my family and I were in Estes Park CO last month; wanted so much to see a bear, saw none. We saw moose, elk, mule deer but no bears.
Be carefull what you wish for. I had the same wish for a long time. I traveled the west installing FFA radars on mountain tops for years. I have great pictures of all kinds of wildlife and have been in some hair raising situations with moose, badgers and wolves. Never saw a bear in the wild til a few years ago in Glacier National Park. My son-in-law and I went fishing and ran into a black bear just a couple yards from us. I knew I could out run my son-in-law but we were both just transfixed on staring this bear down.Fear, goose bump raising terror. Luckily it was more interested in the huckleberries than a spry old man and his short legged fishing partner.
We also went to Estes Park and saw no bears. In the nearby town to Boulder, Louisville, there were signs everywhere to be aware of coyotes. There were no dogs in the yards ( short backyard fences) and I think that is because pets have been taken.
But there are plenty of bears in Rose Valley Falls around Ojai, CA. They were at our campground at dusk just feet away from our tent. And at night, I could hear them trudging through the stream.