South Lake Tahoe or Sun Valley?

South Lake Tahoe has real beaches, and in July and August they are the main draw. The south shore has sandy coves under Jeffrey pines, the water is turquoise and clear over white sand, and Sand Harbor's boulder coves are a short drive round the east shore. The lake stays cold and gets choppy on windy afternoons, but on a calm summer day swimming here is a genuine pleasure.

Sun Valley has nothing comparable. A summer swim means driving an hour to Redfish Lake under the Sawtooths, dipping in a reservoir or a river eddy on the Big Wood, or, most reliably, using a heated pool.

Neither town is a place to travel for food, and you will eat about as well in one as the other. The difference is in style. South Lake Tahoe eats like a casino resort, with steakhouses, buffets and late diners at Stateline, brewpubs and taquerias along Highway 50, and small local breweries as its best feature.

Ketchum is smaller and more upmarket. A few ambitious kitchens cook Idaho trout, lamb and elk for the second-home crowd, and summer brings a farmers' market and patio tables. Cheap meals are harder to find there, and some kitchens cut their hours in the quiet seasons.

Both have only an afternoon's worth of sights, so this should not decide your trip. What there is to see is quite different. Tahoe's history is that of a lakeside summer retreat for the wealthy, seen in the estates at the Tallac Historic Site and in Vikingsholm, which you reach by a steep walk down to Emerald Bay.

Sun Valley's story is about skiing and celebrity. It began as a railroad-built resort in 1936 with the world's first chairlifts, and the Lodge corridors are lined with photographs of film stars. Readers of Hemingway can visit his grave in Ketchum and the memorial by Trail Creek.

South Lake Tahoe gives you a much better chance of a late night. Cross into Nevada at Stateline and the casino towers keep their gaming floors, lounges and the odd club open until morning, and they fill up on long weekends and in peak weeks. Choice is still limited, and there is no bar street to wander.

Evenings in Sun Valley mean après-ski in Ketchum's saloons, wine bars and hotel lounges, plus a couple of western bars that stay noisy until closing. Outside the busy seasons, most nights end soon after dinner.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, and the difference is in their landscapes. Tahoe is built around water: the deep blue lake, the view over Emerald Bay, kayaking and paddleboarding on calm mornings, and the granite lake basins of the Desolation Wilderness just outside town. Skiers get a choice of resorts, with Heavenly rising from Stateline and Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe within an hour.

Sun Valley is about rivers, dry snow and one serious mountain. Bald Mountain's long, steep runs drop straight into Ketchum, and in summer there is fly fishing on Silver Creek and the Big Wood, dense singletrack for biking, and the jagged Sawtooths with rafting on the Salmon River about an hour north.

South Lake Tahoe has far more within reach. Virginia City's boardwalks and saloons, Carson City and Genoa lie over the mountains on the Nevada side, while Coloma, where gold was found in 1848, Placerville and the Amador wine country are down Highway 50. Reno is close enough for an easy day.

Around Sun Valley you mostly head into wild country rather than to other towns. Hailey's small main street and the log-cabin outpost of Stanley are the obvious trips, and Shoshone Falls is a long drive south.

South Lake Tahoe works better for most families, mainly because of summer. Shallow sandy beaches, paddleboard rentals, bike paths through the pines and the short Taylor Creek trails, where salmon run in autumn, keep children busy. Winter has snow play areas and sledding hills, and the gondola ride is fun in itself. The casino strip is the one part of town to walk past quickly.

Sun Valley is calm and easy with children who ski. Its separate beginner hill keeps learners away from the main mountain, and Ketchum's quiet streets are easy to manage. The deep midwinter cold and the altitude are harder on toddlers, though, and teenagers who don't ski may find it dull.

Sun Valley is easier once you arrive. Ketchum's flat little grid is walkable, a free bus links the town, the resort village and the lift bases, and a paved path runs the length of the valley, so a ski week without a car is realistic. Getting there is the harder part, through a small local airport or a long drive over roads that can be snowy.

South Lake Tahoe's walkable core is only the area around Stateline and the gondola. Beaches, trailheads and Emerald Bay are spread along the shore, summer weekend traffic on Highway 50 crawls, and winter storms bring chain controls on the passes.

Ketchum has more worth browsing. A few blocks hold fine art and western art galleries, well-stocked fly-fishing and ski shops, and boutiques selling cashmere and western wear, with evening gallery walks during the main seasons. Expect high prices and a narrow range.

South Lake Tahoe's shops are practical: gear and rental stores, souvenir shops by the gondola and a few galleries of lake photography.

Neither is cheap, but South Lake Tahoe gives you more ways to cut costs. The casino hotels on the Nevada side discount heavily midweek and in the shoulder seasons, a cabin kitchen keeps food bills down, and the beaches and trails are free.

Sun Valley's prices are set by its wealthy second-home owners, and there is little budget lodging anywhere in the valley. Staying further down the valley and using the free buses helps, but only a little.

The live offer is similar in size but very different in kind. South Lake Tahoe's casino showrooms and arena run all year, with touring rock and country acts, comedians and tribute shows. Summer adds Shakespeare on the beach at Sand Harbor and concerts at the Tallac estates.

Sun Valley is the place for classical music, but only in summer. A professional orchestra plays several weeks of free concerts in the pavilion by the lodge while people picnic on the lawn, and skaters perform on the outdoor rink. The rest of the year there is almost nothing.

Sun Valley does relaxation better. Its resort hotels have full spas and outdoor heated pools that are lovely in the snow, and just up the Warm Springs valley there are rough creekside hot springs at the end of a dirt road. The whole valley slows down once the lifts close.

At South Lake Tahoe the spas are mostly add-ons in casino hotels and ski lodges. For a proper soak you drive to the mineral pool at Grover Hot Springs, about 45 minutes away, or to the Carson Valley resorts over the pass. Quiet mornings by the lake are its real restorative pleasure.