Stowe or Vail?

Neither town is a beach destination, but Stowe at least offers a proper summer swim. Its mountain streams have rocky swimming holes, and the small sandy shores at Waterbury Reservoir and Lake Elmore warm to about 22°C in high summer.

Vail's mountain lakes are for paddling and sunbathing, since the water stays cold even in July, so most swimming there happens in a hotel pool.

The food is about as good in both, but very different in character. Stowe's draws on Vermont produce: sought-after hazy IPAs, farm cheddar, maple syrup and cider doughnuts, served in farm-to-table rooms and taverns along Mountain Road.

Vail's is polished resort dining in Vail Village and Lionshead, with steak, elk, Colorado lamb, fondue, sushi and long wine lists. In both, the choice thins out sharply in the quiet spring and autumn weeks.

Neither town has much in the way of sights, and an afternoon covers either. The difference is authenticity. Stowe's white steeple, clapboard houses and covered bridges are a real old New England village, and the von Trapp estate adds a curiosity. Vail's gabled chalets were built in the 1960s to look Tyrolean, and its Colorado Snowsports Museum, with the story of the wartime Tenth Mountain Division, is its most interesting stop.

Vail has the better nights, though only in winter. Its slopeside terraces fill as the lifts close, and on winter weekends a few bars and a small club stay open past midnight for a well-off, festive crowd.

Stowe's evenings are base-lodge bars, brewery taprooms and taverns with the odd band, and after midnight there is very little going on. For a proper night out, people drive to Burlington.

Both are outdoor towns first, but Vail plays in a bigger league. Its ski area runs from the front-side runs into the open Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin on dry Rocky Mountain powder, and in summer the Gore Range and Holy Cross wilderness offer high hiking among peaks over 4,000m, plus fly fishing and rafting rivers within reach.

Stowe's Mount Mansfield is smaller and its snow often icier, but the Long Trail, the boulder pass of Smugglers' Notch and the riverside path give it fine walking. Its October foliage beats Vail's golden aspens for sheer colour across a whole valley.

Vail has a little more to drive to. Breckenridge's mining-era main street, silver-boom Leadville and the hot springs of Glenwood Springs give a varied week, with Aspen and Denver further out. Stowe's outings are quieter: Burlington's lakefront and pedestrian street, the folk art village of the Shelburne Museum, Montpelier's gold dome and the cider mills of Waterbury. You need a car for either list.

Both work equally well for families who like being outdoors, and neither has a zoo or children's museum. Stowe has extras such as sugarhouses, the flat riverside path for pushchairs and a resort built for children over Smugglers' Notch, though that is an hour's drive round the mountain in winter.

Vail makes up for it with its car-free village and the activity area at the top of the gondola, with ropes courses, a mountain coaster and tubing. Its altitude, however, can wear out small children for the first day or two.

On this count Vail is far easier. The core is pedestrian, the lifts start in town and a free bus runs the length of the valley, so many visitors spend a week without a car.

Stowe stretches about 11km along a single valley road, with only a winter shuttle and the riverside path to help, so a car is essential for almost everything. Reaching either town takes effort, with Burlington airport 45 minutes from Stowe and Vail Pass sometimes closing in heavy snow.

Vail has more to browse, with pedestrian lanes of upmarket ski clothing, leather, jewellery, Western boots and galleries of mountain landscapes, all priced for a wealthy clientele. Stowe's shops are small and local: outdoor gear, pottery, woodwork and wool, and the maple syrup and cheddar that make its best souvenirs. Neither is worth a shopping trip.

Neither is cheap, but Stowe leaves more room for a careful budget. Rooms in Stowe are dearest over Christmas, school vacations and foliage season, while summer is cheaper and spring and November are much cheaper still. Valley-road motels and brewery meals help further.

Vail costs well above normal American levels for lodging, lift tickets, ski school and dinners. Staying down the valley and coming in summer soften the bill, but only a little.

Stowe has a modest calendar that runs through both main seasons. The arts centre at the base of Spruce Peak brings touring musicians, comedy and family shows in summer and through the ski season, while the community theatre and the hillside concerts tied to the von Trapp legacy belong to summer. It is charming but small, and it goes thin in spring and late autumn.

Vail's summer programme is in another class. Bravo! Vail brings major orchestras for weeks of concerts at the open-air Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, with lawn picnics and peaks behind the stage, and the Vail Dance Festival and a jazz festival follow. In winter, though, Vail has little beyond après-ski bands and the odd touring act, so come in July or August if music is the point.

The two are very similar here. In both, wellness means resort spas with saunas and heated outdoor pools under the snow. Stowe adds country inns, wood fires and quiet spa weekends that draw couples from the northeastern cities.

Vail has the one natural option: the old mineral pools and vapour caves of Glenwood Springs, an hour down the canyon. Its thin, dry air also makes the first days a time to take things slowly.