Both mean "lonely" and appear to be valid readings for 寂しい.

Is there a difference in nuance? Is this difference due to dialect?
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question
nuances words dialects readings
Is there a difference between さみしい and さびしい？
According to [an answer to a similar question on Goo's oshiete
site](http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/552702.html):

「さびしい」 is generally used in two ways (roughly equivalent to how the english
"lonely" is used):

  1. an emotional state of emptiness, isolation, or a feeling of lacking 
    * Examples: 「さびしい正月を迎える」「ふところがさびしい」
  2. quiet and empty of people or sounds 
    * Example: 「さびしい山道」

These two meanings are essentially _subjective_ and _objective_ ,
respectively, and さびしい can be used in either. さみしい, however, generally tends
much more toward the _subjective/emotional_ meaning of (1).

As for whether it is dialectal, I do not believe that it is. The answer to the
question linked above suggests that this b→m sound change is not limited to
さびしい／さみしい alone, and cites other examples such as 煙る（けむる／けぶる）and [目を]つぶる／つむる.

**Update:** Inspired by @Axioplase's comment below, I investigated the b/m
sound change, specifically regarding 「寒い」.

[Wiktionary](http://ja.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%95%E3%82%80%E3%81%84)
suggests that in fact, the origin of さむい is the same as さびしい: **さぶし**. At some
point this split into さびし (which later became さびしい and subsequently さみしい),
while さぶし also went on to form さぶい -- and subsequently, the modern さむい which
we use today.

Unfortunately, I can't find many other (reputable) sources for the etymology
of さむい.
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answer