The 10 best Mario Kart tracks ever, ranked

Mario Kart is a series that has been around since 1992, and as we get more entries, we are subjected to a bunch of new and interesting locations. While the characters and fun gameplay are what bring you to the games, the entertaining tracks are what keep you coming back. In total, there are 230 unique tracks you can race on. Do not worry; we will not subject you to that kind of torture. Instead, let’s take a look at the 10 best Mario Kart tracks ever.

Related: The 10 hardest Mario Kart tracks

The 10 best Mario Kart tracks ever

10. Waluigi Pinball (Mario Kart DS)

As soon as this race starts, you are launched into a pinball machine. The twisty turns are like the path of rails the ball will travel alongside during a real pinball game. Finally, you reach the mainboard filled with bumpers before being launched right back up again.

9. Donut Plains 3 (Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 8)

The Donut Plains tracks are the most Super Mario World-like courses you will come across. The third track in the series runs along a lake that you will cross over multiple times via bridges. You will need to time your jumps right in certain spots where the bridges are broken. Following that, Monty Moles will be jumping out of their holes, trying to cause you to spin out. These tracks carry that Mario feel, making them some of the best Mario Kart tracks ever.

8. Maka Wuhu (Mario Kart 7)

This track takes place on Wuhu Island, which originated in Wii Sports Resort, complete with a remix of that game’s title screen music. It is split into three segments, rather than laps. You start on a winding path during sunset before making your way to a set of caves. Once out of the caves, you pass a castle and start building your way to the top of the mountain where you glide toward the finish line.

7. DK’s Jungle Parkway (Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Wii)

Situated in a jungle, as all Donkey Kong-inspired tracks should be, you race along a waterfront that holds a big steamboat. Soon, you make your way up a ramp that blasts you over that steamboat to the other side of the river. Once there, you turn into the jungle. If you ever stroll into the grass, fruit is thrown at you to knock you backward. Make your way through the forest until you reach a wooden bridge leading into a cave. The cave holds an incline that leads straight to the finish line. It’s savage and unforgiving, earning itself a spot on our best Mario Kart tracks ever list.

6. Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7)

Rainbow Road is the most iconic set of tracks in Mario Kart. Every single game has its own take on the tracks. Where usually the track is above Earth, this time you travel between moons and even drive on Saturn’s ring. This track is split up into three segments that equal one full lap of the course.

5. Koopa Cape (Mario Kart Wii)

Starting out on Koopa Cape, you drive along a cliff with Goombas on it until you reach a ramp leading to a waterslide. When on this stream of water, you move faster. You zip down the stream and are deposited into a warp pipe that is an underwater tunnel leading to a waterfall area lying before the finish line.

4. Bowser’s Castle (Mario Kart 64)

Like Rainbow Road, Bowser’s Castle is featured in every Mario Kart game. The Nintendo 64 version stands out from the rest. You start on the drawbridge and are greeted by a giant fire-breathing Bowser statue. Entering the castle, you are greeted by several different Thwomps trying to get in your way. Make your way down the stairs and outside to race along the castle’s walls before hitting the finish line. It’s a brutal track that can easily demoralize any rookie racer, so it deserves a spot as one of the best Mario Kart tracks ever.

3. Baby Park (Mario Kart Double Dash/Mario Kart 8)

Baby Park could easily have been called “Mayhem Lane” instead if needed. This is the shortest track in the series, so short that the track requires seven laps instead of the traditional three. Having such a small course leaves room for items to be always on the move. Do not expect to make your way through this race without getting hit at least once, either by someone meaning to or on accident.

2. DK Mountain (Mario Kart Double Dash)

DK Mountain is one of the most exciting tracks ever in Mario Kart history. Starting off, you are blasted out of a cannon toward the titular mountain. From here, it is a race down the hill while avoiding boulders and drifting around corners and pitfalls. The last obstacle on the way is a swaying bridge that can easily be used to knock off opponents before making your way back toward the cannon.

1. Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart 8)

How could the iconic Rainbow Road not top the best Mario Kart tracks ever list? Mario Kart 64’s Rainbow Road is the most memorable of all Mario Kart tracks. This is a mammoth of a course, easily being the longest ever made in the series. In the beginning, the road declines rapidly. For kids playing this in the 1990s, this was the perfect opportunity to take a shortcut of a lifetime and jump across space to another part of the track much further down the line. As you go, you will encounter Chain Chomps on the road, and the background is colored with beautiful Mario characters. The track received a gorgeous redesign in Mario Kart 8. The death-defying shortcuts are no longer there, but the track has been cut into three segments instead of laps that equal one standard lap as the entire race.

This article includes affiliate links, which may provide small compensation to Gamepur.