A specific purpose of the reserve is to protect rookeries for arctic birds on Cape Patience, which is a 65 km peninsula extending into the Okhotsk Sea.

The reserve is situated in the Poronaysky District of Sakhalin Oblast, 50 km east of the regional city of Poronaysk.

The Poronaysky Reserve is bounded on the north by central Sakhalin Island, on the east and south by the Okhostsk Sea, and on the west by Gulf of Patience.

The ecoregion is characterized by wet subarctic coniferous forest dominated by spruce and fir trees on the edge of tundra.

[7] The animal life of the reserve reflects the position of Sakhalin Island as being at times connected or unconnected to the mainland.

Because vehicles are not allowed, some of the multi-day guided hiking trips require a degree of physical fitness to complete.