If it's good and cold and the ice is hard, using studded tires is about the same as riding on pavement with knobbies. When the ice gets softer on top from a warm day you can often ride without studs. When the ice is rough with lots of footprints, it's like a rock garden.
It's great to ride to an island!! Near me I have a salt water marsh, and salt water beaches, that get very hard so you can ride right over them. Being able to ride places you could not even walk in the summer is very interesting.