escaped from NJ, (what exit?)
We aquired our island home a few years ago and I too was very anxious to get out there in the winter. For my first trip out I bought a pair of "Yaktraks" (see link below). That winter had been particularly cold but with little snow so the lake was like an ice skating rink. In some places the ice was so clear that from a distance you would swear it was open water! The "Yaktraks" were perfect for those conditions.
Once the ice is in and ice fishing is in full swing you will find "roads" on the ice where the fishermen travel back and forth. It is usually fairly easy walking along these but you need to watch out for traffic! It can get quite busy on the ice on the weekends...
As the other folks have already advised you, keep an eye on the forum for postings on ice conditions - as the weather gets colder there will be a lot of first hand information posted here.
My wife will not consent to staying over night at our place - we only have a fire place for heat, along with some portable electric units - but day trips are great too, if you live close enough to do it...
I'll dig out some pictures of the trip when the ice was so clear and post them... it was really neat to see the lake like that.
http://www.improvementscatalog.com/p...zLfyzLlCw0zgf&