Derivative Instruments (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2017 MMcf	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($) Derivative
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Net losses expected to be reclassified into earnings in the next twelve months \| $		$ 0.1
Interest Rate Swaps [Member]
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Number of interest rate swap agreements \| Derivative		5
Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Number of interest rate swap agreements \| Derivative		1
Commodity Contract [Member] \| Swap [Member] \| Derivatives not designated as Hedging Instrument [Member]
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Volume of southern yellow pine in lumber price swap \| MMcf	3
Commodity swap contract, effective date		Jul. 01, 2017
Commodity swap contract, termination date		Dec. 31, 2017
Volume of southern yellow pine for which monthly cash settlement occur \| MMcf	0.5

Volume of commodity under monthly cash settlement.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	pch_
Data Type:	xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The estimated net amount of existing gains or losses on cash flow hedges at the reporting date expected to be reclassified to earnings within the next 12 months.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35736893&loc=d3e80748-113994

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Date the entity entered into the derivative contract, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Date the derivative contract matures, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeMaturityDates
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Nominal volume used to calculate payments on a derivative instrument.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:volumeItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Number of interest rate derivative instruments held by the entity at the reporting date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84234895&loc=SL5580258-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84234895&loc=SL5579245-113959

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_SwapMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_HedgingDesignationAxis=us-gaap_NondesignatedMember
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