9 year old, first multiday

[Dredd]

I am planning on taking my 9 year old on his first multiday, a 4 day, 3 night hike/outdoor experience. I have been considering Panthertown NC because of the waterfalls and swim opportunities. I have never been there so can only go by what I have read. I want to keep it fun and interesting for him. Anyone been there? I want him to get a true hiking experience, but not overwhelm him.

[Mr. Bumpy]

Over the last half dozen years or so I have spent probably around 35 nights in Panthertown and never get bored of it. It is a great choice for summer. For a relatively small area it is incredibly diverse in terms of terrain and vegetation. You can criss cross back and forth over yourself and never really get the sensation that you are backtracking or anything.

Make sure you use the Kornegay map. Any trailhead is good but I tend to the Saltrock gap parking area. Camping on top of Little Green is a highlight - you do have to carry water up there. The swimming holes can be packed especially on the weekends and things thin out at night. In the relatively short time I have been going there I have noticed a dramatic increase in both day and overnight use. Half the time I'm there in the summer I stir up some ground wasps which is supposedly a common experience. There is a lot of exposed rock which tend to collect snakes. A friend climbs a lot out there and he thinks there are more snakes there then average for local crags.

[Wildfang]

Never been to panthertown, but heard good things. Something to note with kids it's hard to get them to hike especially after they've been swimming. (I was a camp counselor and we always had slower and shorter miles after our waterfall hikes(
Just south of NOC, there's a 30mi section of the AT with tons of balds and fire towers. The trail has a few road crossings you could look into breaking that up if the weather is nice when you're planning your hike. Scenic overlooks always make for good hikes with kids.