaza: the site of the Bear Flag Revolt, California's last Franciscan mission, the adobe barracks and Vallejo's house at Lachryma Montis. It fills a half day, but a good one.

Sun Valley's story is shorter and more glamorous, from the 1936 lodge and the world's first chairlifts to Hemingway's grave in Ketchum. Add a small museum and some galleries, and an afternoon covers it.

Both go quiet early, so neither suits a proper night out. In Sonoma the evening is dinner followed by a glass in a wine bar or saloon on the plaza, and anything later means Santa Rosa or San Francisco. Sun Valley's liveliest hours are après-ski in Ketchum, where an old western bar may stay loud until closing and a band plays on busy winter weekends, though outside the ski season and midsummer it is just as sleepy.

Sonoma's outdoors is gentle and pastoral: vineyard back roads for cycling, oak hills and the redwood groves of Sugarloaf Ridge, balloon flights on calm mornings, and the Sonoma Coast and Point Reyes within an hour. It is lovely walking country rather than a challenge.

Sun Valley is in another league. Bald Mountain's long, steep runs and Nordic and backcountry skiing in winter, then singletrack, fly fishing on Silver Creek, climbing in the Sawtooths and rafting on the Salmon River in summer, make the mountains the reason to come in every season.

Sonoma is the far better base for outings. San Francisco is about an hour away, Napa, Healdsburg and Petaluma's Victorian riverfront are within easy reach, and Sausalito sits on the bay, though most trips lead to another wine town and need a car.

From Sun Valley the outings are to wild places rather than towns: Stanley's log cabins beyond the Sawtooths, Hailey's short main street, and Shoshone Falls about two hours south. Boise is too far for a comfortable day.

Sun Valley works better with children, especially ones who ski or like being outside. The separate beginners' hill and a well-run ski school make learning easy, and summer adds bike paths, horse rides, fishing and an outdoor ice rink, though rainy days and the midwinter cold can be hard to fill.

Sonoma is calm and safe but built around tasting rooms and long lunches. The plaza playground, the miniature railway park and the African wildlife park near Santa Rosa fill a day or two, and many families prefer to stay in San Francisco and come for the day.

Sun Valley is easier without a car, at least for a ski week. The free bus links Ketchum, the village and the lift bases, and a paved bike path runs down the valley. You only need to drive for the trailheads, the Sawtooths and the hot springs.

In Sonoma you can only walk for a few blocks around the plaza. Wineries are scattered across the valley and hills and the buses are of little use, so most visitors hire a car or a driver. A driver also settles who stays sober.

Neither is a place to shop seriously, and each has a few blocks of upmarket independent shops. The difference is what you take home. In Sonoma it is wine bought at the cellar door, olive oil, cheese and kitchenware, plus produce from the summer farmers' market. Ketchum leans towards western art, cashmere and serious ski and fly-fishing gear.

Both are costly, and neither has much budget lodging. In Sonoma the bills come from wine-country rooms, tasting fees and the car or driver, and they ease if you sleep in Santa Rosa or Petaluma and picnic among the vines. Sun Valley's come from second-home prices and lift access, softened by staying further down the valley, visiting in spring or autumn and using the free buses.

In both places the season is summer, and little happens otherwise. Sonoma spreads its offer around: Broadway-style shows among the ruins at Jack London park, winery concerts and the 1930s theatre on the plaza, with the Green Music Center's concert hall about half an hour away for touring orchestras.

Sun Valley centres on one big event, a professional orchestra playing free for several weeks in the pavilion by the lodge while people picnic on the lawn. Summer evenings also bring star figure skaters on the outdoor rink, a tradition from the resort's early years.

Both are restful places with spa hotels rather than a real bathing culture. Sonoma has the older tradition: mineral water at Boyes Hot Springs feeds a historic resort spa open to day visitors, Calistoga's mud baths are an hour away, and the quiet plaza sets a slow pace.

Sun Valley's soaking is more elemental, with heated outdoor pools under falling snow and rough hot springs beside the creek up the Warm Springs valley, reached by a dirt road. They suit someone who prefers mountain air to a treatment menu.