DOCUMENT AND ENTITY INFORMATION - $ / shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	May 02, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	SASR
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		23,974,299
Entity Listing, Par Value Per Share	$ 1
Entity Registrant Name	SANDY SPRING BANCORP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000824410
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer