We describe a frequency-stabilized diode laser at 698 nm used for high-resolution spectroscopy of the 1 S 0 -3 P 0 strontium clock transition. For the laser stabilization we use state-of-the-art symmetrically suspended optical cavities optimized for very low thermal noise at room temperature. Two-stage frequency stabilization to high-finesse optical cavities results in measured laser frequency noise about a factor of three above the cavity thermal noise between 2 Hz and 11 Hz. With this system, we demonstrate high-resolution remote spectroscopy on the 88 Sr clock transition by transferring the laser output over a phase noisecompensated 200-m-long fiber link between two separated laboratories. Our dedicated fiber link ensures a transfer of the optical carrier with frequency stability of 7 × 10 −18 after 100 s integration time, which could enable the observation of the strontium clock transition with an atomic Q of 10 14 . Furthermore, with an eye toward the development of transportable optical clocks, we investigate how the complete laser system (laser + optics + cavity) can be influenced by environmental disturbances in terms of both short-and long-term frequency stability.