Earnings Per Share (Schedule Of Earnings Per Share) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings attributable to HollyFrontier stockholders	$ 391,604	$ 600,373	$ 493,499	$ 241,696	$ 223,380	$ 523,088	$ 192,235	$ 84,694	$ 1,727,172		$ 1,023,397		$ 103,964
Average number of shares of common stock outstanding	203,458	203,557	205,727	208,531	209,319	209,583	106,730	106,614	205,289		158,486		106,436
Effect of dilutive stock options, variable restricted shares and performance share units									895	[1]	808	[1]	782	[1]
Average number of shares of common stock outstanding assuming dilution	204,453	204,434	206,481	209,138	210,159	210,579	107,340	107,266	206,184		159,294		107,218
Net income per share attributable to HollyFrontier stockholders - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.92	$ 2.95	$ 2.40	$ 1.16	$ 1.07	$ 2.50	$ 1.80	$ 0.80	$ 8.41		$ 6.46		$ 0.98
Net income per share attributable to HollyFrontier stockholders - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.92	$ 2.94	$ 2.39	$ 1.16	$ 1.06	$ 2.48	$ 1.79	$ 0.79	$ 8.38		$ 6.42		$ 0.97
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)									166		0		0

[1] Excludes anti-dilutive restricted and performance share units