Penitentiary Falls is a broad, cascading waterfall located along West Fork Montgomery Creek, well upstream from Montgomery Falls. Making a gradual drop of about 25 feet, this waterfall lies in an area denoted as Penitentiary Cove on topographic maps. Penitentiary Falls can be accessed via a 1.3 mile hike along an unmarked trail, which heads upstream from a field along FR 141 near the road's crossing of West Fork Montgomery Creek.

To learn about more waterfalls in the Dahlonega area, see chapter 4 in Mark Ozboyd's "Waterfalls of Georgia" guidebook.