Maple Treeway

Shot out of the cannon, Diddy Kong approaches the awaiting track/tree...

A treehouse built near the trunk of the huge tree in Maple Treeway.

Crashing through leaves, the players land underneath a makeshift little hut and start to round the trunk. A couple of treehouses line the far side of the road, which slants tremendously so that characters can drive almost perpendicular to the track. Patches of leaves have been raked into piles, and running into one shoots out either a Mushroom or a Banana. However, the first pile to the right has a 50/50 chance of giving you a star or nothing. Once a U-turn around the trunk has been completed, an unnatural wooden bridge (not produced by the tree) sheltered by a green pointed roof lets players cross over to a branch extension, which has enough diameter to be driven on. No guardrails are present on the tight left turn in the branch, and players are very susceptible to slipping off and falling way down. In case players didn't catch any Items by the bridge, another line is supplied on the branch. Next, the tree opens up into a wide expanse of decaying leaves- the top of the tree. Two ferocious Wigglers march across the treetop, and though they don't spin out drivers, they'll block your path and bounce you back pretty damn far. More piles of leaves are also spread out, and a few lucky ones on this section dole out a Star- they look similar to Bananas, so keen eye site is necessary.

A stunt performed by Diddy Kong on the Half-Pipe.

After the wide field of leaves is passed, players travel through another narrow, canopied bridge to head back onto the thick branches. A light 90 degree turn leads to a decently straight portion of branch, with two Boost Pads on the left and right making players pass it quite quickly (the boosters are a little close to the edge [especially the second one], so caution is prescribed). The branch ends suddenly and is continued with a constructed platform with green, leafy walls. The platform is a little steep, equipped with two Boost Pads, and heads into a 180 degree turn. A Half-Pipe with Item Boxes on the edge is provided to avoid boosting straight off the edge. The inner border is also mostly un-walled, so, pick your choice. From here, a dugout branch with steep yet curved walls starts to descend and rapidly begins to narrow into a tunnel. Leaf patches throwing Bananas into the closed-in area can make it super deadly. A drooping rope bridge, dangerously without borders, connects players to a wire mesh Boost Pad ramp that has been constructed a far above the ground.

Diddy Kong about to cross the river via net bridge.

2 more treehouses mark the landing for players onto another big branch, this one seeming to be cut away from the main tree. The rounded branch drops considerably, turning slightly to the left (enough to make foolish drivers fall off though) and offers a few Item Boxes. The sawed off branch suddenly ends right before a wide river; to cross it, an expansive net has been spread across, employed as a bridge. The air makes it extremely bumpy and swaying, but that's a good thing, as Tricks can be performed. The net finally returns to solid ground, very close to the finish line. The path from here is pretty much straight (except, if they feel like it, players can turn either right or left and go up a ramp that flows into a tree, where there's a Boost Pad and Item Box to well equip the player when they speed through leaves back onto the main road [saves a bit of time but still considered an alternate route]), and a valley drops the track just a little bit. Roots from outlying trees are exposed, and can be used as Trick ramps to boost into the following checkered line.

Shortcuts

• Right at the starting point, a gap in the bridge to the right lets players onto a secret path that crosses over the ordinary one with Boost Pads and Items- the bridge of it can be seen right before the cannon- and lets them exit to the left of the cannon launch point.

Time Trials

Staff Ghost

Nin★pico (02:58.633)

Expert Staff Ghost

Nin★MUGI★ (02:37.812)

Mario Kart Wii Trivia

• Mario Kart 7 returns this track as a retro course in the Leaf Cup... very suiting.
  • The cargo net has been removed and substituted for a Glider ramp, the Half-Pipe is missing, and a few graphics changes have been made, but the rest remains the same.
• This track returns in Mario Kart Tour as part of Halloween Tour (2020).
• The Gold Leaf Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy kind of resembles Maple Treeway.