The Closest Licensed Daycare on the Coquitlam Side of the River
Looking for daycare in Port Coquitlam? Love Kids Daycare Coquitlam is 8 to 12 minutes west of downtown PoCo at 3007 Pasture Cir, in Ranch Park right where the Coquitlam River forms the boundary between the two cities. Lougheed Highway carries you across in one shot, no highway merging.
Port Coquitlam is a real city, 61,498 residents as of the 2021 census across 29.16 square kilometres, sitting at the confluence of the Fraser and Pitt Rivers about 27 km east of downtown Vancouver. Incorporated March 7, 1913 around the Canadian Pacific rail terminus, the CPKC yard still works today. English is mother tongue for 62.4% of PoCo households and Chinese-language households make up 8.2%, with dozens of other first languages behind them. Multilingual families are the norm here, and we run the program with that in mind.
Love Kids Daycare Coquitlam is at 3007 Pasture Cir, Coquitlam, BC V3C 2C3. From central Port Coquitlam, head west on Lougheed Highway across the Coquitlam River into Ranch Park. Roughly 8 to 12 minutes door to door. Call (604) 338-8020 and we will walk you through the exact route from your street.
How Port Coquitlam Families Get to 3007 Pasture Cir
The Coquitlam River is Port Coquitlam's western boundary and Ranch Park sits immediately west of that river on the Coquitlam side. Cross the river and you are here. Lougheed Highway runs east-west across PoCo and continues into Coquitlam, so from Shaughnessy Street or the central blocks, Lougheed is the obvious route in. Prairie Avenue and Kingsway Avenue both feed onto Lougheed. From the south side of the city, Mary Hill Bypass (Highway 7B) hugs the Fraser River along the southern edge and gives you a westbound alternate when Lougheed is heavy.
The seven-lane cable-stayed Pitt River Bridge carrying Highway 7 opened in October 2009 at the northeast corner of the city, connecting PoCo to Pitt Meadows. If you live near that bridge in Riverwood or northeast Birchland Manor, you are farther from us than a Mary Hill family. Still 12 to 14 minutes on a normal day.
The Transit Story: West Coast Express Commuters
Port Coquitlam does not have SkyTrain. A Millennium Line extension was studied in 2020 and shelved, so today the rail commute out of PoCo is the West Coast Express. Port Coquitlam Station sits at 2125 Kingsway on the south side of the Canadian Pacific tracks in the central downtown. It opened in 1995 with the WCE line, has one side platform, two tracks, and 280 parking stalls. Five morning trains run west to downtown Vancouver each weekday and five return east to Mission.
Those five morning trains are why our 7:30 am opening matters. If you are catching an early WCE westbound out of Port Coquitlam Station, you cannot use a daycare that opens at 8:00 or 8:30. We open at 7:30 am Monday through Friday, and the drop-off-then-station-back-across drive is under 10 minutes for most PoCo commuter families. Port Coquitlam Station also has six bus bays feeding TransLink routes 159, 160, 170, 173, 174, 175, and 188 out to Braid, Kootenay Loop, Coquitlam Central, and south PoCo.
Port Coquitlam Schools and the SD43 Catchments Around Us
Port Coquitlam schools run under School District 43, the same SD43 that runs Coquitlam and Port Moody. When your PoCo preschooler graduates from our program into kindergarten, they enter the same district our older siblings-in-care are already in. No cross-district transition. The city has 13 SD43 elementary schools (Birchland, Blakeburn, Castle Park, Cedar Drive, Central, Coquitlam River, Hazel Trembath, Irvine, James Park, Kilmer, Leigh, Mary Hill, Westwood), 5 middle schools (Citadel, Kwayhquitlum, Maple Creek, Minnekhada, Pitt River), and two secondaries (Terry Fox and Riverside).
Catchment details we hear about on tour: Castle Park Elementary, Hazel Trembath Elementary, and Ecole Citadel Middle serve the Citadel neighbourhood. Ecole Mary Hill and Ecole Kilmer serve Mary Hill. Birchland, Blakeburn, and Cedar Drive Elementaries, Ecole Coquitlam River, and Minnekhada Middle cover Birchland Manor and the north end (Minnekhada is described as SD43's largest middle school). Ecole Irvine and Ecole Kwayhquitlum Middle anchor Riverwood along with Terry Fox Secondary and Ecole Riverside Secondary. Ecole Coquitlam River Elementary hosts SD43's Early French Immersion track K to 3, Ecole Kwayhquitlum is the district's FI middle-school hub, and Ecole Riverside runs French Immersion plus a Hockey Academy. Our program is English-language, but we build the listening, pre-literacy, and social skills kids need for either an English or FI kindergarten classroom.
The Terry Fox Piece of Port Coquitlam
The Fox family moved to PoCo in 1968 and Terry grew up in the city, attending Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary. After the Marathon of Hope the school was renamed Terry Fox Secondary on January 18, 1986. Terry is buried at Port Coquitlam Municipal Cemetery. Terry Fox Secondary sits at 1260 Riverwood Gate in Riverwood, current building opened in 1999, about 1,550 students grades 9 to 12, with the on-site Terry Fox Theatre. It is the piece of identity Port Coquitlam kids grow up inside.
Parks, Trails, and the Traboulay Loop
The Traboulay PoCo Trail is a 25.3 km loop that encircles the whole city alongside the Fraser, Pitt, and Coquitlam Rivers, conceived in 1967 for Canada's centennial and built out from the early 1970s. Gates Park and Lions Park sit along the Coquitlam River corridor and connect straight into the trail. Our program leans outdoor. When a Port Coquitlam family joins us, the level of outside time fits how they already live.
