CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 260,738	$ 280,596	$ 215,475	$ 78,603
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	124,360	100,359
Inventory	133,985	127,966
Deferred tax assets	62,914	15,845
Prepaid and other current assets	59,184	41,508
Total current assets	641,181	566,274
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	2,103,503	1,573,309
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	868,432	707,038
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE	0	72,419
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	0	0
OTHER ASSETS	205,004	203,911
TOTAL ASSETS	3,818,120	3,122,951
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	98,970	70,381
Current maturities of long-term debt	10,000	150,000
Accrued taxes	20,146	13,824
Accrued payroll and benefits	26,484	28,068
Accrued interest	13,854	7,956
Accrued customer incentives	10,771	10,849
Other current liabilities	51,191	18,640
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	8,446	8,105
Total current liabilities	239,862	307,823
LONG-TERM DEBT	1,646,337	1,120,052
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	67,125	73,590
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	158,663	159,582
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	21,254	23,900
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	0	0
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,589,453	1,438,004
Noncontrolling interest	95,426	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,684,879	1,438,004		1,323,073
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	3,818,120	3,122,951
Rayonier Inc. (Parent Guarantor) [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	172,938	252,888	76,809	0
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	0	0
Inventory	0	0
Deferred tax assets	0	0
Prepaid and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	172,938	252,888
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	0	0
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	0	0
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE	0	0
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	1,520,817	1,445,205
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	223,022	213,863
OTHER ASSETS	3,808	4,148
TOTAL ASSETS	1,920,585	1,916,104
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	0	0
Current maturities of long-term debt	0	150,000
Accrued taxes	0	0
Accrued payroll and benefits	0	0
Accrued interest	6,132	3,100
Accrued customer incentives	0	0
Other current liabilities	0	0
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	0	0
Total current liabilities	6,132	153,100
LONG-TERM DEBT	325,000	325,000
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	0	0
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	0	0
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	0	0
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,589,453
Noncontrolling interest	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,589,453	1,438,004
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,920,585	1,916,104
Senior Exchangeable Notes due 2015 at a fixed interest rate of 4.50% [Member] | ROC (Subsidiary Guarantor) [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	4,933	3,966	59,546	8,977
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	22	386
Inventory	0	0
Deferred tax assets	0	0
Prepaid and other current assets	4,604	1,566
Total current assets	9,559	5,918
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	0	0
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	2,399	2,321
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE		0
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	1,749,463	1,677,782
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	0	14,000
OTHER ASSETS	31,732	27,779
TOTAL ASSETS	1,793,153	1,727,800
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	884	2,099
Current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accrued taxes	3,529	485
Accrued payroll and benefits	12,969	15,044
Accrued interest	578	379
Accrued customer incentives	0	0
Other current liabilities	9,358	2,925
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	0	0
Total current liabilities	27,318	20,932
LONG-TERM DEBT	0	0
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	0	0
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	131,037	129,156
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	8,818	16,432
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	105,163	116,075
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,520,817
Noncontrolling interest	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,520,817	1,445,205
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,793,153	1,727,800
Senior Exchangeable Notes due 2015 at a fixed interest rate of 4.50% [Member] | Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	20,995	19,358	46,287	59,976
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	1,596	0
Inventory	0	0
Deferred tax assets	0	0
Prepaid and other current assets	654	691
Total current assets	23,245	20,049
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	0	0
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	0	0
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE		0
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	1,316,652	1,452,027
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	20,400	19,831
OTHER ASSETS	3,938	5,182
TOTAL ASSETS	1,364,235	1,497,089
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	854	33
Current maturities of long-term debt	10,000	0
Accrued taxes	0	0
Accrued payroll and benefits	0	0
Accrued interest	3,930	3,197
Accrued customer incentives	0	0
Other current liabilities	0	0
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	0	0
Total current liabilities	14,784	3,230
LONG-TERM DEBT	1,029,770	718,321
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	0	0
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	0	0
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	0	0
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	319,681
Noncontrolling interest	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	319,681	775,538
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,364,235	1,497,089
Senior Exchangeable Notes due 2015 at a fixed interest rate of 4.50% [Member] | Non-guarantors [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	61,872	4,384	32,833	9,650
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	122,742	99,973
Inventory	133,985	127,966
Deferred tax assets	62,914	15,845
Prepaid and other current assets	53,926	39,251
Total current assets	435,439	287,419
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	2,103,503	1,573,309
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	866,033	704,717
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE		72,419
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	0	0
OTHER ASSETS	165,526	166,802
TOTAL ASSETS	3,570,501	2,804,666
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	97,232	68,249
Current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accrued taxes	16,617	13,339
