No, nothing is right along the river in that area. Nothing residential west of Hwy 13 in the vicinity of Yankee Doodle. Like I said earlier, one would really have to try to get in the water there. The Minnesota River, in the south metro, is not really a recreational area. The river is far enough away from Hwy 13 that you don't even notice it's there, you can't see it as you drive along. I do not believe that he was walking in the direction of his home, IMO.
I strongly recommend that people look at a map of this area to get a better feel for what it's like. Again, unless you know that the river is there, you just...don't know that the river is there, if that makes any sense.
ETA: It could be that he somehow accidentally made it to the water, but it just seems so unlikely to me due to how far one would have to walk past and through very commercial, almost industrial campuses...parking lots, large warehouse-like office buildings...across a state highway...completely not where I imagine he was headed (I think he wanted to go east on Yankee Doodle toward "civilization," not west toward Hwy 13 and the river).