Hicksville Trailer Palace to close Joshua Tree motel in 2027

By Rebecca Stone

Hicksville Trailer Palace will close its 11-trailer adults-only motel in the Joshua Tree area at the end of June 2027, ending 16 years of operation.

What is closing in the Joshua Tree area?

The company announced the decision Saturday in an Instagram post. “After 16 amazing years as the 1st ever California Trailer Motel, we’ve made the decision to close the doors at Hicksville Trailer Palace forever, at the end of June 2027,” the announcement said. Hicksville describes the property as California’s first trailer motel (a lodging site built around vintage trailers rather than conventional motel rooms).

The trailer inventory includes The Pee-Wee, a circus-themed unit inspired by “Big Top Pee-wee.” The Integratrailer carries an alien and science-fiction look. Those are two of 11 trailers, each described by Hicksville as uniquely themed. The property markets itself as a one-of-a-kind desert experience.

Public reaction was warmer than the corporate announcement. Actress Christine Elise McCarthy called the news devastating and noted that she is on the motel’s wall of fame.

American plus-size model Tess Holliday said she booked a stay last year but could not go. She sent friends to stay in one trailer. “I am so sad…I know it brought magic to so many people,” Holliday wrote. She thanked Hicksville for keeping the property’s kitschy magic alive for nearly two decades.

How will reservations and gift cards work?

Guests with existing reservations will still be able to stay, the company said. It intends to operate through its final day, which leaves current reservations valid across the remaining operating period rather than canceling them immediately. Hicksville also invited travelers who had long wanted to visit but had not booked to make reservations before the doors close.

Anyone with an outstanding gift card was encouraged to choose dates now. The business said it would continue honoring all Trailer Palace gift cards at Hicksville Pines in Idyllwild. That arrangement preserves the certificates’ use after the Joshua Tree property closes.

Why is the operator moving its focus to Idyllwild?

Hicksville will shift all focus to Hicksville Pines, its sister mountain property in Idyllwild. The announcement called the decision bittersweet and said concentrating time on the sister property could support greater work going forward. No financial reason for the Joshua Tree closure appeared in the announcement.

For a hospitality closure, that financial silence is conspicuous because no room economics explain why 11 trailers will stop operating before the end of June 2027. Hicksville disclosed no occupancy (the share of available rooms sold), average daily rate (the typical room price), revenue, labor cost or other operating figure.

It also provided no estimate for carrying the property through the first half of 2027. The announcement gives the trailers names. It supplies no balance sheet.

What changes before the final day?

The booking window remains open for new stays, existing reservations and gift-card redemptions while the company prepares to cease Joshua Tree operations at the end of June 2027.

The announcement did not publish a reservation cutoff and instead set one broad endpoint: the motel will close at the end of June 2027. It did not specify the exact final operating date.

The company did not say whether it would sell, move or retire the 11 trailers. Nor did it disclose how many employees the closure would affect. Those details remain unresolved as the June 2027 deadline approaches.

The next milestone is concrete: the 11-trailer motel remains open through June 2027, while Hicksville directs future attention and continued gift-card service toward Hicksville Pines in Idyllwild.