Programs We Offer PoCo Families
We run a full stack of licensed childcare programs matched to your child's age.
- Preschool for ages 3 to 5, building early literacy, listening skills, and the social base kids need to walk into SD43 kindergarten ready.
- Full-Day Daycare from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, timed for West Coast Express and bus-commuter families out of PoCo.
- Family Daycare for families who want a quieter, smaller-group setting for their child rather than a big centre.
- Group Childcare for the ages 3 to 5 group program with mixed-age play, structured circle time, and outdoor blocks.
- Subsidized Child Care for Port Coquitlam families who qualify for the BC Childcare Subsidy. We accept it and we will help you figure out eligibility.
Infant and Toddler Care in Port Coquitlam
Under-3 spots at 3007 Pasture Cir are full. BC licensing caps us at three children under 3 and all three seats are held. Get on the waitlist and we will call the moment one opens. We are actively enrolling ages 3 and up, including kids turning 3 soon.
Why Port Coquitlam Families Choose Us
Sixteen years serving the Tri-Cities. Every educator holds an ECE diploma. Licensed under BC's Child Care Licensing Regulation with regular provincial inspections. We accept BC Childcare Subsidy. Daily updates. Low child-to-staff ratios. And a 7:30 am open door built for the PoCo commute. What our Port Coquitlam families tell us most often is the drive feels like nothing. Cross the Coquitlam River, roll into Ranch Park, drop off, back across, on to the station or the office.
Questions Port Coquitlam Parents Ask
How long is the drive from Port Coquitlam to Love Kids Daycare?
From downtown Port Coquitlam near Shaughnessy Street, most families reach us in 8 to 12 minutes. You head west across the Coquitlam River on Lougheed Highway into Ranch Park, and we sit at 3007 Pasture Cir. The Coquitlam River is the shared boundary between the two cities, so we are quite literally right across the water from PoCo.
Are you open early enough for the West Coast Express?
Yes. We open at 7:30 am Monday to Friday. Port Coquitlam Station at 2125 Kingsway runs five morning trains west to downtown Vancouver, and our 7:30 am start is set up for those families. Drop off with us first, cross back over the river, and catch your westbound train without scrambling.
My child goes to a Port Coquitlam SD43 school for after-school care. Can you handle that?
Port Coquitlam public schools sit inside School District 43, the same SD43 that serves Coquitlam and Port Moody. Because we are on the Coquitlam side of the river in Ranch Park, we serve families whose older kids attend PoCo schools like Terry Fox Secondary on Riverwood Gate, Ecole Riverside Secondary, or catchment elementaries such as Ecole Coquitlam River. Call us at (604) 338-8020 and we will walk through the specifics of your family's schedule.
My child is under 3. Do you have space right now?
Our infant and toddler spots are full right now. BC licensing allows three children under 3 and all three are taken. Join the waitlist and we will call the moment one opens. We are actively enrolling ages 3 and up today, including kids turning 3 soon.
Which route works best from Mary Hill or south Port Coquitlam?
From Mary Hill or Lower Mary Hill, the Mary Hill Bypass (Highway 7B) along the south edge of the city gives you a clean westbound run across to the Coquitlam side, and from there you cut north into Ranch Park. It is usually a 10 to 12 minute drive in normal morning traffic. Lougheed Highway is the alternate if the Bypass is heavy.
Do you accept the BC Childcare Subsidy?
Yes. Love Kids Daycare Coquitlam accepts the BC Childcare Subsidy. If your family qualifies, the Province pays a portion directly and your out-of-pocket cost drops. Many Port Coquitlam families do not realize they are eligible, so bring it up when you tour and we will help you check.
How do you handle French Immersion continuity for PoCo kids?
A lot of Port Coquitlam families are already thinking about SD43's Early French Immersion track at Ecole Coquitlam River Elementary (K to 3), or the middle years at Ecole Kwayhquitlum, or Ecole Riverside Secondary. We are an English-language preschool, but we build the listening, social, and pre-literacy foundations kids need whether they go into English or FI kindergarten. Talk to us about your plan and we will make sure your child leaves us ready.
How safe is drop-off given the Coquitlam River is right between us?
Very. The river is spanned by regular arterial bridges. Lougheed Highway carries you across on a signalled route with no tricky turns, and Prairie Avenue feeds in for families coming from central PoCo. You are on residential streets by the time you reach Pasture Cir. No highway merging, no unprotected left across traffic. Call (604) 338-8020 and we will describe your specific route.
Will I hear from you about how my child's day went?
Every day. We send daily updates so you know how your child ate, how they were feeling, what they worked on, and any special moments from the day. You will not spend your afternoon wondering. That daily connection matters, especially when you are commuting on the West Coast Express and are physically far from your child during work hours.
Can we come see the daycare before we enrol?
Yes, and we strongly encourage it. Call us at (604) 338-8020 and we will set up a free tour at a time that works for you. Come see the rooms, meet the educators, bring your child if you want, and ask every question you can think of. No pressure and no sales pitch. That is how every good relationship starts.
Nearby Areas We Also Serve
- Daycare in Ranch Park
- Child care near River Springs
- Mary Hill families
- Coquitlam Town Centre daycare
- Burke Mountain child care
Come Meet Us
Call (604) 338-8020 to book a free tour. We are open Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 5:30 pm at 3007 Pasture Cir. Whether you commute out of Port Coquitlam Station or your kids are already inside SD43, we will get you set up.
Quick Info
Love Kids Daycare Coquitlam
3007 Pasture Cir
Coquitlam, BC V3C 2C3
(604) 338-8020
Mon to Fri
7:30 am to 5:30 pm