to OP.   
Sounds like for your family situation, you may be looking for a real "mountain bike trail" but that's on the smoother, less technical, side of the "green" designation. If that's so, great news for you is that Charlotte area offers just that. Here are my top 2 suggestions for early entrants to MTBiking that hopefully not as intimidating.  There're probably others, but I don't ride all the trails around C'lotte (actually LNSP has good options)

Southwest District Park (SWDP)
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SWDP is a 2+ mile lollipop loop-2 way out and back then a loop) that can be ridden in either direction (because its not heavily trafficked) for variety, even though its signed to be ridden counterclockwise.  Prolly toughest part for your family may be entering and exiting the trail on the slight hill immediately after leaving the parking lot.  Its relatively smooth,  as its not worn out from overuse and relatively level.   
PS: A new extension is being added by some AWESOME trail gnomes to the Tamale loop within the trail that you may want to skip until it gets packed in.


Sherman Branch (SB)
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Upon entering SB at trailhead, you are on a "service" road.  Take your first right, and every time you come to it turn right.  this will keep you on the smoother, less technical section of the Main trail.  There's even a "short cut by-pass" that I suggest you initially take as your family's skills progress.  However, near the end you may choose to walk the bridge section and the short rougher section immediately following it.  Then eat lunch/dinner at Jakes Eat Place (they have hot dogs for kids, young and old ones).

A LOT of volunteer hours have gone into building and maintaining a FANTASTIC trail system approaching 200 miles of trail in the Charlotte+ area of all skill levels.  You just have to spend a little time and effort to locate what works for you.  As objective as we'd like a rating system to be, just use it as rough guideline. And, if necessary, like in your situation, do reconnoissance before to help insure a better outcome for your family.   

To some of us, mountain biking is a great way to exercise, socialize, get away from the real world.  I only wish I'd started my family mountain biking at a very young age. Hopefully, your family will give it a few more opportunities to pass muster.   

This is a very informed and helpful forum of participants that have a wider variety of views that we'll willingly share, as you've discovered.  However, your approach to getting information will probably greatly affect how/what/tone you receive it.

I would recommend you ride a trail and know it well before taking inexperienced kids/spouse. You can properly set expectations and know where to bail when they've had enough. When you come to obstacles, this is an opportunity to teach them new skills. If they're not feeling it, talk them up and tell them they'll get it next time. The idea that a trail is not green or family-friendly because inexperienced kids were challenged by it is off base. I guarantee you with a little practice and help, your kids could be riding the green loop at Fisher with confidence in no time.

Bob Marley said it best....

Late to the party (as usual).  I am the trail coordinator and also the creator of all that is the Fisher Farm Park mtb trails (and most of the hiking trail, as well).

I'm sorry you and your family had a bad experience there.  I really don't know what else to tell you except to do some research on here and on other forums on what to expect at local trails.  We have a very active forum section that is extremely helpful getting input from other riders.

I'm glad you are venturing out to the trails and finding out what an incredible resource we have in this area.   I hope you return and give Fisher another chance either solo or with your family.  If not, I hope you find the experience you are looking for at some of our other trails. 

The great thing about this area is we have great diversity in trails, local environments and soil types so I'm confident you will find what suits you and your family. 

Mark

I found when I started my daughters into mtn biking at about the ages of 6 and 8 that my attitude determined their responses to challenges. When we came to something they couldn't ride, I didn't criticize the trail but treated it as something that was expected. I got off and pushed around it with them. Told them I'll bet after a few more rides you can do that. Celebrated when they did something difficult for them. They had a blast and only got grumpy when it was too hot or on a really long climb. Challenges were something to expect and overcome. I considered my role as dad to be an encourager, not to facilitate their frustration.

The fact is that in a natural environment it's difficult to build an entire trail at exactly the same difficulty level without variation. Sometimes the trail has to go through a section of woods that has too many roots to attempt to cut them all out. Sometimes there's an unavoidable steep spot. There will be spots on a green trail that might border on blue for a short ways. If there was nothing whatsoever challenging on a green trail, we'd never progress to blues. For us, the growth is the beauty of the sport.

And incidentally, the green loop at Fisher Farm was among the early ones that my family learned on. That climb out was a killer! But part of the experience.

madss wrote on 02/28/17 at 9:47pm:



You sir, make me smile!   

I would say that most "Green Trails" have a few sections thrown in that are more like a blue trail to get you ready for a Blue Trail. I remember when I was learning to ski, the easy runs had a few steeper areas that were like the little harder runs.
 
I remember when I maintained LNSP trails and bOb told me that if he were a new rider, riding the Hawk Loop, he would not want to come back. It was rooty and rough. I went through and fixed it. It got so much traffic, that it got rougher as time went by.

When I started riding downhill, I got off and walked lots of sections because they were too sketchy for my ability. Just encourage them and they will get better skills to be able to ride harder stuff.

While you guys are redoing the fishing farms green trail, please remove all of the fake deer and decorations from enchanted forest trail.  Nowhere in any trail guide is it acceptable to bring your grandmas yard art into the woods.

In days of old when men were bold, and trail ratings weren't invented. We would get off our bikes and walk the tech. And then we felt contented

I'll bite on this one. I have been a lurker on these forums for a couple years now since I moved here. I tend to agree with the OP on the green trail at fisher farm (and a few other green trails in the area). To those saying that a green trail is relative to the area, it isn't. IMBA has standards for sustainable trail building that should be followed especially when the club building the trails has an IMBA badge on their website. These guidelines lay out exactly what should be expected in a green, blue, or black trail (down to how wide the trail can be). They also lay out how to build trails so they do not fall into disrepair. Now I have not been to fisher farm with a measuring stick, but there are a few sections on the green trail that definitely step into the blue range for sure and i would say it is frequent enough (especially the last half mile or so) to warrant a blue rating.

Honestly if you go ride these trails before you take your family to them you will save yourself a lot of frustration, but I really do not think people on this forum should disregard the OP's point. I know that many people here have been riding longer than I have been alive and will brag about how anything that isn't in pisgah is a green trail, but this is really no way to grow the sport. The truth is that in the charlotte area there is really only LNSP for true green trails (to IMBA standards) that area actually fun to ride (lake loop at wwc is super flat and boring). Also to another point, not all trails need to be challenging to be a blast (Monbo is probably my favorite trail in the area). Charlotte needs these good beginner trails to get younger riders interested in riding. 

I realize that this forum is extremely biased to one direction since everyone on here is a pretty experienced rider, but try to look at it from someone else's perspective. It really isn't in anyone's best interest to sandbag the difficulty ratings. 

Just my $0.02.