Beyond the bunny hill: get a great winter workout by shaping up your snow-sport skills at one of these four budget-friendly retreats

Shape, Dec, 2004 by Dina Mishev

This winter, make it your goal to get outside and enjoy yourself as you conquer the slopes and burn off calories at these four top-notch, beginner-friendly snow-sport resorts. Best of all, each offers plenty of bang for your buck--expert training, cozy lodging and gourmet dining accented by spectacular wilderness backdrops.

All rates are per person and do not include transportation unless otherwise noted. Seasonal packages are subject to change.

Maplelag Resort, Callaway, Minn.

No frills here--just easygoing, attitudes, simple food and furnishings and classic cross-country ski instruction.

An hour northeast of Hector International Airport in Fargo, N.D., the eco-friendly Maplelag Resort sits on a 600-acre sugar-maple farm on Minnesota's White Earth Reservation. The owners have planted more than 50,000 trees and created more than 20 ponds to shelter the abundant wildlife, including timber wolves, moose, porcupines and white-tailed deer.

Program If this is your first time stepping into Nordic skis, fear not. While instructor Jay Richards' maximum class size is six, if experience levels vary too widely between students, he'll split the class into even smaller groups. Private and couples' sessions are also available.

If you've come with some cross-country mileage already under your belt, however, you'll be thrilled to test out such expert runs as "Skater's Waltz," along Maplelag's 42 miles of gentle, rolling groomed trails.

Hunker down Lodging is rustic yet comfortable--pine interiors, a throw quilt and checked curtain here and there for color, no phones or television sets--but Maplelag's offerings are not exactly slim pickings. You'll have full access to the main lodge's 24-hour hot tub (which seats 37, the largest in Minnesota) and sauna.

Round up a couple of friends and bunk together in a Scandinavian-style cabin with wood-burning stove or book your own converted caboose--complete with a bathroom/shower and a double bed.

Fuel Maplelag serves three all-you-can-eat, family-style meals a day in the main lodge dining room (typical offerings include Norwegian pancakes with pure maple syrup and lingonberries for breakfast, wild-rice soup and stuffed quesadillas for lunch and cranberry-roasted brisket for dinner). Try not to ruin your appetite diving into one of four "bottomless" jars of cookies--oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, chocolate chip and ginger. Grand total About $315 for three days and two nights: Accommodations, from $218 (800-654-7711, maplelag.com); group ski lessons, $72 (three hours per day); equipment rental, $25; all meals and use of trail included.

Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada

The highest peak of the Laurentian Mountains at 2,871 feet, Mont Tremblant (French for trembling mountain) is steeped in folklore. According to Algonquin legend, Tremblant would receive a violent shaking from the god Manitou if man ever disturbed its natural setting. With that in mind, developers managed to maintain nature's delicate balance at this ski resort about 90 minutes northwest of Montreal Airport. Man-made structures and 94 beginner- to expert-level runs integrate smoothly with stunning vistas of glacier-fed lakes, rolling peaks and snow-blanketed maple and birch forests. Program Tremblant's four-day adult snow school is offered for both snowboarders and skiers. Early in the week you'll pose for a group photo of up to seven participants (typically three women and four men). Daily three-hour sessions (Mondays through Thursdays) are spent strengthening your posture, carving, snowplowing and turning skills with a certified instructor each morning (skiing: Dec. 6 to April 7; snowboarding: Dec. 20 to Jan. 6 and Feb. 21 to March 24).

Hunker down Le Westin Resort & Spa (westin.com) offers guests "The Total Tremblant Ski Package": up to a five-night stay, including complimentary lift tickets, daily breakfast and lunch and a guided tour of the mountain.

Before you dive onto your room's 10-layer "Heavenly Bed," you might want to soothe your weary muscles in the heated outdoor waterfall pool and hot tub (complimentary for guests). Fuel For the three meals (four for snowboarders) not included in your hotel or clinic package, there are more than 30 restaurants and pubs to choose from in the pedestrian-only resort village. Be sure to hit Le Shack (819-681-4700, leshack.com), Tremblant's largest and most popular apres-ski watering hole, for favorites ranging from a savory caribou-rib and chicken combo to a grilled veggie couscous salad.

Your last day features a farewell banquet. Snowboarders are bid adieu over lunch at Microbrasserie La Diable, known for its European sausage and microbrews, while skiers celebrate over dinner salads, pastas and dessert at the resort's Congress Center. Grand total About $1,219.60 U.S. for four days/five nights, includes lift tickets, most meals, accommodation for four in a two-bedroom suite from $895 per person (819-681-8000, westin.com); program, $160 (866-661-1366, tremblant.ca); gear rental, $84.60; food, $80