The Outdoors in Kerens, Texas

Kerens's premier outdoor draw is Richland-Chambers Reservoir, just south of town — a sprawling lake of roughly 41,000 acres with some 330 miles of shoreline, ranking among the largest inland reservoirs in Texas. Formed by impounding Richland and Chambers creeks, the Y-shaped lake straddles Navarro and Freestone counties and is a magnet for boaters and anglers across North Central Texas.

The fishing is the real attraction. Richland-Chambers is a productive crappie lake, producing crappie around bridge crossings and in the flooded timber of the upper creek arms. Catfish are everywhere and take cut bait, stink bait, and chicken livers, while white bass and hybrid stripers run from the US 287 bridge down toward the dam. Boats launch from nine ramps around the lake, several of them free.

Beyond fishing, the reservoir's sheer size makes it a destination for boating, water-skiing, and lazy days on the water. Private marinas, docks, and ramps ring the shoreline, and lakeside properties and cabins give the area a relaxed, water-oriented feel that's a little unusual for the blackland prairie.

For Kerens residents, having that much open water minutes from town is a genuine perk — a quick boat trip after work, a weekend of camping near the shore, or a morning chasing crappie in the timber. The lake anchors much of the area's outdoor recreation and draws visitors from Corsicana, Dallas–Fort Worth, and beyond.

Away from the water, Kerens is surrounded by the farms, pastures, and brushy bottomland of eastern Navarro County — good country for hunting, with white-tailed deer, hogs, dove, and waterfowl drawn to the creeks and the lake's edges. Quiet country roads make for easy scenic drives through the rolling prairie.

The combination is what gives Kerens its outdoor character: a huge fishing reservoir on one side and open hunting-and-farming country on the other. For anglers, hunters, and anyone who wants the outdoors close at hand, Kerens is a fine small-town base in any season.