DS Peach Gardens

Peach Gardens, or Peach Garden,  is the second course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart DS. The course is located in the gardens of a large country estate that bears a similar design to Peach's Castle. Obstacles in the course include Chain Chomps and Monty Moles, both capable of attacking the player. The course is often blocked by large hedges which cannot be driven through and patches of grass that slow players down. However, a speed booster such as a Mushroom or a Star can be used to get across the grass for a shortcut.

The course contains various gardening elements such as ornamental trees and flowers. Some parts of the road are decorated by trellised arches, like the one standing over the starting line that supports the "Mario Kart" banner on it. The track also includes a pond with a circular terrace that has a large garden topiary of Mario in the center. This is the only part of the track that is not protected by fences and falling into the pond causes Lakitu to put the player back on the track. The rest of the track, however, is protected by fences and tall hedges serving as walls. This Mario topiary resembles his design from Super Mario 64, which in turn makes it resemble the Mario ice sculpture in. An arranged version of this course's music is used for the golf course of the same name in Mario Golf: World Tour.

Peach Gardens reappears in Mario Kart Wii as the second course of the Lightning Cup, in Mario Kart Tour starting from the November–December 2022 Peach vs. Bowser Tour, and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass DLC as the second course of the Moon Cup.

Course layout
The track starts with the starting line in the front of the mansion's backdoor. The racers go along a straight piece of road towards a bridge to the pond in a roundabout circling the garden topiary of Mario and a single Chain Chomp running around the topiary. The racers swerve to the left onto another bridge to return to the garden and take a semicircular turn to the right. A patch of flowers in it can be passed through to skip the turn. The road continues uphill to a square terrace with a pair of squared patches of grass and flowers in it. The road turns in a 90 degrees turn to the right; however, any racer can cut the path by going to a narrow portion of flat terrain to the right of the front patch of flowers and go instantly downhill out of the terrace. Racers enter to a maze-like zone, where the main road is split up in multiple paths by square parterres and some stray Chain Chomps wander in the maze with two Item Boxes following after them. The maze ends with the paths gathering again to the main road that leads the racers uphill to another terrace. The road makes an abrupt S bend to the right and around a patch of flowers and goes downhill to a circular path with three high hedges that split the road again in parts into multiple paths, but gathers shortly and sends the racers to a curly path of dark soil with green lawn and some trees scattered in the zone. Among other elements in this section of the track are the Monty Moles hiding below holes found in the corners of the path and, in Mario Kart Wii, a pair of speed ramps found over the lawn to perform Tricks. The path ends near the mansion in a straight walkway that returns the racers to the backdoor, and swerving to the right from this spot, racers find the finish line to complete a lap.

When the player crosses the finish line, starting another lap, Lakitu is shown on the right side of the player, holding the lap count signs.

Peach Gardens is the only course in the game whose finish line gate is not placed directly over it, being placed slightly farther ahead instead. The gate is repositioned over the finish line in the course's future appearances.

Missions
Peach Gardens is the setting for two missions in Mario Kart DS.
 * Mission 5-1: The player must finish one lap around the course before a Chain Chomp. Notably, this mission uses from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as its background music exclusive to this mission, having a changed melody and extended bass line and bridge.
 * Mission 6-8: The player, as Bowser, must finish one lap before Peach while racing in the opposite direction.

Both missions involve the player driving in a single-lap race.

Mario Kart Wii
Peach Gardens returns in Mario Kart Wii as the second race of the Lightning Cup. There are now two new ramps found near the soil path right next to where the Monty Moles jump up. The Chain Chomps that roam around the hedge section now have chains and they move more slowly than their DS counterparts. The Mario Kart sign at the very beginning of the course has also been moved forward to be more aligned with the start/finish line. Additionally, the course map is rotated 180 degrees compared to how it appeared in Mario Kart DS. Like in Mario Kart DS, when the player crosses the finish line to start another lap, Lakitu is shown on the right side of the player, holding the lap count signs.

Tournament
In Mario Kart Wii, a tournament took place on this track. It was a time trial race, where players had to get past a larger number of Chain Chomps and Monty Moles. It was the second tournament of April 2009, and it was later repeated as the second tournament of April 2011, the second tournament of July 2012, and the first tournament of October 2013.

Mario Kart Tour
Peach Gardens reappears in Mario Kart Tour starting with the November–December 2022 Peach vs. Bowser Tour alongside Amsterdam Drift 3. It is the first race course from Mario Kart DS to be added to the game since DS Airship Fortress in the Pirate Tour sixty tours prior.

The course has been completely redesigned since its appearance in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. Unlike its previous incarnations, the Chain Chomps now roll around like they do on Chain Chomp Wheel in Mario Kart Wii, and Dash Panels have been added to the longer portion of the loop at the beginning. The left turn after the second stone bridge was made wider, with the flower patch being smaller. The flower patches before and after the maze have been relocated off to the side, streamlining the route the course takes. The areas before and after the maze also no longer go past the entrance and exit of the maze, and instead they turn diagonally into it. Item Boxes during the first maze section no longer trail behind the Chain Chomps, and are instead set in predetermined spots. The layout of the maze has also changed, as some of the squares are smaller than the others and there are only three rows instead of five. Hot-air balloons with arrow signs have been added to the course before and after the maze section. The second maze section near the end has now been turned into a roundabout, sporting a Big Piranha Plant inside of a Warp Pipe in the middle. The winding road leading to the final stretch along the house has been mirrored. Out of the two ramps added in Mario Kart Wii, only the left ramp (after exiting the roundabout) is retained, while the right ramp has been removed. Like other courses in the game, Peach Gardens has a reverse variant, a trick variant, and a reverse and trick variant, referred to as Peach Gardens R, Peach Gardens T, and Peach Gardens R/T respectively. The R version converts the maze into a gliding section and has the Monty Moles move around like they do in Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, while the T version incorporates Conveyor Belts and the R/T version replaces the Big Piranha Plant with a large Inky Piranha Plant.

