Usually presented as a rainbow-coloured racing course suspended in space, Rainbow Road is widely recognized as one of the most iconic staple elements of the Mario Kart video game series.

It lacks guardrails completely and is filled with sharp-90 degree turns with a few jumping blocks on the track's surface, whose multicolored pattern makes them hard to visualize.

The Chain Chomps now bounce on the track and create ripples, and there is a flying train operated and ridden by Toads that toss coins toward the racers.

For a return to the original flat format (despite allowing doubled map size) introduced in Super Mario Kart, the Rainbow Road in Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance lines the course with jumping humps, giving players a chance to get back on the course or take shortcuts with a Mushroom.

On top of the boost panels and ramps littered throughout the course, there are also falling stars that can harm players and Thunder Clouds that can shrink them if they come into contact.

This track takes place at night above Mushroom City and features floating sculptures of items that can rain Star power-ups that racers can pick up.

The first half of the course appears to take place at a space station and features floating sculptures of items similar to the Double Dash!!

The climax features a turning tunnel with dash panels that give players the option to go back on the road or take a glide ramp.

Several more space ships carry parts of the track, most notably the one with two circular conveyor belt rotating rings in opposing directions which can speed up or slow down the vehicle that drives upon.

[9] According to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe producer Kosuke Yabuki, the development team's goal was to create a version of Rainbow Road with a "near-future" aesthetic when anti-gravity controls were added.

When developing the film, directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic sought to recreate Rainbow Road's sense of danger and challenge as they described it as "The most unforgiving course in the series".

[3] To coincide with the 35th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros., an ice cream cake inspired by the track was released by Cold Stone Creamery from September 30 to December 15, 2020.

[16] Rainbow Road has received a generally positive attention for its memorable music and unique visuals, as well as notoriety for its length and challenging difficulty.

[17] Rainbow Road has appeared in multiple "top" ranking lists of the best tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise compiled by video game critics, including Paste Magazine,[18] Digital Spy,[19] Screen Rant,[20] and GameRevolution,[21] and TheGamer.

BuzzFeed News Reporter Joseph Bernstein ranked the Super Mario Kart version of Rainbow Road #15 on his list of the "34 Video Game Levels That You Must Play Before You Die".

[22] Reminiscing the Super Mario Kart version of Rainbow Road, A. V. Club staff said the overall experience was awe-inspiring in spite of its flawed design and frustrating level of difficulty.

[25] Andrew Webster from The Verge praised the updated version of Rainbow Road for Mario Kart 8 as the best example of its "impressive new track design" and called it a vast improvement when compared to previous instalments.

Ben Lee of Digital Spy as well as several US Gamer staff members considered the Nintendo 64 version of Rainbow Road to be one of their least favorite tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise.