I like scouting as much as actual hunting. When I was younger, I had the good fortune to attend college at Southern Illinois University. The Shawnee national Forrest is huge and nearby. I scouted relentlessly, covering miles of ground...always looking for "the spot". I did this year round, except during hunting season.
When I graduated, I had to move home, to northeastern Illinois. With little private ground to hunt, and not much in the way of public ground around here, my scouting decreased alot. This kind of depressed me.
Since I now pretty much have to lease land to hunt, my scouting is now limited to those areas. I prefer to do most of it in the offseason. February and march are best in my opinion.
I mostly look for edges, terrain features, and funnels. Read the books written by Gene Wensel to get an idea, about what to really look for. Most of all...have fun doing it!