DEBT - Narrative (Details)				1 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
		Jan. 01, 2021	May 08, 2020 USD ($) mortgage_payable	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) tranche	Dec. 31, 2020 NZD ($) tranche	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2020 NZD ($)	May 07, 2020 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2020 USD ($) amendment	Apr. 29, 2020 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 03, 2016	Aug. 05, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Number of amendment | amendment														2
Interest share redemption								$ 5,100,000
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated affiliates redemption of shares	[1]							$ 23,290,000		$ 0	$ 0
Debt instrument, number of tranches | tranche								5	5
Fund II Mortgages Payable
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount			$ 25,000,000.0					$ 25,000,000
Debt instrument, number of mortgages payable | mortgage_payable			2
Fund III Mortgages Payable
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount			$ 32,400,000					$ 32,380,000
Debt instrument, number of mortgages payable | mortgage_payable			2
Matariki Forestry Group
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest share redemption				$ 5,100,000
Rayonier
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Additional interest acquired																				39.00%
Ownership percentage by parent																		77.00%		65.00%
Rayonier | Matariki Forestry Group
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Ownership percentage by parent								77.00%
Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred financing costs								$ 2,484,000		1,871,000
Debt, carrying amount								1,302,820,000		1,057,000,000
Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred financing costs								10,000		0
Debt, carrying amount								$ 60,189,000		0
Timber Funds | Fund II Mortgages Payable
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Loan-to-value ratio, percentage								50.00%	50.00%
Timber Funds | Fund III Mortgages Payable
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Loan-to-value ratio, percentage								50.00%	50.00%
Ratio of minimum interest coverage								1.5
Working capital								$ 500,000
Term Credit Agreement | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred financing costs																$ 500,000
Variable interest rate								3.20%	3.20%
Variable interest rate								1.80%
Debt, carrying amount								$ 350,000,000		350,000,000
Senior Notes due 2022 at a fixed interest rate of 3.75%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount													$ 325,000,000								$ 325,000,000
Fixed interest rate													3.75%								3.75%
Senior Notes due 2022 at a fixed interest rate of 3.75% | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Fixed interest rate								3.75%
Debt, carrying amount								$ 325,000,000		325,000,000
Incremental Term Loan Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, term						10 years
Basis points on periodic interest rate								1.90%	1.90%
Variable interest rate								2.80%
Debt, carrying amount						$ 300,000,000
Incremental Term Loan Agreement | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Variable interest rate								2.10%
Debt, carrying amount								$ 300,000,000		300,000,000
2020 Incremental Term Loan Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, term						5 years
Deferred financing costs														$ 800,000
Basis points on periodic interest rate								1.85%	1.85%
Variable interest rate								2.30%
Debt, carrying amount														250,000,000
2020 Incremental Term Loan Facility | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Variable interest rate								2.00%
Debt, carrying amount								$ 250,000,000		$ 0
Working Capital Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity												$ 20,000,000
Borrowings								0
Debt term												12 months
Variable interest rate index term					90 days
Outstanding balance								$ 0
Minority Shareholder Due 2025 At 2.95% | Matariki Forestry Group
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Fixed interest rate				2.95%
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated affiliates redemption of shares				$ 23,300,000
Advance from minority shareholder									$ 24,900,000
Due 2022 at a fixed interest rate of 2.0% | Timber Funds | LIBOR | Subsequent Event
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis points on periodic interest rate		1.70%
Line of Credit | Term Credit Agreement | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity																			$ 550,000,000
Term Loan Facility | Term Credit Agreement | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity																			$ 350,000,000
Debt instrument, term							9 years	9 years	9 years
Basis points on periodic interest rate								1.60%	1.60%
Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity														300,000,000	$ 250,000,000		$ 200,000,000
Deferred financing costs														$ 1,200,000
Basis points on periodic interest rate								1.50%	1.50%
Commitment fee								0.175%	0.175%
Revolving Credit Facility | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity								$ 300,000,000
Borrowings								70,000,000.0
Repayments								152,000,000.0
Available borrowings								299,100,000
Letters of credit								900,000
Northwest Farm Credit Services Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount			$ 45,000,000.0					45,000,000
Northwest Farm Credit Services Credit Facility | Excluding Timber Funds
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt fair value								$ 45,000,000

[1] Represents a capital distribution made by the New Zealand subsidiary in order to redeem certain equity interests, resulting in the recording of a noncontrolling interest share redemption of $5.1 million and a loan payable by the New Zealand subsidiary in the amount of $23.3 million. See Note 6 - Noncontrolling Interests and Note 8 - Debt for further information.