Accrued payroll and benefits	13,515	13,024
Accrued interest	3,214	1,280
Accrued customer incentives	10,771	10,849
Other current liabilities	41,833	15,715
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	8,446	8,105
Total current liabilities	191,628	130,561
LONG-TERM DEBT	291,567	76,731
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	67,125	73,590
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	27,626	30,426
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	12,436	7,468
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	102,854	137,797
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	2,781,839
Noncontrolling interest	95,426
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	2,877,265	2,348,093
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	3,570,501	2,804,666
Senior Exchangeable Notes due 2015 at a fixed interest rate of 4.50% [Member] | Consolidation Adjustments [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	0	0
Inventory	0	0
Deferred tax assets	0	0
Prepaid and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	0	0
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	0	0
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	0	0
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE		0
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	(4,586,932)	(4,575,014)
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	(243,422)	(247,694)
OTHER ASSETS	0	0
TOTAL ASSETS	(4,830,354)	(4,822,708)
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	0	0
Current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accrued taxes	0	0
Accrued payroll and benefits	0	0
Accrued interest	0	0
Accrued customer incentives	0	0
Other current liabilities	0	0
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	0	0
Total current liabilities	0	0
LONG-TERM DEBT	0	0
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	0	0
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	0	0
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	(208,017)	(253,872)
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	(4,622,337)
Noncontrolling interest	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	(4,622,337)	(4,568,836)
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	(4,830,354)	(4,822,708)
Senior Notes due 2022 at a fixed interest rate of 3.75% [Member] | ROC (Subsidiary Guarantor) [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	25,928	23,324	105,833	68,953
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	1,618	386
Inventory	0	0
Deferred tax assets	0	0
Prepaid and other current assets	5,258	2,257
Total current assets	32,804	25,967
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	0	0
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	2,399	2,321
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE	0	0
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	2,746,434	2,354,270
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	20,400	33,831
OTHER ASSETS	35,670	32,961
TOTAL ASSETS	2,837,707	2,449,350
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	1,738	2,132
Current maturities of long-term debt	10,000	0
Accrued taxes	3,529	485
Accrued payroll and benefits	12,969	15,044
Accrued interest	4,508	3,576
Accrued customer incentives	0	0
Other current liabilities	9,358	2,925
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	0	0
Total current liabilities	42,102	24,162
LONG-TERM DEBT	1,029,770	718,321
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	0	0
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	131,037	129,156
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	8,818	16,432
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	105,163	116,074
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,520,817
Noncontrolling interest	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	1,520,817	1,445,205
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	2,837,707	2,449,350
Senior Notes due 2022 at a fixed interest rate of 3.75% [Member] | Non-guarantors [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	61,872	4,384	32,833	9,650
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	122,742	99,973
Inventory	133,985	127,966
Deferred tax assets	62,914	15,845
Prepaid and other current assets	53,926	39,251
Total current assets	435,439	287,419
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	2,103,503	1,573,309
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	866,033	704,717
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE	0	72,419
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	0	0
OTHER ASSETS	165,526	166,802
TOTAL ASSETS	3,570,501	2,804,666
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	97,232	68,249
Current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accrued taxes	16,617	13,339
Accrued payroll and benefits	13,515	13,024
Accrued interest	3,214	1,280
Accrued customer incentives	10,771	10,849
Other current liabilities	41,833	15,715
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	8,446	8,105
Total current liabilities	191,628	130,561
LONG-TERM DEBT	291,567	76,731
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	67,125	73,590
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	27,626	30,426
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	12,436	7,468
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	102,854	137,797
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	2,781,839
Noncontrolling interest	95,426
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	2,877,265	2,348,093
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	3,570,501	2,804,666
Senior Notes due 2022 at a fixed interest rate of 3.75% [Member] | Consolidation Adjustments [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	0	0
Inventory	0	0
Deferred tax assets	0	0
Prepaid and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	0	0
TIMBER AND TIMBERLANDS, NET OF DEPLETION AND AMORTIZATION	0	0
NET PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT	0	0
INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURE	0	0
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES	(4,267,251)	(3,799,475)
INTERCOMPANY NOTES RECEIVABLE	(243,422)	(247,694)
OTHER ASSETS	0	0
TOTAL ASSETS	(4,510,673)	(4,047,169)
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	0	0
Current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accrued taxes	0	0
Accrued payroll and benefits	0	0
Accrued interest	0	0
Accrued customer incentives	0	0
Other current liabilities	0	0
Current liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations	0	0
Total current liabilities	0	0
LONG-TERM DEBT	0	0
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	0	0
PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS	0	0
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES	0	0
INTERCOMPANY PAYABLE	(208,017)	(253,871)
TOTAL RAYONIER INC. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	(4,302,656)
Noncontrolling interest	0
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	(4,302,656)	(3,793,298)
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	$ (4,510,673)	$ (4,047,169)