Hello! We're planning our 1st trip to the Keys and would love to hear any input you may have on campgrounds. Ideally we would love to have a site on the water and also be close to all the happenings (which sounds like the Duval St. area).
I was on a RV forum and someone mentioned Jabours's Trailer Court . They said they didn't care for it due to the noise but that it is close to everything and a lot of people really like it there. Is it possible to be within walking distance of the nightlife and area attractions AND stay somewhere beautiful?

Jabours is your best and really only option. It isn't the nicest place but it is o.k. It is very close to Duval Street and a couple of bars and restaurants. Here is the web site http://www.kwcamp.com/
Here is another link listing all in the Keys http://www.florida-keys.fl.us/ypages/ypcamp.htm

Try Boyd's campground
,it is not as close as Jabours but much nicer.
www.gocampingamerica.com/boydskeywest/index.html

Boyd’s Campground is noisy and crowded. We were tent-camping there and our site was 8x10’. Our neighbors’ tent was two feet away from ours. We had to listen to our neighbors having noisy, raunchy sex from ten at night until two in the morning. About ten sites away there was a party complete with boom box and bongo-drums. I asked security to enforce their “strict noise ordinance” at midnight and the guy got an attitude because I interrupted his card game. So, if you want to pay money to stay up all night, I’d suggest a pub crawl on Duval Street. Boyd’s is not the place to stay.

On the plus side, the staff (with exception of security) were generally pretty nice.