Kedrovaya Pad is at the coastal spurs of the
Manchurian mountains. The reserve's boundaries approach
Barabashevka River (until 1973 Mongugay or Bolshoy Mongugay) in the northeast, and
Narva River (until 1973 Sidimi) in the southwest. In the southeast, the
Far Eastern Railway separates it from
Amur Bay which is less than 5 km away. In the northwest, the A189 (
AH6) road separates it from the
Chyornye Gory range, whose watershed defines the
Sino-Russian border and is less than 20 km away.
Sukhorechensky Ridge covers the southern half of the reserve, reaching at Gora Uglovaya (or Zapretnaya) in the west. North of it,
Kedrovaya River forms a gorge as it flows east from its source in the western part of the reserve. While some kind of nature protection measures have been in effect in the area since 1916, ==Ecoregion and climate==