Recall your first rendezvous with a treehouse. You were most likely a child, fascinated by a fort so high in the sky that nothing could touch you — not even your parents. Treehouses are fortresses of childhood mischief, secret passwords, and imaginary games. And if you ever dreamt that you could stay in that tree for days at a time, complete with a bed, a bathroom, electricity, and heat, then your dreams may have just come true.
Nestled in the forests of Cave Junction, Ore. lies a large, grassy plot of land surrounding a rustic home made of dark wood, next to a woodshed and a greenhouse, all surrounded by soaring Douglas fir trees. It seems to be your average, rural landscape. Until you look up.
Vertical Horizons Treehouse Paradise is a bed-and-breakfast that houses its guests in fully livable tree houses. Because of its location — west of Medford and Ashland on Highway 199 — it’s out-of-the-way for many. And yet, people from all over the world come to stay at this “treesort.” There are four individual treehouses available for rent, ranging in size and shape. Yet each includes one or more beds, a bathroom with sink, a toilet, heating and electricity, and a balcony for viewing the peaceful landscape.
 
But why is a house in a tree so intriguing?
“People are looking for something different these days,” owner Jodie Moskios says. “Who cares about the suite at the Hilton? You can have that any day, anywhere.”
Moskios emphasizes that people, especially young adults, are looking to do something that nobody else has done before. But she also finds that there’s something more that brings guests to Vertical Horizons: people are simply drawn to trees.
“Everyone has a tree,” Moskios said. “I don’t care whether it’s a big tree, or a swing in a tree or you carved your name into a tree.”
Inside each treehouse is a cozy cabin feel with all-wood interiors and lofted beds with patchwork quilts covering them. The land itself is serene and comforting. The smell of wood is everywhere along with the buzz of insects and the chirping of birds. You might be greeted by the owners’ dog, Cosmo, or by the occasional call of a wild turkey.
The journey of creating a sustainable “treesort,” however, has not been without struggle. Each treehouse has its own unique problems, ones that you often don’t consider if you’ve never worked with a live structure. A tree house is one of the only residences that makes its foundation on a living organism. As extraordinary as that is, it also creates endless problems and costs.
Each tree has its own type of ants that can cause cause problems in the houses and, of course, no tree is completely weatherproof. That aside, Jodie says the hardest part about building treehouses for the public is following city regulations. She argues that many of the building codes, which were designed with homes on the ground in mind, aren’t always the best for a house in a tree.
“They stay with this 50-year-old criteria,” Jodie says. “These are house criteria not treehouse criteria.”
Creating Vertical Horizons has been trying and frustrating for the Moskios family at times, but it’s exactly what they wanted. As their kids grew older and moved out of their house, Jodie and Phil were looking for a way to make their living at home. In 2004, they built their first treehouse, The Cottage, with the intent of renting it out as a bed-and-breakfast. After renting The Cottage out through another company for a couple of years, they continued to build and eventually started Vertical Horizons Treehouse Paradise. By 2008, Jodie and Phil had three tree houses and plenty of business.
For the summer season, a night in one of these treehouses costs $280, which also includes a plentiful breakfast in the owners’ home the next morning. While the price is on the higher side, you certainly won’t be disappointed by the experience. All of the tree houses are clean and well kept with amenities like miniature refrigerators, hot water pots (complete with tea and coffee), bathroom essentials, and an array of board games and books for use.
The service is excellent as well. Owners Jodie and Phil Moskios are there to greet you when you arrive and check you into your tree house. The two are always around, usually working on some type of project, and are happy to answer questions and give recommendations for places to explore or stop for dinner.
Breakfast is served at 9 A.M. the next morning. The meal is prepared by Phil, who used to work as a chef. It’s served family-style at a large table and you get a chance to hang out with the other guests. The breakfast menu  is seasonal and at this time of year it consists of stacks of fluffy pancakes with blueberry syrup and homemade whipped cream, scrambled eggs and bacon, a large display of fruits like mangos and strawberries, as well as sliced pears drizzled in a homemade caramel sauce.
The overall feeling is welcoming and intimate because the resort itself is small, personal, and guests have nearly unlimited access to all of it. The spacious, grassy backyard of the owners’ home is essentially everyone’s backyard. Across it you’ll find a volleyball net, a set-up for a game of horseshoes, and a fire pit surrounded by tree stump seats and metal skewers for roasting marshmallows.
 
Jodie doesn’t quite remember what gave them the idea to build a tree house, but she’s thankful that it happened that way. All things considered, Jodie Moskios is content being able to spend her days in the place that her and her husband built from the ground up — or, in some cases, from the trunk up.
“I love it here,” she says. “There aren’t very many other places I would rather be.”
 

Gallery • 2 Photos

Emily Albertson

The treehouse interiors at Vertical Horizons are fully furnished and comfortable. (Emily Albertson/Ethos)