The course now features fountains, flower stands, more trellises, heart shaped lawn patterns, and two gazebos. The mansion has been redone to feature bigger windows and beige walls. The striped hills in the background are taller, as are the walls around the course; they now feature small turrets and crenellations, and there are no longer trees visible over them. In addition to Mario's topiary being redesigned, the first maze section now features topiaries of Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Toadette. The starting banner seems to have been moved slightly more to the center and is now decorated with rose bushes and topped with Peach's crown. It also utilizes the modern Mario Kart logo (which is pink) instead of the classic one.

The course is a favorite of Peach (Wedding), Fire Rosalina, Pauline (Rose), Peach (Yukata), Daisy (Farmer), Dr. Luigi, Pink Shy Guy (Ninja), Petey Piranha, and the Yoshi Mii Racing Suit.

For this course's tour appearances, see List of DS Peach Gardens tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Peach Gardens returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the third wave of the Booster Course Pass. It is the second course of the Moon Cup. First shown in the September 2022 Nintendo Direct, it was one of two courses announced first for the wave, alongside Merry Mountain. However, it would be announced for and debut in Mario Kart Tour before the release of Wave 3, giving this course the distinction of having the shortest gap between classic course appearances, with only a one week gap; beating the previous course with this distinction,, by seventeen days.

The course takes its appearance from Mario Kart Tour, with a comprehensive visual overhaul. The behavior of the Chain Chomps has been reverted to their original roaming state, and the hot-air balloons have been removed, as well as the added ramps from Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart Tour. Barriers have been added to the loop, preventing players from accessing the longer portion. The flower patch on the turn after the second stone bridge has been made slightly bigger, thus bringing the width of the turn and the shortcut itself more in line with games prior to Mario Kart Tour. The Monty Moles also now use the behavior seen in Mario Kart Tour's DS Peach Gardens R, digging through the ground and occasionally popping out, as opposed to popping out from a stationary hole, although players are able to trick off of the dirt the Monty Moles create. Toad, Yoshi, and Shy Guy spectators have been added across to the course, found sitting on garden sets and park benches.

The hedge at the first flower patch turn now has an opening in it, leading to a pathway that is blocked in the previous iterations of the course, which now leads to the left side of the mansion. This path, now winding instead of straight, is used on the final lap of the track, leading the race to drive the course in reverse (similar to the last lap of ). This lap takes after Peach Gardens R from Mario Kart Tour, even incorporating the glide ramp over the maze section, making the second course in the Booster Course Pass that is not from Mario Kart Tour to change its layout to a variant version between laps and the second to change layout in general, the first being.

Like in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, when the player crosses the finish line to start another lap, Lakitu is shown on the right side of the player holding the lap count signs (when holding the start signal, he’s also shown on the right side of the player; however, when racing on Grand Prix or VS Race, and the player’s starting position is first or seventh place, he is shown holding the start signal on the left side of the player instead; the same thing happens when racing on ).

The version of Peach Gardens shown off in the September 2022 Nintendo Direct has several noticeable differences compared to the final version. The loop at the beginning lacks the barriers from the final version, and even had at least one Coin present. The flowerbed shortcut also took on its size from Mario Kart Tour, and the route used to turn around on lap 3 also appears to be absent, with no visible gap in the hedge.

Due to both courses using 3/4 time for their music, the frontrunning version of this course shares the same beat rhythm as.

Internally, was referred to as "Cnsw_32" in version 2.1.0, implying it may have originally been intended to be the second course of the Rock Cup. A video released by Nintendo of America on YouTube erroneously lists this course as the second course of the Rock Cup.

Mario Kart DS

 * North American website bio: Peach's tranquil gardens are the perfect backdrop for a tight race. Don't drive through the flowers, and keep an eye peeled for Chain Chomps on the loose!
 * European website bio: After Wario Stadium's dirty tricks, Peach's peaceful gardens are a breath of fresh air. That is, until you run into a Chain Chomp's snapping jaws, plop into the pond water or get stuck in the numerous flower beds. Oh, and keep off the grass or Peach will get most upset...

Mario Kart Wii

 * European website bio: Should you really be ripping through a country garden on high-powered karts and motorbikes? Peach's presence on the starting grid suggests she's happy for her lush green facilities to be a part of the Lightning Cup competition!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Nintendo Magazine 2022 Winter: A course inside Peach Castle's gardens. There are Chomps guarding the gardens - make sure you don't get bitten by them!
 * Official Nintendo social media accounts: There’s no time to stop and smell the flowers in Peach Gardens from Mario Kart DS! A frantic dash through the hedges awaits in Wave 3 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass.

Trivia

 * Peach Gardens has seen three instances across the Mario Kart series where it was driven in reverse, the most for any course in the series.
 * In Mario Kart DS in Mission 6-8, where the player must beat Peach in a race on Peach Gardens in reverse.
 * In Mario Kart Tour, where every course has a separate reversed variant.
 * In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where the route changes on the last lap and the course is played in reverse.
 * Peach Gardens has several similarities to Tour Paris Promenade. Both:
 * are the only two Mario Kart tracks to have their music in 3/4 time.
 * begin with a straightway that leads to a circle.
 * have accordion in their music.
 * have one Piranha Plant on the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe version of the course.
 * have Peach as the 150cc staff ghost in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
 * have the player drive the same path on the first two laps before taking a side path that has the player drive around the main course backwards on the final lap in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.