Lots of good advice given already and I will probably repeat a lot of it.
First you go to the maps.
Find areas with few roads. Elk live near roads all year but when hunting season starts and the pressure hits they move to areas further from the roads, so generally don' t bother scouting areas close to roads. Early in the bow season it is more likely you can still find elk close to roads.

Now look for N or NE slopes with a flat spot on them and a small creek, these are bedding wallowing feeding areas.
Any large meadows within a mile or two of these areas should be considered a bonus as the elk will move back and forth between these areas.

As stated before elk LOVE burns. If there is a burn area 2 to 5 years old in your area you definitely need to check it out.

Look for areas with lots of rubs, areas which have rubs, means there are elk there in the fall.
Remember elk tend to move around in the fall, so areas that have elk one day may not the next and vice versa.

In areas with lots of pressure elk tend to end up about mid slope on any non west facing slope. I like to get to mid slope in the dark and then hunt into the wind letting the pressure from the top and bottom push the elk to me. This time of year the elk will not be using the large meadows as much except in the dark. Bulls tend to use the smaller meadows in the timber more at this time.
Single bulls can be pretty tricky, I have seen them duck their heads and let hunters pass within 40 yards of them in the timber without moving a muscle.