Both casitas head-on at dusk, porch lights on

Pine, Arizona · Under the Mogollon Rim

The Juniper Casitas

Two casitas under the Rim.

Sleeps 7 · Two separate casitas · One shared deck · Elk country

The layout

Two small houses. One deck between them.

My grandfather built these two casitas by hand, copying a place he and my grandmother stayed at in Italy in 1970. Casa Juanita is the bigger one: a kitchen, a queen bed, a full bath, and a loft with two twin beds for the kids. Casa Peter is the small one across the deck, with its own front door and a queen-over-twin bunk. The deck joins them. Elk come through often.

Casa Juanita

Kitchen · Queen · Full bath

Casa Peter

Queen-over-twin bunk

The Loft

Two twin beds

Casa Peter across the deck, with the grill and dining table — Casa Peter, from the deck outside Casa Juanita.

The main casita · Sleeps 4

Casa Juanita

The one he promised her. One open room with a full kitchen, a queen bed, a proper walk-in shower, and more closet than you'd expect. A second half bath holds the washer and dryer. The covered front porch has two Adirondack chairs and a bench, and it's where the coffee happens. A low white ladder goes up to the Loft.

Interior wide: white ladder, loft rail, ceiling fan, bed, loveseat and TV

Kitchen: oak cabinets, stainless refrigerator, dishwasher, coffee station, stained glass

Full bath: walk-in shower with bench, shoji closet door

Interior from the bed end: loft above, dining nook beyond

Covered porch at twilight, navy Adirondack chairs, sconce lit

Full kitchen — range, Breville tabletop oven, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, single-serve coffee maker

Queen bed

Full bath, walk-in shower

Half bath with stacked washer/dryer

Mini-split heating and cooling

Ceiling fan

Wall-mounted TV — Google Play, plus Apple screen share over WiFi

Covered front porch

Up the ladder · Two twin beds

The Loft

Peter always said the loft should be for the grandkids. We finished it in the summer of 2026. Two twin beds under the slope of the roof, a rug, a very small rocking chair, and a stained-glass window. The ceiling is low and the ladder is a ladder — it's built for kids and nimble adults, and we'd rather tell you that now.

Twin bed under the roof slope, stained-glass window

Lemon and strawberry pillows on a loft bed

The second casita · Sleeps 3

Casa Peter

Across the deck, with its own front door. One room with a queen-over-twin bunk, a wardrobe, and a sliding glass door onto a little covered porch with two rocking chairs. Casa Peter has its own outside door into the half bath, so nobody has to walk through Casa Juanita at night. There's no kitchen here — the kitchen is thirty feet away.

Queen-over-twin bunk

Private entrance

Private door to the half bath

Covered porch with rocking chairs

Mini-split heating and cooling

Wardrobe

Two black rockers and a log side table on Casa Peter's porch

Casa Peter from the deck, iron half-bath door at right

Between the two

The deck is the reason the layout works.

It runs the length of Casa Juanita and out to Casa Peter's porch. A long cedar-railed table that seats eight, a Weber gas grill, Adirondack chairs, and a bench under the porch roof. Ponderosa and oak all around. Elk come through often — keep the food inside overnight.

The deck at dusk: dining set, Adirondack chairs, sunset

The deck looking toward Casa Juanita's porch

The drive through the pines at dusk, the casitas glowing beyond

1970 → 2004 → 2026

Built on a promise made in Italy.

In 1970 my grandfather Peter and my grandmother Juanita traveled through Italy. Somewhere on that trip they stayed in a place built as two small houses joined by a deck, and Juanita loved it. Peter promised he'd build it for her one day.

He bought an empty lot in Pine in 2004 and started. He did the work himself. He had the walls up and was close to setting the roof when he went in for emergency heart valve replacement surgery. Three months later he came back and finished it. A week after that, he passed away.

My grandmother told that story with the biggest smile you have ever seen on a person.

Peter always said the loft in the main casita should be for the grandkids. We finished it in the summer of 2026.

The casitas are painted the gray-green and near-black of the alligator junipers growing all over this ridge — trees that are known for sprouting back once their tops are taken off. That's where the name comes from. And also from the fact that Juniper starts with Juanita and ends with Peter.

— Wesley, Peter and Juanita's grandson

The area

Pine, Arizona

Pine sits at about 5,400 feet under the Mogollon Rim, in ponderosa forest, two hours north of Phoenix and fifteen miles up the road from Payson. It's a one-street town with a brewery, a deli, a market and a post office, and it's cool when the valley isn't.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

4 miles south. The largest natural travertine bridge in the world, 150 feet wide, over Pine Creek.

Pine Trailhead

The Highline Trail and the Arizona Trail leave from the edge of town.

Fossil Creek

Spring-fed, turquoise, reached through Strawberry. Permit required in season.

Strawberry

3 miles north. The 1885 schoolhouse is the oldest standing in Arizona.

That Brewery & Pub

In Pine. They make an Arizona Trail Ale.

Ponderosa Market

Groceries, in town.

Payson

15 miles. Full services, hospital, big grocery.

Both casitas in daytime under a blue sky

Before you book

Good to know

Check-in / check-out

Check in 3:00 PM · Check out 12:00 PM.

Getting there

The last stretch is red gravel through the trees. 4WD is recommended during heavy snow seasons.

Parking

Gracious parking for up to 6 vehicles.

The Loft

Ladder access, low ceiling. Kids and nimble adults.

Casa Peter

No kitchen; the kitchen is across the deck in Casa Juanita.

Wildlife

Elk come through often, along with deer and the occasional wild boar. Keep food off the deck overnight.

Pets

Pets are not allowed.

Smoking

No.

WiFi and cell

Free WiFi on site, and generous cell coverage.

Winter

It snows in Pine. Floor heaters stay set to 65°, and the mini-splits are yours to adjust. 4WD is recommended in heavy snow.

Book direct

Check availability

Pick your dates and send a request. We confirm within a day, and nothing is charged until we do.

$285 a night · 2-night minimum · crossed-out dates are booked

Check-in

Add date

Checkout

Add date

Guests▾