I would advise you not to go to Brown Mtn. with a side by side. I took my wife up there with our rzr last year and the trails were very tight and hard to get through. Very rocky in places and already had one friend destroy his side by side up there. If you have a dirt bike or 4wheeler, I'd suggest taking that up there to ride around on first to get a feel for what it's like. I have tons of fun on my dirt bike, but care nothing about taking a side by side back up there unless they decide to widen the trails at some point.
Two other places for you to go ride that have not been mentioned is Brushy Mtn. located in Taylorsville, NC (other side of Hickory). Brushy Mtn. is lots of fun and the owner keeps all his trails maintained better then any other place I've been! There is also Lake Houser located in Mooresboro, NC. I'll for-warn ya though that Lake Houser is a free for all down there. It has some fun trails, but there is every thing from dirt bikes to big off road trucks that go down there. Some of the mud holes down there can and will sink you in a second, but easy to avoid if you don't like getting muddy.