Net Income Per Limited Partner Unit (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Earnings Per Share, Basic, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
General Partners' Capital Account, Period Distribution Amount									$ (58,096)	$ (43,964)	$ (36,485)
Limited partner distribution									(143,796)	(129,192)	(121,714)
Net income attributable to Holly Energy Partners	$ 41,361	$ 34,785	$ 39,120	$ 42,975	$ 40,519	$ 34,485	$ 30,401	$ 31,803	158,241	137,208	105,525
Allocation of net loss attributable to predecessor									10,657	2,702	1,747
Partners Distributions									201,892	173,156	158,199
Distributions in Excess of Period Net Income									(43,651)	(35,948)	(52,674)
Net (Income) Loss Attributable to Partnership									$ 158,241	$ 137,208	$ 105,525
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic and Diluted									59,872	58,657	58,657
Net Income (Loss) Per Outstanding Limited Partnership Unit Basic and Diluted	$ 0.40	$ 0.33	$ 0.45	$ 0.52	$ 0.49	$ 0.40	$ 0.34	$ 0.37	$ 1.69	$ 1.60	$ 1.20
Limited Partner [Member]
Earnings Per Share, Basic, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Distributions in Excess of Period Net Income									$ (42,778)	$ (35,229)	$ (51,621)
Net (Income) Loss Attributable to Partnership									101,018	93,963	70,093
General Partner [Member]
Earnings Per Share, Basic, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Distributions in Excess of Period Net Income									(873)	(719)	(1,053)
Net (Income) Loss Attributable to Partnership									$ 57,223	$ 43,245	$ 35,432