Consolidated Statements of Equity - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	Restricted Stock Units	Class B Common Stock	Common Stock Class A Common Stock	Common Stock Class A Common Stock Restricted Stock Units	Common Stock Class B Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Additional Paid-in Capital Restricted Stock Units	Accumulated Deficit	Accumulated Deficit Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	Earthstone Energy, Inc. Equity	Earthstone Energy, Inc. Equity Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	Noncontrolling Interest	Noncontrolling Interest Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
ASC 842 implementation	$ 826,492	$ 166			$ 29		$ 35	$ 517,073		$ (182,497)	$ 67	$ 334,640	$ 67	$ 491,852	$ 99
Beginning Balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2018					28,696,321		35,452,178
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	826,492	166			$ 29		$ 35	517,073		(182,497)	67	334,640	67	491,852	99
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
ASC 842 implementation	$ 826,492	$ 166			$ 29		$ 35	527,246		(181,711)	$ 67	345,599	$ 67	490,152	$ 99
Accounting Standards Update [Extensible List]	us-gaap:AccountingStandardsUpdate201801Member
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 8,648							8,648				8,648
Vesting of restricted stock units, net of taxes paid (in shares)						(533,312)
Class A common and vested restricted stock retained by the company in exchange for payment of recipient mandatory tax withholdings (in shares)					203,394
Class A common and vested restricted stock retained by the company in exchange for payment of recipient mandatory tax withholdings	(1,135)							(1,135)				(1,135)
Cancellation of treasury shares (in shares)					(203,394)
Class B Common Stock converted to Class A Common Stock (in shares)				191,498	191,498		(191,498)
Class B Common Stock converted to Class A Common Stock	0							2,660				2,660		(2,660)
Net income	1,580									719		719		861
Ending Balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2019					29,421,131		35,260,680
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2019	835,751				$ 29		$ 35	527,246		(181,711)		345,599		490,152
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
ASC 842 implementation	835,751				29		35	527,246		(181,711)		345,599		490,152
ASC 842 implementation	835,751				$ 30		$ 35	540,074		(195,258)		344,881		470,655
Stock-based compensation expense	10,054							10,054				10,054
Vesting of restricted stock units, net of taxes paid (in shares)						670,981
Vesting of restricted stock units, net of taxes paid			$ 0			$ 1			$ (1)
Class A common and vested restricted stock retained by the company in exchange for payment of recipient mandatory tax withholdings (in shares)					243,924
Class A common and vested restricted stock retained by the company in exchange for payment of recipient mandatory tax withholdings	(835)							(835)				(835)
Cancellation of treasury shares (in shares)					(243,924)
Class B Common Stock converted to Class A Common Stock (in shares)				251,309	251,309		(251,309)
Class B Common Stock converted to Class A Common Stock	0							3,610				3,610		(3,610)
Net income	(29,434)									(13,547)		(13,547)		(15,887)
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2020	815,536				$ 30		$ 35	540,074		(195,258)		344,881		470,655
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
ASC 842 implementation	$ 815,536				$ 30		$ 35	$ 540,074		$ (195,258)		$ 344,881		$ 470,655