Document and Entity Information Document	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	May 05, 2014 Common Class A	May 05, 2014 Common Class B	May 05, 2014 Common Class C	May 05, 2014 Common Class E	May 05, 2014 Common Class F	May 05, 2014 Common Class G
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Chaparral Energy, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001346980
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		366,685	344,859	209,882	504,276	1	2