Additional Financial Information Consolidating Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 630,742	$ 710,579	$ 366,321	$ 66,533
Marketable securities	0	424,148
Accounts receivable, net	714,348	479,199
Inventories	1,419,842	1,135,676
Income taxes receivable	0	68,371
Prepayments and other	32,129	33,036
Total current assets	2,797,061	2,851,009
Properties, plants and equipment, net	4,436,831	4,008,448
Intangibles and other assets	2,914,463	2,576,204
Total assets	10,148,355	9,435,661
Accounts payable	1,101,668	935,387
Income tax payable	64,255
Accrued liabilities	235,092	147,842
Total current liabilities	1,401,015	1,083,229
Long-term debt	2,236,514	2,235,137
Liability to HEP	0	0
Deferred income tax liabilities	842,122	620,414
Other long-term liabilities	202,927	194,896
Investment in HEP	0	0
Equity – HollyFrontier	4,848,864	4,681,394
Equity – noncontrolling interest	616,913	620,591
Total liabilities and equity	10,148,355	9,435,661
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Marketable securities		0
Accounts receivable, net	(49,315)	(58,902)
Inventories	0	0
Income taxes receivable	0	0
Prepayments and other	(6,088)	(5,829)
Total current assets	(55,403)	(64,731)
Properties, plants and equipment, net	(220,451)	(231,161)
Intangibles and other assets	624	555
Total assets	(275,230)	(295,337)
Accounts payable	(49,315)	(58,902)
Income tax payable	0
Accrued liabilities	(6,088)	(5,829)
Total current liabilities	(55,403)	(64,731)
Long-term debt	0	0
Liability to HEP	(199,210)	(208,603)
Deferred income tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	(521)	(590)
Investment in HEP	(158,016)	(136,435)
Equity – HollyFrontier	(387,702)	(412,012)
Equity – noncontrolling interest	525,622	527,034
Total liabilities and equity	(275,230)	(295,337)
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	7,476	3,657	7,208	15,013
Marketable securities		0
Accounts receivable, net	50,083	50,408
Inventories	888	1,402
Income taxes receivable	0	0
Prepayments and other	1,407	1,486
Total current assets	59,854	56,953
Properties, plants and equipment, net	1,341,770	1,365,568
Intangibles and other assets	501,683	497,966
Total assets	1,903,307	1,920,487
Accounts payable	23,143	26,942
Income tax payable	0
Accrued liabilities	31,333	37,793
Total current liabilities	54,476	64,735
Long-term debt	1,245,066	1,243,912
Liability to HEP	0	0
Deferred income tax liabilities	522	509
Other long-term liabilities	61,361	62,971
Investment in HEP	0	0
Equity – HollyFrontier	450,591	454,803
Equity – noncontrolling interest	91,291	93,557
Total liabilities and equity	1,903,307	1,920,487
Holly Frontier Corp. Before Consolidation of HEP [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	623,266	706,922	$ 359,113	$ 51,520
Marketable securities		424,148
Accounts receivable, net	713,580	487,693
Inventories	1,418,954	1,134,274
Income taxes receivable	0	68,371
Prepayments and other	36,810	37,379
Total current assets	2,792,610	2,858,787
Properties, plants and equipment, net	3,315,512	2,874,041
Intangibles and other assets	2,412,156	2,077,683
Total assets	8,520,278	7,810,511
Accounts payable	1,127,840	967,347
Income tax payable	64,255
Accrued liabilities	209,847	115,878
Total current liabilities	1,401,942	1,083,225
Long-term debt	991,448	991,225
Liability to HEP	199,210	208,603
Deferred income tax liabilities	841,600	619,905
Other long-term liabilities	142,087	132,515
Investment in HEP	158,016	136,435
Equity – HollyFrontier	4,785,975	4,638,603
Equity – noncontrolling interest	0	0
Total liabilities and equity	$ 8,520,278	$ 7,810,511