DS DK Pass

DK Pass is the first course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart DS. It reappears in Mario Kart 7 as the second course of the Leaf Cup, and in some tours in Mario Kart Tour. Despite this course being named after Donkey Kong, no elements themed after him aside from the sponsors are present.

Mario Kart DS
The stage takes the player over a mountain and back down. Numerous snowballs roll around, and racers lose their item and spin backward if they crash into one. Snowmen also appear in the course, similar to the ones in Frappe Snowland in Mario Kart 64. Collision with them has an identical effect as crashing into a snowball.

An isolated Item Box appears up on a snowy cliff at the peak of the hill, after the second set of normal item boxes. To avoid slowing down, the player will need a Mushroom or two to get through the snow to the item box, but in it contains one of these items: Star, Mushroom, Triple Mushrooms, or a Red Shell. Any of them can be received in any position, including in Wi-Fi play, but it will usually yield Triple Mushrooms or a Star.

DK Pass is the only unlockable course that is shown in Mario Kart DS's instruction booklet.

Missions
There are two missions involving this track: 4-1 and 5-7. In mission 4-1 Wario must reach the finish line before Donkey Kong and in mission 5-7 Toad must drive through eight gates in order. Both involve the player going in the opposite direction.

Staff ghost
The staff ghost on this course is 2:14:607 using Donkey Kong in the Wildlife.

Mario Kart 7
DK Pass returns as the second course in the Leaf Cup in Mario Kart 7. All the trees in the off-road sections have been removed and some wooden ramps have been placed in the off-road area of this track, allowing players to perform a trick and gain a boost. The Dash Panel in the large jump is replaced with a Glide Ramp. Landing outside the barriers will result in an "out-of-bounds". The secret item box on the hill still holds a Mushroom, Triple Mushroom, or a Star, but will more often yield only a Mushroom than before, and no longer yields a Red Shell. Much like DK Summit from Mario Kart Wii, the race starts out foggy in the first two laps, but the fog clears up on the final lap. It is also now snowing throughout the race, which did not happen in the original.

An extremely difficult shortcut can be performed by leaning off the log ramp on the right before the Glide Ramp, using a Mushroom and tricking to gain air time, and bypassing the cliff to the right to land behind the finish line. The player now must simply cross back over the finish line in the right direction to make the lap count.

Mario Kart Tour
DK Pass reappears in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the 2019 Winter Tour. A few modifications were made to the track. The tunnel at the start of the course is redesigned, being of a rounded shape. Near the end of the track, the small village was redesigned and made more visible. Similar to Mario Kart 8, the Mario Kart logo uses a modern design instead of the classic design. Due to a lack of Stars and the Triple Mushrooms being a special item, the secret Item Box only gives normal items. From its debut up until part two of the 2019 Holiday Tour, a festive tree is found by the small village. The fog has also been removed. This course is a favorite of Donkey Kong, Birdo (Blue), Purple Koopa (Freerunning), Mario (Santa), Penguin Luigi, White Yoshi, Mario (Satellaview), Funky Kong, and King Bob-omb. It can also be a favorite of Penguin Mario if he reaches level 3, and Rosalina (Aurora) and Wario (Hiker) if they reach level 6.

As with other courses in the game, DK Pass has an R variant, a T variant and an R/T variant referred to as DK Pass R, DK Pass T and DK Pass R/T respectively. The reverse and trick variant features many air currents being released from Pipes and some Mushroom Trampolines. It is the first course that has served as the signature course twice (in the 2019 Winter Tour and Jungle Tour). With 15 tours DK Pass has the longest gap of not appearing in tours before reappearing in 2022 Mario vs. Luigi Tour.

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

Mario Kart DS

 * Website bios:
 * Flag of USA.png "Covered with snow and ice, DK Pass is as dangerous as it gets. Tight turns and runaway snowballs make for nail-biting fun on DK's home turf."
 * Flag of Europe.png "Brr, it's chilly in them thar hills... Pack your winter woollies through for this sub-zero speed through snow-capped peaks, as you dodge rolling snowballs and negotiate rows of rock-solid snowmen that bring your kart to an abrupt halt. Keep moving or your engine might freeze up..."

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: "As soon as the race begins, the once-peaceful slopes of DK Pass transform into a fighting frenzy for first place! Grab your kart and hit the hill in blue!"

Sponsors
Every fictional sponsor in DK Pass is displayed on a trackside banner.

Mario Kart DS / Mario Kart 7

 * DK Snow Way (Mario Kart 7 only)
 * KoopaKart
 * Sherbet
 * Skating Rink
 * Snowman
 * Super Mushroom

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mushroom Piston
 * Mario Motors
 * 100% Organic Antifreeze
 * Burning DK
 * Dream Gliders