For beginning skiing, I have been told that Eldora (near Boulder) is OK, but I have not tried it.

For snowmobiling, I have had good experiences in the Snowy Range of Southern Wyoming and especially in Yellowstone National Park (but YNP is too far to drive for a 3 day weekend from Denver). See this site for info on WY snowmobiling: http://wyotrails.state.wy.us/snow/ and this site for a specific operator in/near YNP that I have used for a couple of tours (and will probably use again): http://www.snowmobilingtours.com/

I suggest looking at options in the Snowy Range (primarily southern Wyoming but that range may also extend into northern Colorado west of Fort Collins). From my experience, that would be your best bet for something not too far from Denver.

My experience at several ski resorts which offer snowmobiling (including one in Winter park) has not been good. Usually one guide with a large group trailing him, which goes slowly to accomodate the least confident rider, over bumpy-poorly groomed trails.

(I'll be where I have some brochures on snowmobiling operators on Saturday, so PM me at the end of the week is you want some others).

For some hotel thoughts, you might want to provide some add'l info, such as if you need to be near a particular area for a meeting or convention, etc., but I'm pretty sure there are several threads in this forum on hotels in Denver and surrounding area.

Finally, see this thread for some recent comments on renting and driving in snowy areas: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=627538

Regards,

TRRed