SALE OF WOOD PRODUCTS BUSINESS (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Wood Products business [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Wood Products business [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Wood Products business [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Wood Products business [Member]	Mar. 01, 2013 Wood Products business [Member] lumber_mill	Sep. 30, 2013 Baxley Mill [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Swainsboro Mill [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of lumber mills sold										3
Base consideration received										$ 80,000,000
Description and Timing of Disposal								On March 1, 2013, Rayonier completed the sale of its Wood Products business (consisting of three lumber mills in Baxley, Swainsboro and Eatonton, Georgia) to International Forest Products Limited (“Interfor”)
Description of Proceeds from Divestiture of Business		$80 million plus a working capital adjustment						$80 million plus a working capital adjustment
Segment that Includes Disposal Group								Wood Products business, formerly reported as a separate operating segment
After-tax gain on gain on disposal								42,670,000
Operating results of discontinued operations
Sales						0	22,825,000	16,968,000	65,865,000
Cost of sales and other						0	(20,897,000)	(14,258,000)	(58,184,000)
Gain on sale of discontinued operations						0	0	64,040,000	0
Income from discontinued operations before income taxes						0	1,928,000	66,750,000	7,681,000
Income tax expense	0		(646,000)	(22,273,000)	(2,573,000)	0	(646,000)	(22,273,000)	(2,573,000)
Income from discontinued operations, net	0		1,282,000	44,477,000	5,108,000
Major classes of Wood Products' assets and liabilities included in the sale
Accounts receivable, net										4,127,000
Inventory										4,270,000
Prepaid and other current assets										2,053,000
Property, plant and equipment, net										9,990,000
Total assets										20,440,000
Total liabilities										596,000
Cash Flows of Disposal Group								Cash flows from discontinued operations are immaterial both individually and in the aggregate. As such, they are included with cash flows from continuing operations in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
Continuation of Activities with Discontinued Operation after Disposal, Description								Pursuant to the purchase and sale agreement, Rayonier will provide Interfor with saw timber procurement services for the three lumber mills through December 31, 2013. Rayonier also contracted with Interfor to purchase wood chips produced at the lumber mills for use at Rayonier’s Jesup mill and market other wood chips produced by the mills to third parties on Interfor’s behalf. The Company will purchase 100 percent of the Baxley mill chips for five years and 25 percent of the Swainsboro mill chips through 2013. The purchase price of these chips will be based on the average price paid by the Company to unrelated third parties.
Wood chip purchases						0	3,270,000	1,650,000	9,507,000
Saw timber procurement services						0	282,000	223,000	856,000
Total intercompany						$ 0	$ 3,552,000	$ 1,873,000	$ 10,363,000
Percent of mill chips required to purchase											100.00%	25.00%
Percent of mill chips required to purchase period											5 years