Kerns is a village in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland .

Kerns is first mentioned in 1036 as Chernz though this mention is from a 14th Century copy of the original document. After 1101 it was normally mentioned as Chernes.

Kerns has an area, as of 2006, of 92.6 square kilometers (35.8 sq mi). Of this area, 46.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (21.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).