So this weekend i took my wife and two kids to ride Fisher Farms and have some concerns with the green loop.    My perception of a "green" trail has always been just that.....its for green riders.  My wife enjoys riding some of the easier trails at Lake Norman State Park as well as my boys, they do pretty well in my opinion.  But after taking my family to ride Fisher Farms this weekend all three of them are down in riding confidence.  I didn't know id be taking my family for a hike while pushing our bikes.  the "Green loop" has countless roots with tall sharp edges that stopped everyone in their tracks as well as drop offs in the first part of the trail with no smooth option and very rooty tight downhill (and uphill) turns twards the end of the trail.   It was a waste of our afternoon and did more damage to my kids confidence on their bikes than good.

This trail in my opinion needs to be changed to a blue trail all the way through as to not false advertise as a family friendly park.  Or do some root cutting / smoothing out of the trail.    I haven't ridden the rest of the trail myself, and probably never will after this last trip.  Hope this isn't what i should come to expect as i take my family farther south looking for trails to ride together.

Ryan

No comment specifically about the trail at Fisher, but I do have a general comment about trail ratings. Trails should not be rated on a relative scale on their own, but rather should be rated relative to other trails in the area. So a blue trail in Pisgah might be more challenging than a blue trail in Charlotte metro.

In an urban/suburban area, a trail marked green should be beginner and child friendly. The official IMBA guide says a green trail should not have unavoidable obstacles greater than 2 inches.

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(edited to fix my color mix-up... I confused blue and green in my original post)

thanks for the link abruzzopat, based on that it loses the green rating less than 300 ft in, and about 40 times after that.....

ryanw wrote on 02/27/17 at 8:15pm:


No I would not call the easiest trail at Bailey a green. I'm just stating what you pointed out in your last sentence... location matters when considering rating. In fact, this concept is also covered by IMBA... see #4 here:

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abruzzopat wrote on 02/27/17 at 9:46pm:

comment was not directed at you, i fully back your opinion

I love roots and ledges....So do my kids...I remember when my girls were 8 and one of them washed out at Beatty on a root and got a big ol' rasberry on her shoulder....She wore it like a badge of honor...

Relax a little ryan.
You're new to this conversation.
Enoch is not. And I can assure you, his comments are well worth your consideration.

Although I agree with you. With trail riding, it's sort of buyer beware.
There are trails in the area that are more beginner/child friendly. But most green trails in this area have some sections that are technical in the ways you describe. Often, they don't start out that way. But due to erosion and normal trail wear issues develop a certain character over the years. 

No trails in this area are Greenways. And if that's what you expect from a green designation you will be disappointed.

Beyond that, it's impossible to rate every trail to appeal to every possible rider.
I would suggest before you take your kids to a certain trail, maybe you should ride it yourself at least once. That way you will know if it's appropriate.

Thanks Pat for throwing me under the bus. Yes BYT is a green trail to me because it's where I learned how to build and ride trail. Jerry no offense but Sherman would be a green trail to me. I can honestly say I don't ride Sherman much even though I live right down the street not enough of a challenge to me. I do like it though when I do go. Fisher would be a blue trail to me. We really don't have any black trails in our area. It really depends on your skill level and your ability to try to become or won't to become a better rider. Sure you might have to get off and walk. We all have at some time and probably will again (lower hair ball). Please don't bash the trails in this area. We try to cater to everyone but we will never be able to satisfy everyone. We do have a green loop at Park Road Park but it has a few small things on the trail to give you something to work up to. Not to mention the type of trail that gets built has a lot to do with the property that we have to work with. Just my 5 cents.

Not all green trails are created equally, take the time and do a little bit of research about the trail you want to ride prior to your trip.  Read reviews on this site and singletracks.com to better understand what you will encounter.  Searching YouTube with the name of the trail will more times than not give you a go pro edit or full ride that you can view as well.  These trails are built and maintained by volunteers and cost you nothing to use.  An afternoon walking my bike through the woods is still better than an afternoon on the couch in front of the TV, imo.

Ryan, honestly that is a green trail and around here there isn't much easier than the hardest trails at LNSP.  You can find sections of Sherman that are smooth but overall there are some drops / big roots and rock gardens that your family would not like.  WWC lake loop also has some areas that could be considered difficult ( between the rocks, steep uphill, big root, tight area at end, etc), N Meck is rooty as well and has some areas that have bitten even experienced riders (especially the creep crossing).

My honest opinion?  You need to take your family to some greenways and then non paved greenways until they get used to bike handling and how steep the terrain can seem.  After reading your post the only trail I can recommend for them would be the gravel trail around the entrance of wwc.  Have you checked out the Mallard Creek greenway for the kiddos?

Just keep at it and you will find yourself agreeing that the green trails around here are actually really easy.  If you cut out all the roots and made it smooth it wouldn't be a green trail anymore; it would be a greenway.  I can also promise you this; you and your family will get hurt worse at LNSP / Sherman than the other green trails.  This is because these trails are almost greenways and inexperienced riders have opportunities to get up to 15+ mph.  I would love to know the statistics of how many times an ambulance gets called to sherman vs other locations.