This boat cruise really is the only way in, unless you can paddle for seven hours. The lake is 14 miles long. Though you won't be going the full length, you will see Spirit Island both from the boat and from land. they dock for about 15 min..utes so that you can walk up to the famous Spirit Island viewpoint. If you are driving from Jasper, give yourself plenty of time, as the service road to the boathouse is long and on busy days the going can be slow due to traffic. The only thing I would change is the check-in process ... at the dock they are currently only accepting Pursuit vouchers with the bar code and departure time. If you don't have this you need to check-in up by the gift shop. This is creating some confusion during boarding, Read full review