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, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings attributable to HollyFrontier stockholders	$ (222,204)	$ 175,006	$ 176,429	$ 152,061	$ 62,902	$ 82,290	$ 256,981	$ 333,669	$ 281,292	$ 735,842	$ 1,727,172
Undistributed Earnings (Loss) Allocated to Participating Securities, Basic									820	2,754	7,648
Net income attributable to common shares									$ 280,472	$ 733,088	$ 1,719,524
Average number of shares of common stock outstanding	195,310	197,261	198,139	198,297	198,371	199,098	201,543	202,726	197,243	200,419	204,379
Effect of dilutive variable restricted shares and performance share units									185	815	895
Average number of shares of common stock outstanding assuming dilution	195,310	197,535	198,380	198,924	199,311	199,509	201,905	203,428	197,428	201,234	205,274
Basic earnings per share	$ (1.13)	$ 0.88	$ 0.89	$ 0.76	$ 0.32	$ 0.41	$ 1.27	$ 1.64	$ 1.42	$ 3.66	$ 8.41
Diluted earnings per share	$ (1.13)	$ 0.88	$ 0.89	$ 0.76	$ 0.31	$ 0.41	$ 1.27	$ 1.63	$ 1.42	$ 3.64	$ 8.38
Excludes anti-dilutive restricted and performance share units									356	166	166