Vail or Whitefish?

Neither town is a beach destination, but Whitefish at least has proper places to swim. City Beach on Whitefish Lake is a short walk from downtown, with a sandy strip, a dock and paddleboards. Flathead Lake, about forty minutes south, has clear water and pebbly state park shores, and both are swimmable from mid-July to late August.

Vail has nothing comparable. Its nearby lakes and reservoirs are good for paddling and lying in the sun, but the water stays cold even in July, so most visitors swim in a hotel pool.

The food is broadly comparable in quality but quite different in style. Vail aims at a wealthy resort crowd, with steak and game rooms, fondue, sushi counters and long hotel wine lists. Whitefish cooks ranch-country comfort food on Central Avenue: bison burgers, Montana beef, wood-fired pizza and huckleberries in everything from pies to cocktails. Both get repetitive over a week, and many of Vail's kitchens close in the quiet spring and autumn weeks.

Neither town is visited for its sights, but the little each has is of a different kind. Vail's chalets and covered bridges were built in the 1960s to look Tyrolean. Its real story is told at the Colorado Snowsports Museum, which covers the Tenth Mountain Division ski troops.

Whitefish is a genuine railway town. Its timber Great Northern depot holds a small museum of the railway and logging days, and the downtown keeps some early twentieth-century frontage.

Vail has the bigger night out, at least in winter. Après-ski fills the slopeside terraces of Vail Village and Lionshead as the lifts close, and on ski-season weekends a few bars and a small club stay open past midnight. The crowd is moneyed and festive, though the town goes quiet in the off-seasons.

Whitefish keeps to saloons and brewery taprooms with pool tables, where ski bums and ranchers drink side by side. It is friendly and sometimes rowdy, but there is no club, and most nights end early.

Both towns are outstanding outdoor bases, but they lead with different things. Vail is first of all a ski mountain. Its front-side runs, the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin are covered in dry Rocky Mountain powder, and in summer the gondolas lift you straight onto high trails toward the Gore Range, with fly fishing on Gore Creek.

Whitefish is above all a gateway to Glacier National Park. It has the Highline Trail, the Going-to-the-Sun Road, turquoise lakes, and grizzlies and mountain goats. Big Mountain is the winter attraction, but Glacier's high country is reliably open only from July to September.

Vail has more towns within a short drive. You can reach polished Beaver Creek, Victorian Breckenridge and the silver-mining streets of Leadville, and Glenwood Springs is about an hour down the canyon. Aspen and Denver are within reach for a longer day.

Around Whitefish the options are smaller. Kalispell has the Conrad Mansion, Bigfork has galleries on Flathead Lake, and the mission church at St Ignatius is a longer drive. Most outings from Whitefish head into the wilderness rather than to another town.

Vail is better organised for children, especially skiing ones. It has large ski schools, a car-free village where children can wander safely, and a play area at the top of the gondola with ropes courses, tubing and a mountain coaster. The altitude can tire young children for the first day or two.

Whitefish suits outdoor families on a smaller scale. It offers an alpine slide and zip line on the mountain, calm water at City Beach and easy walks such as the Trail of the Cedars, but the drives into the park are long for small children.

Vail is much easier to manage without a car. The village core is pedestrian, the lifts start from town and a free bus runs the length of the valley, so a week without a car is normal. Getting in and out is the weak point: there is no rail, and snow can close the pass.

Whitefish turns this around. Long-distance trains stop at the downtown depot, and the town centre is a few walkable blocks. Once there, though, you will want a car, because Glacier, Flathead Lake and the trailheads are spread along rural highways.

Vail has the larger and more upmarket shopping streets. The village lanes sell luxury ski clothing, fur and leather, jewellery and mountain art, which suits buying good gear or a costly souvenir. Whitefish's Central Avenue is a pleasant afternoon of outfitters, boot shops, wildlife galleries and huckleberry jam, with Kalispell for everyday stores.

Both are expensive, but Vail is in a class of its own. Slopeside lodging, lift tickets, ski school and dinners all cost far more than normal American levels, and staying down the valley only softens the bill.

Whitefish costs what most American resort towns cost, with tight lodging in summer and ski weeks. Late spring and autumn are easier, staying in Kalispell or Columbia Falls brings real savings, and Glacier itself costs little once you are through the gate.

In summer Vail has a stage of real standing. Bravo! Vail brings major orchestras to the open-air Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater for weeks of concerts, with picnics on the lawn, and dance and jazz festivals follow. In winter there is little beyond après-ski bands.

Whitefish has a smaller programme spread more evenly across the year. A community arts centre puts on local theatre, a summer company stages professional productions, and the valley symphony plays in Kalispell, but the calendar is thin.

Vail has the more developed spa scene. Its large hotels run full spas with massage, saunas and outdoor hot tubs under the peaks, and the mineral pools and vapour caves of Glenwood Springs are about an hour away.

In Whitefish relaxation comes mostly from the setting: quiet mornings by the lake, a few lodge spas and yoga studios in town. The nearest hot springs are a couple of hours' drive.